Leaders
UndeRstanding FITness and Cardiometabolic Health In Little Darlings (urFIT-child) is a multi-disciplinary and multi-collaborative research group in cooperation with renowned global experts across several continents, viz; Oceania, North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.
The major study outcomes are: arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity), carotid intima-media thickness, carotid elasticity or distensibility, left ventricular concentric and eccentric hypertrophy, left ventricular diastolic function, left ventricular filling pressure, etc. These cardiac and vascular outcomes were measured both in adolescence (age 17 years) and young adulthood (age 24 years). Modifiable risk factors are total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin resistance (glucose and insulin), blood pressure, heart rate, low-grade inflammation, obesity, body composition (fat mass and muscle mass), sedentary time, light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, smoking habit, cardiorespiratory fitness. Risk factors where measured during clinic visit from childhood starting at age 7 years and repeated either yearly or bi-annually until age 17 years. Young adulthood assessments occurred at age 24 years clinic visit, the 30-year clinic visit is currently ongoing (2022 – 2024).
Data and Population Size:
Data for urFIT-child research project are drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as Children of the 90s, a world-leading UK ongoing birth cohort study. More than 14,000 pregnant women were recruited from April 1991 through December 1992 and 14,901 foetuses arising from the pregnancy, and their partners have been followed up intensively over three decades. The ALSPAC study website contains details of all the data that are available (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/researchers/our-data/).
News
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How to reverse the damage your kid’s sedentary time has done to their heart
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Physical Activity: Slow And Steady Wins The Race
Not only do our findings challenge conventional beliefs, the editors of journals seem to also be uncomfortable with our results.” Dr. Andrew Agbaje… -
Stiff Arteries May Cause Metabolic Syndrome
It seems metabolic syndrome has a new risk factor we haven't thought about. New research published in the American Journal of Physiology found that… -
Get the Benefits of Exercise Without Breaking a Sweat
For as long as we’ve had official recommendations for exercise, those recommendations have focused on effort. Do at least 150 minutes a week of…
Cooperation
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Prof. Alan R. Barker, PhD
Associate Professor in Paediatric Physiology and Health, Children's Health and Exercise Research Centre, University of Exeter, UK
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Dr. Gary F. Mitchell, MD
Cardiovascular Engineering Inc. Norwood, MA 02062, United States
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Prof. Justin Zacharias, MD, MPH
Associate Professor in Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, US
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Prof. Tracy Baynard, PhD
Professor, Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Manning College of Nursing & Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Boston, US
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Prof. Augustine Odili, MD, PhD
Professor of Preventive Cardiology, Department of Epidemiology, Circulatory Health Research Laboratory, College of Health Sciences, University of Abuja, Nigeria.
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Prof. Donald M. Llyod-Jones, MD, ScM
President of the American Heart Association 2021-2022, Professor of Preventive Medicine (Epidemiology), Medicine (Cardiology) and Pediatrics. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
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Prof. David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Nutrition, New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Nutrition, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
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Prof. Costan Magnussen, PhD
Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Epidemiology, The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia; Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
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International Youth Vascular Consortium (YVC) (Dr. Rachel Clime PhD)
Menzies Institute for Medical Research-University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia
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Prof. Paul Leeson MD, PhD
Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Head of Oxford Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility, Consultant Physician, University of Oxford, UK
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Prof. Adam Lewandowski DPhil, FESC
Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Science, British Heart Foundation Intermediate Research Fellow, Deputy Director of the Oxford Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility, Oxford University, UK
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Prof. Wei Perng, PhD MPH
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health Associate Director of Research Training & Education, Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity & Diabetes (LEAD) Center, Denver, Colorado, US
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Prof. Mélanie Henderson, MD, FRCPC, PhD
Head, Research Axis ‐ Metabolic and Cardiovascular Health, CHU Sainte‐Justine Pediatric Endocrinologist, CHU Sainte‐Justine Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal; Clinical Associate Professor ‐ Secondary Affiliation, Médecine sociale et préventive, Université de Montréal; Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health, McGill University
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Prof. Dr. Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz
Professor of Pediatric Cardiology, Chair of Pediatric Prevention, Dean Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Technical University Munich, Germany
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Dr. Dimitris Vlachopoulos, PhD, FHEA
Senior Lecturer, Pediatric Exercise and Health, Children's Health and Exercise Research Centre - Public Health and Sports Sciences department Faculty of Health and Life Sciences - University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK
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Professor Craig Williams
Director of the Children's Health & Exercise Research Centre (CHERC), Professor of Paediatric Physiology and Health, Public Health and Sports Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, St. Luke's Campus, University of Exeter, UK
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Dr. med. Christoph Saner, MD, PhD
Pediatric Endocrinologist and Senior Physician, Department of Pediatrics, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland and Honorary Research Fellow Murdoch Children`s Research Institute Parkville, Australia