Adiposity, Disease Risk Factors, and Lifetime Health

描述（由申请人提供）：这项拟议的研究建立在费尔斯纵向研究的工作基础上，这是一个独特的数据库，包含了自1929年研究开始以来积累的新数据。费尔斯纵向研究是世界上规模最大、时间最长的关于正常成人慢性疾病的生长、身体组成和危险因素的连续系列研究。我们的长期研究目标是确定身体组成成分（如脂肪组织、无脂质量）的数量和分布对健康的影响；更好地了解儿童和/或成人易患超重/肥胖、心血管疾病和其他衰老疾病的影响因素；并证明新的评估方法和统计方法的重要性，以更好地描述这些关系。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposed research builds on the work of the Fels Longitudinal Study, a unique database that incorporates new data with that accumulated since the study began in 1929. The Fels Longitudinal Study is the world's largest and longest continuous serial study of growth, body composition and risk factors for adult chronic disease in normal individuals. Our long-term study goals are to identify the health effects of the amount and distribution of body composition components (e.g., adipose tissue, fat-free mass); to gain a better understanding of the influences that predispose individuals as children and/or adults to develop overweight/obesity, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases of aging; and to demonstrate the importance of new assessment methods and statistical approaches to describe these relationships better. There are two general aims, each encompassing a set of specific hypotheses focused on the analysis of serial data: l) to use long-term serial data collected throughout the life span to determine the nature of relationships among patterns of change in body composition, systemic inflammatory factors, adipose tissue-derived hormones, and other risk factors for common complex diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease and obesity); and 2) to examine the effect of childhood changes in body composition on health outcomes in adulthood. Types of questions to be addressed include: Are changes in body composition related to concurrent or previous levels or patterns of change in maturity, physical activity, or other risk factors for cardiovascular disease (e.g., inflammatory markers, blood pressure, lipids, or insulin resistance)? Are patterns of change in risk factors related to adipose tissue distribution? What are the relationships between the age at onset of persistent overweight/obesity and later levels of risk factors for cardiovascular disease? We will continue to quantify body composition and to evaluate specific components related to adiposity, inflammation, and other risk factors for diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease and diabetes). Continued investigation into the nature of changes in, and relationships among, these variables using new and existing long-term serial data will help to clarify the onset of, and risk factors for, chronic disease from childhood to early old age. Accordingly, innovative analytical approaches will be used in the various analyses.