RT Journal Article T1 Muscular Fitness Mediates the Association between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Areal Bone Mineral Density in Children with Overweight/Obesity. A1 Gil-Cosano, Jose J A1 Gracia-Marco, Luis A1 Ubago-Guisado, Esther A1 Migueles, Jairo H A1 Mora-Gonzalez, Jose A1 Escolano-Margarit, María V A1 Gómez-Vida, José A1 Maldonado, José A1 Ortega, Francisco B K1 Vitamin D K1 bone health K1 childhood K1 mediation K1 obesity K1 strength AB The association between vitamin D [25(OH)D] and bone health has been widely studied in children. Given that 25(OH)D and bone health are associated with muscular fitness, this could be the cornerstone to understand this relationship. Hence, the purpose of this work was to examine if the relation between 25(OH)D and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) was mediated by muscular fitness in children with overweight/obesity. Eighty-one children (8-11 years, 53 boys) with overweight/obesity were included. Body composition was measured with dual energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), 25(OH)D was measured in plasma samples and muscular fitness was assessed by handgrip and standing long jump tests (averaged z-scores were used to represent overall muscular fitness). Simple mediation analyses controlling for sex, years from peak height velocity, lean mass and season were carried out. Our results showed that muscular fitness z-score, handgrip strength and standing long jump acted as mediators in the relationship between 25(OH)D and aBMD outcomes (percentages of mediation ranged from 49.6% to 68.3%). In conclusion, muscular fitness mediates the association of 25(OH)D with aBMD in children with overweight/obesity. Therefore, 25(OH)D benefits to bone health could be dependent on muscular fitness in young ages. YR 2019 FD 2019-11-14 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/14705 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/14705 LA en DS RISalud RD Apr 9, 2025