Fig. 2: Mediating or suppressing role of cumulative fasting plasma glucose and insulin on the longitudinal associations of cumulative sedentary time (ST) and total fat mass, trunk fat mass, and lean mass from ages 11 through 24 years of 917 participants.

A Sedentary time with total fat mass and glucose as a mediator. B Sedentary time with total fat mass and insulin as a mediator. C Sedentary time with trunk fat mass and glucose as a mediator. D Sedentary time with trunk fat mass and insulin as a mediator. E Sedentary time with lean mass and glucose as a mediator. F Sedentary time with lean mass and insulin as a mediator. When the magnitude of the longitudinal association between the predictor and outcome is increased upon inclusion of a third variable, a suppression is confirmed, However, when decreased it is mediation. Mediation structural equation model estimating natural direct and indirect effects was adjusted for sex, family history of hypertension/diabetes/high cholesterol/vascular disease, and socioeconomic status, in addition to time-varying covariates such as age, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, smoking status, light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density. lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, total fat mass, lean mass, glucose or insulin depending on the mediator and outcome. β is standardized regression co-efficient. Two-sided p-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.