Associations between physical activity and BMI, body fatness, and visceral adiposity in overweight or obese Latino and non-Latino adults

Abstract

Background/Objectives Although several studies have reported associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), body fatness, and visceral adipose tissue (VAT), the extent to which associations differ among Latinos and non-Latinos remains unclear. The present study evaluated the associations between body composition and MVPA in Latino and non-Latino adults. Subjects/Methods An exploratory, cross-sectional analysis was conducted using baseline data collected from 298 overweight adults enrolled in a 12-month randomized controlled trial that tested the efficacy of text messaging to improve weight loss. MVPA, body fatness and VAT were assessed by waist-worn accelerometry, DXA, and DXA-derived software (GE CoreScan GE, Madison, WI) respectively. Participants with less than 5 days of accelerometry data or missing DXA data were excluded; 236 participants had complete data. Multivariable linear regression assessed associations between body composition and MVPA per day, defined as time in MVPA, bouts of MVPA (time per bout ≥10 min), non-bouts of MVPA (time per bout <10 min), and meeting the 150-minute MVPA guideline. The modifying influence of ethnicity was modeled with a multiplicative interaction term. Results The interaction between ethnicity and MVPA in predicting percent body fat was significant (p = 0.01, 95% CI [0.58, 4.43]) such that a given increase in MVPA was associated with a greater decline in total body fat in non-Latinos compared to Latinos (adjusted for age, sex and accelerometer wear time). There was no interaction between ethnicity and MVPA in predicting VAT (g) (p = 0.78, 95% CI [−205.74, 273.17]) and BMI (p = 0.18, 95% CI [−0.49, 2.26]). Conclusions An increase in MVPA was associated with a larger decrease in body fat, but neither BMI nor VAT, in non-Latinos compared to Latinos. This suggests that changes in VAT and BMI in response to MVPA may be less influenced by ethnicity than is total body fatness.

Effectiveness of exercise and health education interventions in Brazilian primary health care

“…By contrast, despite the increase of 80 and 89% in MVPA (EHE and HE, respectively), no significant differences in MVPA were observed between groups. This result stands out from the others when considering the latest published version of the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee 30 , which provides evidence that moderate-to-vigorous activities lasting less than 10 minutes are sufficient to obtain the PA benefits in physiological terms such as controlling blood pressure 31 , obtaining positive changes in body composition and weight loss 32,33 , lowering blood glucose levels 34 , and decreasing the risk of metabolic syndrome 35 . According to these findings, the Public Health field should stimulate and Polo et al recommend it for the population, considering any time spent in PA, as long as it is moderate-to-vigorous 36 , without dismissing LPA.…”

Dissimilar Impact of a Mediterranean Diet and Physical Activity on Anthropometric Indices: A Cross-Sectional Study from the ILERVAS Project

“…Another cross-sectional study of 1009 men aged 71–91 years from primary care centers in the UK showed that each daily additional 30 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was associated with a 0.60 reduction in the fat mass index [40]. More recently, Cameron et al have demonstrated that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was negatively associated with percent body fatness and visceral adipose tissue assessed by DXA in 298 overweight adults [41]. In this study, the inverse relationship between physical activity and percentage of body fat was stronger for non-Latinos than for Latinos, a fact that introduces the possibility that differences in diet and eating habits might modulate the impact of physical activity on anthropometric indices [41].…”

The Scientific Foundation for the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition

“…Recent research using device-measured physical activity and assessing a variety of cardiometabolic health indicators indicates that bouts of MVPA of any length (ie, time duration) contribute to the health benefits associated with the accumulated total volume of physical activity. [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] Of 40 comparisons within 14 studies, 78% (31 comparisons) indicated that bouts <10 minutes long were as good or better than bouts ≥10 minutes. 1 An additional 10% (4 comparisons) reported that bouts <10 minutes long were associated with risk reduction but did not make a direct comparison with bouts ≥10 minutes.…”