Increases in physical activity may affect quality of life differently in men and women: the PACE project

Abstract

Purpose Obesity is associated with impaired quality of life (QoL), but less is known about physical activity. We investigated how decreases in body mass index (BMI) and increases in activity affect obesity-specific QoL and potential gender differences in associations. Methods In a large worksite-randomized trial of a multilevel intervention on diet and physical activity behaviors, we conducted a cohort analysis at two years of follow-up. Self-reported activity and Obesity and Weight-Loss Quality Of Life (OWLQOL) were analyzed for individual-level associations using linear mixed models accounting for random worksite effects. Results Gender modified the BMI-OWLQOL relationship, so analyses were conducted for males and females separately. Adjusting for demographic confounders, baseline OWLQOL, and several worksite-level variables including intervention arm, a 1.9 unit decrease in BMI (the interquartile range) was associated with an OWLQOL increase of 1.7 (95% CI: 1.2, 2.2) in males and 3.6 (95% CI: 3.2, 4.0) in females. Similarly, a 23 unit increase in physical activity score was associated with an OWLQOL increase of 0.9 (95% CI: 0.5, 1.4) in males and 1.6 (95% CI: 1.0, 2.3) in females. Physical activity associations were attenuated when adjusting for change in BMI, but remained significant for women (mean BMI 27.8 kg/m2). Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate that increasing physical activity may improve obesity-specific QoL to a greater extent in women, particularly among overweight women, independent of BMI. Results may inform the design of interventions tailored to women targeting well-being through messages of increasing physical activity.

Diet and physical activity in people with intermediate cardiovascular risk and their relationship with the health-related quality of life: results from the MARK study

“…In contrast, a randomized controlled clinical trial of inactive persons [16] with a program to promote physical activity as an intervention, found no statistically significant changes between the experimental and control group in regard to the quality of life related to health. Other authors have evaluated the quality of life with specific tools for their study population (elderly, obese and patients with cystic fibrosis) [22, 45, 46]. Similar to our work, they found that physical activity is directly associated with quality of life.…”

The impacts of multiple obesity-related interventions on quality of life in children and adolescents: a randomized controlled trial

“…Our study results suggested that the efficacy of this intervention strategy varied between boys and girls, with a much clearer effect in boys, which is inconsistent with the results of previous studies [40,41]. Brown DW et al [42] have previously found that physical activity improved quality of life for both men and women.…”

Determinants of Quality of Life in Ageing Populations: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study in Finland, Poland and Spain

“…Smoking is a risk factor that tends to present with other factors, such as alcohol consumption and physical inactivity [ 54 , 55 ], which is partly consistent with our results. Low levels of physical activity were in fact found to be associated to reduced QoL in a large number of studies [ 56 , 57 ], as well as to obesity or overweight [ 58 , 59 ]. In contrast with these results, our data did not support the association between obesity, increased WC and QoL, despite a more than half of our sample was obese or overweight and one-third had high-risk WC.…”