Joint associations between objectively measured physical activity volume and intensity with body fatness: the Fenland study

Abstract

Background/Objectives Physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) represents the total volume of all physical activity. This can be accumulated as different underlying intensity profiles. Although volume and intensity have been studied in isolation, less is known about their joint association with health. We examined this association with body fatness in a population-based sample of middle-aged British adults. Methods In total, 6148 women and 5320 men from the Fenland study with objectively measured physical activity from individually calibrated combined heart rate and movement sensing and DXA-derived body fat percentage (BF%) were included in the analyses. We used linear and compositional isocaloric substitution analysis to examine associations of PAEE and its intensity composition with body fatness. Sex-stratified models were adjusted for socio-economic and dietary covariates. Results PAEE was inversely associated with body fatness in women (beta = −0.16 (95% CI: −0.17; −0.15) BF% per kJ day−1 kg−1) and men (beta = −0.09 (95% CI: −0.10; −0.08) BF% per kJ day−1 kg−1). Intensity composition was significantly associated with body fatness, beyond that of PAEE; the reallocation of energy to vigorous physical activity (>6 METs) from other intensities was associated with less body fatness, whereas light activity (1.5–3 METs) was positively associated. However, light activity was the main driver of overall PAEE volume, and the relative importance of intensity was marginal compared to that of volume; the difference between PAEE in tertile 1 and 2 in women was associated with 3 percentage-point lower BF%. Higher vigorous physical activity in the same group to the maximum observed value was associated with 1 percentage-point lower BF%. Conclusions In this large, population-based cohort study with objective measures, PAEE was inversely associated with body fatness. Beyond the PAEE association, greater levels of intense activity were also associated with lower body fatness. This contribution was marginal relative to PAEE. These findings support current guidelines for physical activity which emphasise that any movement is beneficial, rather than specific activity intensity or duration targets.

Latent profile analysis approach to the relationship between daily ambulatory activity patterns and metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and elderly Japanese individuals: The Toon Health Study

“…The results of the present study are supported by the reports by Kudo et al [26]. Lindsay et al [41], which examined the relationship between the amount and intensity of PA evaluated objectively and body fat evaluated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and reported that the amount of PA (total daily energy expenditure by PA) showed a strong inverse correlation with body fat. Furthermore, it has been reported that the time of light-intensity PA is a major factor to determine the level of energy expenditure via PA [41].…”

The moderating role of eating behaviour traits in the association between exposure to hot food takeaway outlets and body fatness

“…Together, these foods provide a marker of takeaway-like food consumption (g/day) referred to here as "takeaway consumption". Procedures for how body fat percentage was measured are described elsewhere [30]. Briefly, participants attended a clinical research facility after an overnight fast, where height (cm) and weight (kg) were measured by trained research assistants.…”

“…We excluded participants without eating behaviour trait data. Subsequently, we excluded participants that were not measured using a DEXA machine (n = 68; due to one study site not having a DEXA machine for the first period of data collection) [30]. Missing data on other variables of interest ranged from 0% (e.g.…”

Modifications of 24-h movement behaviors to prevent obesity in retirement: a natural experiment using compositional data analysis

“…Compositional data analysis (CoDA) is a fairly new and feasible approach to examine relative changes in 24-h movement behaviors and to study health effects of time reallocations between the behaviors [11,12]. Previous studies applying CoDA show lower BMI, fat mass and waist circumference in adults who spend more time in MVPA in relation to the remaining behaviors [12,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Moreover, spending more time in LPA in relation to SED/sleep as well as in sleep in relation to SED have been suggested to be associated with lower BMI and waist circumference [12,[19][20][21].…”