Physical activity recommendations and cardiovascular disease risk factors in young Hispanic women

Abstract

Despite the benefits associated with regular physical activity, there is little epidemiological evidence to support positive health outcomes when meeting physical activity guidelines in high-risk ethnic groups, such as Hispanic women. We compared cardiovascular disease risk factors between young Hispanic women who meet and those who do not meet current physical activity guidelines. Height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure were measured in 60 Hispanic women aged 20-39 years. Lipids, C-reactive protein, insulin, and glucose were assessed. Body composition and cardiovascular fitness were assessed by BodPod and maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂(max)) respectively. Participants wore an accelerometer and average minutes (assessed in 10-min bouts) spent in light, moderate, and hard daily activity for weekdays and weekends was determined. Seventy percent of participants did not meet the recommended physical activity guidelines, whereas 30% did so. Following current physical activity guidelines was associated with significantly lower mean cholesterol (mean ± s: 4.2 ± 0.8 vs. 4.7 ± 0.9 mmol · l⁻¹) and triglycerides (0.7 ± 0.3 vs. 1.1 ± 0.6 mmol · l⁻¹), and higher fat-free mass (43.3 ± 3.8 vs. 40.2 ± 5.1 kg) and relative (40.4 ± 7.6 vs. 35.6 ± 7.0 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹) and absolute (2.5 ± 0.3 vs. 2.1 ± 0.4 litres · min⁻¹) VO₂(max) (P < 0.05). These findings suggest an improved health status in women who meet versus those who did not meet current physical activity guidelines.

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

“…While research suggests that PA reduces BMI and total body fat in Latinos (ref. 17 – 20 ), data regarding VAT are sparse. Given the higher prevalence of obesity among Latinos (42.5%) compared to whites (32.6%), and the significant increase in the prevalence of obesity among Latinos from 1999–2010 (ref.…”

Physical Activity and Cardiometabolic Characteristics in Overweight Latina Women

“…The few studies examining the effects of PA interventions with Latinos reveal mixed findings [24]. Positive outcomes have included improvements in BMI [25], total cholesterol (Total-C) [26, 27], lower triglycerides (TG), higher fat-free mass, maximum aerobic fitness (VO 2max ) [28], and increased activity levels [29-31]. However, a limitation of many prior studies is self-report of PA levels [32].…”

Associations between Objectively Determined Physical Activity and Cardiometabolic Health in Adult Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Publication dates ranged from 2001 to 2021. Out of 23 studies, 14 studies were cross-sectional designs [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ] and 9 were interventional studies [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ] (random experiment: 5 [ 51 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 57 ] and non-random experiment: 4 [ 50 , 53 , 55 , 58 ]). Intervention length ranged from 1 week [ 55 ] to 24 months [ 37 ].…”

“…The total sample size was 2105, ranging from 10 [ 55 ] to 535 [ 42 ] participants. The mean age ranged from 21.4 [ 50 ] to 62.8 years [ 49 ], with 8 studies [ 36 , 38 , 39 , 43 , 45 , 47 , 48 , 50 ] focused on the young and 10 studies focused on the middle-aged [ 37 , 41 , 42 , 44 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. There were 11 studies that reported menstrual status, with 4 including post-menstruation [ 37 , 49 , 52 , 56 ], 5 including pre-menstruation [ 38 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 45 ], and 2 including both [ 57 , 58 ].…”

“…There were 11 studies that reported menstrual status, with 4 including post-menstruation [ 37 , 49 , 52 , 56 ], 5 including pre-menstruation [ 38 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 45 ], and 2 including both [ 57 , 58 ]. Moreover, there were 11 studies focused on overweight/obese females [ 36 , 37 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 51 , 52 , 54 , 55 , 58 ]; 10 studies included physically inactive participants [ 37 , 46 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]; 12 studies reported smoking status, with 5 including non-smokers [ 41 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 ], 4 reporting on participants that refrained from tobacco in the last 6 months [ 39 , 47 , 48 , 51 ], and 3 studies including mostly non-smokers (60–83%) [ 36 , 42 , 44 ]. Education level was reported in 4 studies [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 50 ], and social-economic levels were presented as low-income in 4 stud...…”