The Association between Body Mass Index and Leisure-Time Physical Activity in Adults with Multiple Sclerosis

Wi-Young So and Alon Kalron
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Wi-Young So: Sports and Health Care Major, College of Humanities and Arts, Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju-si 27469, Korea
Alon Kalron: Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Ramat Aviv 6997801, Israel

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-8

Abstract: (1) Purpose: Conflicting information exists regarding the relationship between obesity, leisure-time physical activity (PA), and disability in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). We aimed to investigate the association between leisure-time PA and weight status in a relatively large cohort of PwMS. Furthermore, we examined this relationship according to the level of neurological disability. (2) Methods: The study included 238 PwMS (138 women) with a mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score of 2.5 (standard deviation [SD] = 1.7), mean disease duration of 6.4 (SD = 8.2) years, and mean age of 40.5 (SD = 12.9) years. Obesity was defined using two different metrics, each based on body mass index (BMI). Leisure-time PA was determined by the Godin–Shephard leisure-time PA questionnaire. Statistical analyses included multivariate logistic regression, the chi-square test, and Pearson coefficient correlations. (3) Results: The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) between leisure-time PA and BMI based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition was 1.070 ( p = 0.844) for overweight and 1.648 ( p = 0.254) for obesity. The adjusted OR was 1.126 ( p = 0.763) for overweight and 1.093 ( p = 0.847) for obesity after adjustment for age, gender, and disability status. Chi-square analysis revealed no significant correlation between leisure-time PA and obesity ( p = 0.564) according to the BMI threshold for PwMS. The unadjusted OR (95% confidence interval [CI]) between disability level and BMI based on the WHO definition was 1.674 ( p = 0.220) for overweight and 0.618 ( p = 0.460) for obesity. The adjusted OR was 1.130 ( p = 0.787) for overweight and 0.447 ( p = 0.234) for obesity after adjustment for age, gender, and leisure-time PA. Similarly, chi-square analysis revealed no significant correlation between disability level and obesity ( p = 0.701) per the BMI threshold for PwMS. (4) Conclusions: No association was found between leisure-time PA and BMI in PwMS. An additional finding was the absence of any association between obesity and neurological disability level in the multiple sclerosis cohort.

Keywords: body mass index; disability; leisure-time physical activity; multiple sclerosis; obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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