Combined Effect of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior on Abdominal Obesity in ELSA-Brasil Participants

Maiara do Espírito Santo Cerqueira de Araújo (), Maria da Conceição Chagas de Almeida, Sheila Maria Alvim Matos, Maria de Jesus Mendes da Fonseca, Cristiano Penas Seara Pitanga and Francisco José Gondim Pitanga
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Maiara do Espírito Santo Cerqueira de Araújo: Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Multidisciplinary Institute for Rehabilitation and Health, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Salvador 40110-170, BA, Brazil
Maria da Conceição Chagas de Almeida: Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Salvador 40296-710, BA, Brazil
Sheila Maria Alvim Matos: Institute of Collective Health, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40110-040, BA, Brazil
Maria de Jesus Mendes da Fonseca: National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, RJ, Brazil
Cristiano Penas Seara Pitanga: Department of Physical Education, Catholic University of Salvador (UCSAL), Salvador 41740-090, BA, Brazil
Francisco José Gondim Pitanga: Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Multidisciplinary Institute for Rehabilitation and Health, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Salvador 40110-170, BA, Brazil

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 15, 1-12

Abstract: Introduction: Abdominal obesity is a pattern of obesity that has been considered a public health problem. Physical activity is considered an important factor for the prevention of abdominal obesity. Increased time in sedentary behavior has been associated with negative health outcomes, including abdominal obesity. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate which combination of leisure-time physical activity and sedentary behavior contributes most to the prevention of abdominal obesity in adults participating in ELSA-Brasil (Longitudinal Study of Adult Health). Methods: The study was cross-sectional and participants from the first follow-up of the ELSA-Brasil cohort (2012–2014) were analyzed. The independent variables were physical activity, assessed by IPAQ, and sedentary behavior, assessed by a standard questionnaire applied in ELSA-Brasil; the dependent variable was abdominal obesity, determined by waist circumference. The covariates analyzed were the following: age, education, binge drinking, smoking and menopause. The associations between the dependent variable and the independent variables were analyzed using logistic regression. The odds ratio with 95 CI% was estimated. Results: For men, the combinations were more significant when they were more physically active and spent less time on the sedentary behaviors analyzed, on both a weekday and a weekend day. For menopausal women, both younger and older, all associations of the combinations between sufficient leisure-time physical activity and little time spent in sedentary behaviors contributed to the prevention of abdominal obesity. In non-menopausal women, positive associations were observed in almost all combinations between leisure-time physical activity and sedentary behaviors, with some results that were not statistically significant among younger women. Conclusions: Our results showed that being sufficiently active and reducing the time spent in sedentary behavior was the combination that contributed the most to the prevention of abdominal obesity, both in men and women.

Keywords: physical activity; sedentary behavior; abdominal obesity; adults; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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