| Keywords |
Physical activity ; Cardiorespiratory fitness ; Body fatness ; Metabolic syndrome |
| Abstract |
The purpose of the study was to investigate whether or not physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) play independent roles for the development of metabolic syndrome (MS) in middle-aged women. A total of 79 apparently healthy women (mean age of 50.1±3.4 years; body mass index of 24.6±2.5 kg/m2) were invited to participate in this study. Blood variables including glucose and lipoprotein-lipids were measured in fasting blood samples. Baseline PA levels were measured with an accelerometer for seven consecutive days, and CRF was estimated from a sub-maximal cycle ergometer test. From the current study, we found the following results. The optimal cut-off points of the daily PA and CRF for preventing the MS appear to be 9,820 steps/day and 27.6 ml/kg/min, respectively, at least in this study population. With respect to the daily PA, the odds ratios of the MS were 1.0 for the active group and 9.1 for the sedentary group, respectively, even after adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), percent body fat (%BF), waist, and VO2max. With respect to CRF, the odds ratios of the MS were 1.0 for the fit group and 0.9 for the unfit group, respectively, even after adjusted for age, BMI, body fat, waist, and PA. There were linear trends in the morbidity of the MS across PA levels; the higher the PA the lower incidence of the MS. Those relationships were independent of age, body fatness such as BMI, %BF, waist circumference, and CRF. There were similar trends in the MS morbidity across CRF levels; the higher the CRF the lower incidence of the MS. However, the magnitude of the trends was somewhat less than that of the trends-related to PA level. In summary, the findings of the current study suggest that PA plays a significant and independent roles in determining the incidence of the MS in middle-aged women. |