Elsevier

Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Volume 89, Issue 8, August 2014, Pages 1063-1071
Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Original article
Association Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Accelerometer-Derived Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in the General Population

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.04.019Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

To determine the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and sedentary behavior, independent of exercise activity.

Patients and Methods

We included 2223 participants (aged 12-49 years; 1053 females [47%]) without known heart disease who had both cardiovascular fitness testing and at least 1 day of accelerometer data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004. From accelerometer data, we quantified bouts of exercise as mean minutes per day for each participant. Sedentary time was defined as less than 100 counts per minute in mean minutes per day. Cardiorespiratory fitness was derived from a submaximal exercise treadmill test. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression analyses were performed with fitness as the dependent variable. Models were stratified by sex, adjusted for age, body mass index, and wear time, and included sedentary and exercise time.

Results

An additional hour of daily exercise activity time was associated with a 0.88 (0.37-1.39; P<.001) metabolic equivalent of task (MET) higher fitness for men and a 1.37 (0.43-2.31; P=.004) MET higher fitness for women. An additional hour of sedentary time was associated with a −0.12 (−0.02 to −0.22; P=.03) and a −0.24 (−0.10 to −0.38; P<.001) MET difference in fitness for men and women, respectively.

Conclusion

After adjustment for exercise activity, sedentary behavior appears to have an inverse association with fitness. These findings suggest that the risk related to sedentary behavior might be mediated, in part, through lower fitness levels.

Section snippets

Cohort Description

The NHANES is an ongoing series of surveys that have been conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics since the early 1960s to assess the health and nutritional status of the US civilian, noninstitutionalized population. Fifteen geographic locations are selected annually and sampled to represent the general population with a complex, multistage probability design. The 3 main components of the study include an interview in the participants' home, a medical examination completed at a

Results

The mean age of the study population was 22.4±10.3 years, with 1053 (47%) being females. Baseline characteristics of men and women, stratified by fitness level, are presented in Table 1. The duration of accelerometer wear time did not differ across fitness groups for all participants. Women were more sedentary than were men (7.0±2.1 h/d vs 6.6±2.4 h/d, respectively; P<.001). Women also had less average total daily moderate and vigorous activity time than did men (0.13±0.22 h/d vs 0.28±0.37 h/d,

Discussion

In the present study, we observed consistent, inverse associations between sedentary behavior and fitness that were independent of exercise activity. Specifically, we observed that the negative effect of 6 to 7 hours of sitting on fitness was similar to the beneficial effect of 1 hour of moderate-intensity exercise. These findings suggest that risks related to sedentary behavior may be mediated, in part, through lower fitness levels.

Conclusion

After adjustment for exercise activity, sedentary behavior appears to have an inverse association with fitness. These findings suggest that the risk related to sedentary behavior might be mediated, in part, through lower fitness levels. In addition to the benefits of regular exercise activity, avoiding sedentary behavior represents a potential strategy to improve health benefits independent of exercise activity. Additional research is needed to characterize the extent to which the detrimental

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    For editorial comment, see page 1030; for a related article, see page 1052

    Grant Support: The work was supported by a grant (J.D.B.) from the Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care endowment at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; grant K23 HL092229 (J.D.B.) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and grant 13GRNT14560079 (J.D.B.) from the American Heart Association.

    Potential Competing Interests: Dr De Lemos has received honoraria from Astra Zeneca, consulting income from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and serves on a Data Safety Monitoring Board for Novo Nordisk. Dr Berry is a member of the Speaker's Bureau for Merck & Co. Dr Blair serves on advisory boards for Technogym, Santech, and the Clarity Project; receives book royalties from Human Kinetics; and has unrestricted research grants from the Coca-Cola Company, Body Media, Technogym, and the National Institutes of Health.

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