Abstract
Higher levels of VAT at the same body size and lower levels of physical activity (PA) have been reported in persons of Chinese and South Asian origin compared to European origin. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that higher levels of VAT in persons of Chinese and South Asian origin versus European origin are associated with lower levels of PA. Chinese, European, and South Asian participants were assessed for sociodemographics, obesity-related measures, anthropometrics, and PA. Bivariate correlations, analysis of covariance, and regression models were used to explore ethnic differences in PA and the role of PA in explaining obesity-related measures. We observed ethnic differences in both body fat distribution and PA. Chinese and South Asians had higher amounts of VAT at a given BMI but lower amounts of moderate PA, vigorous PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Furthermore, we found ethnic-specific differences in the associations between body fat distribution and PA with only Europeans showing a consistent negative relationship between body fat distribution and PA. When ethnic differences in PA were taken into account, there were no longer any differences in VAT between the Chinese and European groups, while VAT remained higher in South Asians than Europeans.
Highlights
The prevalence of obesity and related chronic noncommunicable diseases is increasingly affecting the health of populations worldwide with the greatest increases in obesity occurring in countries such as China and India [1]
This is likely due to the fact that waist circumference is reflective of excess visceral adipose tissue (VAT), which has been shown to be highly associated with metabolic and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk [6,7,8]
We explored the effect of ethnic differences in physical activity (PA) on differences in total body fat and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT)
Summary
The prevalence of obesity and related chronic noncommunicable diseases is increasingly affecting the health of populations worldwide with the greatest increases in obesity occurring in countries such as China and India [1]. Even at desirable values of body mass index, elevated values of waist circumference are associated with increased risk for disease outcomes such as type 2 diabetes and CVD [3,4,5]. This is likely due to the fact that waist circumference is reflective of excess visceral adipose tissue (VAT), which has been shown to be highly associated with metabolic and CVD risk [6,7,8]. Previous research has shown that for a given waist circumference and body fat percentage, Chinese and South Asian people have a greater amount of VAT than their European counterparts [10], which may predispose these populations to increased risk for related diseases [11]. A systematic review of aerobic PA and VAT found that as little as 10 MET hours per week
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