Association of Muscular Fitness and Body Fatness with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: The FUPRECOL Study.

María Correa-Rodríguez,Jacqueline Schmidt-Riovalle,Katherine González-Ruíz,Robinson Ramírez-Vélez,Jorge Correa-Bautista,Rocío Castellanos-Vega,Florencio Arias-Coronel,Hugo Alejandro Carrillo,Emilio González-Jiménez

doi:10.3390/nu10111742

Abstract

This study investigated the associations of muscular fitness and various indicators of body fatness with cardio-metabolic risk factors and determined the muscular strength and body fatness thresholds for detecting a high risk of cardio-metabolic dysfunction in young adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1798 collegiate students (61.5% females, mean age 20.5 years). Muscular fitness was determined by using a handgrip strength test and normalized grip strength (NGS = handgrip (kg)/body mass (kg)). Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), percentage of fat mass (BF%), fat-mass index (FMI), and waist-to-height ratio (WHR) were also included as body fatness measurements. A high cardio-metabolic risk cluster was derived by assessing triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, fasting glucose, and blood pressure. Logistic regression models showed that men and women with lower NGS had an increased cardio-metabolic risk odds ratio (OR) = 1.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 to 2.9, p = 0.006, and OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.5, p = 0.036, respectively). In both sexes, higher levels of all fatness parameters were also associated with increased cardio-metabolic risk (p < 0.001). In both men and women, high FMI had the highest OR for clustered risk (OR = 4.7, 95% CI 2.6 to 8.4, and OR = 7.3, 95% CI 3.4 to 9.7, p < 0.001, respectively). Combined analysis showed that unfitness (lower NGS) and high fat had the highest OR for WC and FMI in men and women, respectively (OR = 5.5, 95% CI 2.6 to 11.4, OR = 7.7, 95% CI 2.3 to 15.8, p < 0.01). Muscular strength and body fatness are independently and jointly associated with increased cardiometabolic risk in young adults, which suggests that both are predictor variables for this.

Highlights

Metabolic and cardiovascular disturbances such as visceral adiposity, dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and impaired insulin metabolism have been identified as risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause and CVD mortality
Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher in men than in women (p < 0.001)
This study investigated the relationships between muscle strength, fatness parameters, and high cardio-metabolic risk in a large population of young Colombian adults

Summary

Introduction

Metabolic and cardiovascular disturbances such as visceral adiposity, dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and impaired insulin metabolism have been identified as risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause and CVD mortality. The fastest rise in CVD mortality has been observed in low-income and middle-income countries [1]. Adiposity excess is a key contributor to the clustering of unfavorable cardio-metabolic risk factor levels in youth populations [3]. As determined with a handgrip dynamometer, is becoming increasingly recognized as a predictor of all-cause mortality in healthy populations [4]. Consistent evidence supports the idea that muscular fitness is a predictor of cardio-metabolic diseases and mortality [5,6]

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