Associations between Health-Related Physical Fitness and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Overweight and Obese University Staff.

Jiangang Chen,Hui Zhang,Jing Zhang,Yuan Zhou,Xinliang Pan,Xiaolong Li,Jiamin Long

doi:10.3390/ijerph17239031

Abstract

Purpose: This cross-sectional study examined the associations between health-related physical fitness (HPF) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in overweight and obese university staff. Methods: A total of 340 university staff (109 women, mean age 43.1 ± 9.7 years) with overweight (n = 284) and obesity (n = 56) were included. The HPF indicators included skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), body fat percentage (BFP), grip strength (GS), sit-and-reach test (SRT), and vital capacity index (VCI). CVD risk factors were measured, including uric acid (UA), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and glucose (GLU). Results: BFP, SMI, and GS were positively associated with UA level (β = 0.239, β = 0.159, β = 0.139, p < 0.05). BFP was positively associated with TG and TG/HDL-C levels (β = 0.421, β = 0.259, p < 0.05). GS was positively associated with HDL-C level (β = 0.244, p < 0.05). SRT was negatively associated with GLU level (β = −0.130, p < 0.05). Conclusions: In overweight and obese university staff, body composition, muscle strength, and flexibility were associated with CVD risk factors. An HPF test may be a practical nonmedical method to assess CVD risk.

Highlights

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant public health issue, as it is the leading cause of adult mortality, accounting for more than 40% of deaths in China [1]
We observed that grip strength was positively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level and that body fat percentage was positively associated with TG and TG/HDL-C levels
These results indicated that the health-related physical fitness (HPF) and CVD risk factors were related, and they provide a basis for nonmedical evaluations of CVD risk in overweight or obese university staff and the development of future exercise intervention strategies

Summary

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant public health issue, as it is the leading cause of adult mortality, accounting for more than 40% of deaths in China [1]. Over the past 30 years, the number of CVD deaths in China has increased from 2.51 million to 3.97 million annually [2]. The risk factors of CVD include dyslipidemia, diabetes, and obesity [5]. Hyperuricemia has been recognized as a potential risk factor for CVD, following the discovery of a causal relationship between uric acid and the adverse outcomes of CVD [6,7]. Among the many risk factors, obesity affects cardiovascular disease in several ways; for instance, obesity affects the morbidity of CVD, and early obesity may increase the risk of future CVD events [8]. A meta-analysis showed that overweight and obese individuals had

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Discussion

Conclusion