Abstract
BackgroundStair climbing can be a vigorous lifestyle physical activity, and is associated with healthier lipoprotein profiles, lower body weight and blood pressure, as well as higher aerobic fitness. The present analysis of data from a cohort of late middle-aged men and women examined the association between daily stair climbing and the metabolic syndrome.MethodsData from 782 (423 women) participants (mean (SD) age 58.3 (0.95) years in the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study (2002–2004) were used to examine the cross-sectional association between self-reported daily stair climbing and the metabolic syndrome. Stair climbing was assessed by the question ‘Do you climb stairs daily?’ and the metabolic syndrome was defined using the established five components relating to lipid fractions, blood glucose levels, blood pressure and abdominal obesity.ResultsNot climbing stairs daily was associated with an increased incidence of the metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.23, 2.92, p = 0.004) and a greater number of its components (F1,780 = 8.48, p = 0.004): these associations were still evident after adjusting for a variety of potential confounders.ConclusionsThe most likely explanation for the current findings is that daily stair climbing may be protective against the metabolic syndrome. This result reinforces public health recommendations for increased stair climbing with evidence from physiological outcomes.
Highlights
New global and national guidance on physical activity suggests that the benefits of physical activity can be accrued across the day [1,2,3] whereas previously it was thought that activity bouts needed to be of at least 10 min in duration to effect any positive change in health and older guidelines had this recommendation built in [3]
Despite this variation in intensity, experimental studies show that increased volumes of stair climbing are associated with improved lipoprotein profiles, reduced weight, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose, as well as increased aerobic fitness and leg strength [7,8,9]
Those who did not climb stairs daily were at greater risk for metabolic syndrome (MetS) in unadjusted (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.23, 2.92, p = 0.004), and adjusted models (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.12, 2.64, p = 0.01)
Summary
New global and national guidance on physical activity suggests that the benefits of physical activity can be accrued across the day [1,2,3] whereas previously it was thought that activity bouts needed to be of at least 10 min in duration to effect any positive change in health and older guidelines had this recommendation built in [3] This move towards emphasizing the importance of the accumulation of daily physical activity minutes. Inclusion of the lower intensity activity of stair decent in the protocol [4] and testing of a highly fit sample would contribute to subjective reports of light in intensity [7] Despite this variation in intensity, experimental studies show that increased volumes of stair climbing are associated with improved lipoprotein profiles, reduced weight, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose, as well as increased aerobic fitness and leg strength [7,8,9]. The present analysis of data from a cohort of late middle-aged men and women examined the association between daily stair climbing and the metabolic syndrome
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