Abstract
BackgroundUrban black South African women have a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess the physical activity patterns of a cohort of middle-aged urban-dwelling black African women and to determine if physical activity is associated with anthropometric measures and metabolic outcomes in this population.MethodsPhysical activity and sitting time were assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) in a cross-sectional study of 977 black African women (mean age 41.0 ± 7.84 years) from the Birth to Twenty study based in Soweto, Johannesburg. Anthropometric outcomes were measured and fasting blood glucose, insulin and lipid profile were analysed to determine metabolic disease risk and prevalence.ResultsSixty-seven percent of the population were classified as active according to GPAQ criteria, and the domain that contributed most to overall weekly physical activity was walking for travel. Only 45.0% of women participated in leisure time activity. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in this sample was 40.0%, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 29.2% and 48.0%, respectively. Women who reported owning a motor vehicle walked for travel less, and participated in more leisure-time activity (both p < 0.01), while women who owned a television reported significantly lower moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and walking for travel (both p < 0.01). Sitting time (mins/wk) was not different between the activity groups, but was associated with triglycerides and diastolic blood pressure. Total physical activity was inversely associated with fasting insulin, and physical activity in the work domain was associated with fat free soft tissue mass.ConclusionsThe findings of this study show that the majority of urban dwelling black South African women are classified as physically active despite a high prevalence of obesity and metabolic disease risk factors. Sitting time had detrimental effects on both triglyceride levels and diastolic blood pressure whilst total physical activity attenuated fasting insulin levels. As walking for travel is a major contributor to physical activity, future research should attempt to determine whether the intensity of this activity plays a role in the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-934) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Urban black South African women have a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes
Black women in South Africa have the highest prevalence of obesity [9], which may partly be influenced by socioeconomic status [10], but may be related to physical activity since it has been observed that black females in South Africa have significantly less total energy expenditure than white women [11]
The aim of this study was three-fold: (i) to describe patterns of physical activity in a middle-aged cohort of urban black South African women who have recently been shown to have a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome and related disorders [16]; (ii) to examine the association between socio-economic status and physical activity patterns in this cohort; and (iii) to determine if physical activity is associated with anthropometry and metabolic variables
Summary
Urban black South African women have a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that South African women are more inactive than men [5,6], suggesting that they may be at a higher risk for chronic diseases resulting from physical inactivity [7]. A study from the South African Comparative Risk Assessment Collaborating Group has shown that in adult South African women, an estimated 27.7% of colon cancer, 22.7% of ischaemic strokes, 20.1% of type 2 diabetes mellitus, 30.5% of ischaemic heart disease, and 16.5% of female breast cancer are attributed to inactivity [8]. Data from the Transition and Health during Urbanisation of South Africans (THUSA) study has shown that physical inactivity is associated with obesity outcomes in black South African women [13]. These studies showed that rural women were significantly more sedentary than rural men [15], and that urban women were significantly more sedentary than rural women [12]
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