Objectively measured physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic risk factors in the Health Survey for England

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to test the hypothesis that physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors; and to test the hypothesis that CRF modifies (changes the direction and/or strength of) the associations between PA and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Methods: PA and CRF were objectively measured in the 2008 Health Survey for England and the present study included 536 adults who completed at least 4 min of the eight-minute sub-maximal step test and wore an accelerometer for at least 10 h on at least four days. Linear regression models were fitted to examine the relationship between PA and cardiometabolic risk factors and between CRF and cardiometabolic risk factors. A test of interaction was performed to examine whether CRF modifies the associations between PA and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Results: PA and CRF were associated with HDL cholesterol, the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin and BMI after adjustment for potential confounders. There was little evidence that CRF changed the direction or strength of associations between PA and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Conclusions: PA and CRF are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. A larger sample is required to determine if CRF modifies associations between PA and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Keywords: Accelerometry; Exercise; Physical fitness; Step test.