Objective: The influence of daily accumulated physical activity on blood glucose among older adults with varying obesity patterns is unknown. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the blood glucose lowering effect of daily movement is modulated by distribution of adiposity in a community-based sample of older persons.
Methods: The study sample (N = 743) was mostly women (79.4%) with an average age of 74.5+/-0.3 yr. A question from the Yale Physical Activity Survey was the indicator of lower intensity physical activity. The response, answered in h x d(-1) spent in motion, was divided into tertiles (<3, 3 to <5, and > or = 5 h x d(-1)). Random blood glucose and total blood cholesterol were assessed via finger stick. The body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) delineated the categories of adiposity patterning as follows: nonobese (N = 354), BMI = 23.8+/-0.1 kg x m(-2) and WC = 80.3+/-0.4 cm; noncentral obese (N = 79), BMI = 30.8+/-0.1 kg x m(-2) and WC = 87.5+/-0.4 cm; and central obese (N = 310), BMI = 32.7+/-0.3 kg x m(-2) and WC = 103.3+/-0.5 cm.
Results: After adjusting for age, gender, race, medication use, and postprandial state, blood glucose levels were lower with greater amounts of reported daily movement in the centrally obese, 8.6+/-0.4 mmol x L(-1), 6.6+/-0.4 mmol x L(-1), and 6.3+/-0.4 mmol x L(-1) for <3 h x d(-1), 3 to <5 h x d(-1), and > or = 5 h x d(-1), respectively (P < 0.001). As the centrally obese increased their hours of moving about, their WC was observed to be less, 105.7+/-0.8 cm, 103.4+/-0.8 cm, and 102.9+/-1.0 cm, respectively, independent of age, gender, race, and medication use (P < 0.05). Neither blood glucose nor WC differed between categories of daily movement in the noncentral obese or nonobese.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that daily accumulated, lower intensity physical activity is advantageous for abdominal fat distribution and blood glucose among viscerally obese older adults.