Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun 20:12:78.
doi: 10.1186/s12966-015-0244-y.

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity as a mediator between sedentary behavior and cardiometabolic risk in Spanish healthy adults: a mediation analysis

Antonio García-Hermoso  1 , Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno  2   3 , Mairena Sánchez-López  4   5 , Jose I Recio-Rodriguez  6 , Manuel A Gómez-Marcos  7 , Luis García-Ortiz  8 ; EVIDENT Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity as a mediator between sedentary behavior and cardiometabolic risk in Spanish healthy adults: a mediation analysis

Antonio García-Hermoso et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. .

Abstract

Background: Public health strategies for cardiovascular prevention highlight the importance of physical activity, but do not consider the additional potentially harmful effects of sedentary behavior. This study was conducted between 2010 and 2012 and analyzed between 2013 and 2014. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between sedentary behavior and cardiometabolic risk factors in the Spanish adult population and to examine whether this relationship is mediated by moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

Methods: The cross-sectional study included 1122 healthy subjects belonging to the EVIDENT study. Sedentary behavior was objectively measured over 7 days using Actigraph accelerometers. We assessed waist circumference (WC), triglycerides-to-HDL-C ratio (TG/HDL-C), and mean arterial pressure (MAP), and undertook homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). Linear regression models were fitted according to Baron and Kenny procedures for mediation analysis.

Results: TG/HDL-C and HOMA-IR were significantly higher in adults who spent more minutes in sedentary activities after adjusting for potential covariates. However when MVPA was added to the ANCOVA models as covariate the effect of sedentary time on HOMA-IR disappeared. In addition, MVPA acted as a full mediator of the relationship between sedentary time and HOMA-IR. In contrast, subjects with lower levels of MVPA presented worse cardiometabolic profiles than those from higher MVPA categories, even after controlling for sedentary time and other potential confounders.

Conclusions: These results suggest that both MVPA and sedentary time should be considered when developing cardiometabolic risk guidelines.

Trial registration: NCT01083082 .

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
MVPA mediation model of the relationship between sedentary time and HOMA-IR, adjusting for potential confounders, by sex. Data in roman type refer to men. Data in italics refer to women. a p ≤ 0.05; b p ≤ 0.001
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kim J, Tanabe K, Yokoyama N, Zempo H, Kuno S. Objectively measured light-intensity lifestyle activity and sedentary time are independently associated with metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional study of Japanese adults. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2013;10:1–7. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-10-30. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Loprinzi PD, Lee H, Cardinal BJ. Evidence to support including lifestyle light-intensity recommendations in physical activity guidelines for older adults. Am J Health Promot. 2015;29:277–84. doi: 10.4278/ajhp.130709-QUAN-354. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Green AN, McGrath R, Martinez V, Taylor K, Paul DR, Vella CA. Associations of objectively measured sedentary behavior, light activity, and markers of cardiometabolic health in young women. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2014;114:907–919. doi: 10.1007/s00421-014-2822-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ekelund U, Griffin SJ, Wareham NJ. Physical activity and metabolic risk in individuals with a family history of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2007;30:337–342. doi: 10.2337/dc06-1883. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Scheers T, Philippaerts R, Lefevre J. SenseWear-determined physical activity and sedentary behavior and metabolic syndrome. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013;45:481–489. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31827563ba. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

Associated data