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. 2017 Sep;27(9):401-407.
doi: 10.1016/j.je.2016.08.019. Epub 2017 Aug 1.

Gender disparity in the associations of overweight/obesity with occupational activity, transport to/from work, leisure-time physical activity, and leisure-time spent sitting in working adults: A cross-sectional study

Chun-Xiao Xu  1 , Hong-Hong Zhu  2 , Le Fang  3 , Ru-Ying Hu  1 , Hao Wang  1 , Ming-Bin Liang  1 , Jie Zhang  1 , Feng Lu  1 , Qin-Fang He  1 , Li-Xin Wang  1 , Xiang-Yu Chen  1 , Xiao-Fu Du  1 , Min Yu  1 , Jie-Ming Zhong  4
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Gender disparity in the associations of overweight/obesity with occupational activity, transport to/from work, leisure-time physical activity, and leisure-time spent sitting in working adults: A cross-sectional study

Chun-Xiao Xu et al. J Epidemiol. 2017 Sep.

Abstract

Background: The associations of occupational activity (OA), commuting, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), and sitting with overweight/obesity in working adults are controversial. This study explored these factors with the risk of overall and abdominal overweight/obesity in a Chinese working population and whether these associations differ by gender.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data analysis was done among 6739 employed participants. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the studied associations.

Results: For male employees, those with heavy OA had a lower overall (OR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.62-0.93) and abdominal (OR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.62-0.93) overweight/obesity risk than those with light OA. Those with LTPA ≥150 min/week had a lower risk of overall (OR 0.73; 95% CI, 0.56-0.96) and abdominal (OR 0.70; 95% CI, 0.53-0.91) overweight/obesity than those with LTPA <150 min/week. Men with leisure-sitting time <2.5 h/day had a significantly lower risk of abdominal overweight/obesity than those sitting ≥4 h/day (OR 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65-0.99). And men who cycled to/from work had a lower risk of overall (OR 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53-0.90) and abdominal overweight/obesity (OR 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54-0.92) than passive transports. However, the above significant associations disappeared among female employees.

Conclusions: Heavy OA, cycling to/from work, and LTPA were associated with lower risk of overall or abdominal overweight/obesity in male employees. Reducing leisure sitting time can also help male employees reduce the risk of abdominal overweight/obesity. More research on gender disparity in the risk of overweight and obesity should be done.

Keywords: Leisure-time physical activity; Leisure-time spent sitting; Occupational activity; Overweight/obesity; Transport to/from work.

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