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. 2025 May 20;25(1):1861.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-23165-6.

Associations of reallocating time between movement behaviours with adiposity and physical fitness among employees: a compositional data analysis

Nucharapon Liangruenrom  1 , Dorothea Dumuid  2   3 , Zeljko Pedisic  4 , Dyah Anantalia Widyastari  5 , Waris Wongpipit  6   7 , Piyawat Katewongsa  5
Affiliations

Associations of reallocating time between movement behaviours with adiposity and physical fitness among employees: a compositional data analysis

Nucharapon Liangruenrom et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Adiposity and low physical fitness are critical public health issues, particularly when taking into consideration the worldwide shift from active to sedentary lifestyles. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine how reallocations of time between sleep, sedentary behaviour (SB), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are associated with adiposity and physical fitness among Thai urban employees.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from a random sample of 424 adults working in Bangkok. Daily durations of SB, LPA, and MVPA were estimated using accelerometers, while sleep duration was obtained from sleep logs. We used body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, and waist circumference as adiposity indicators and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max), dynamometer-measured handgrip, back and leg strength, and flexibility assessed using sit-and-reach test as fitness indicators.

Results: Reallocating 15 min/day to SB from the remaining behaviours was associated with on average 0.19 mL/kg/min (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.35, -0.03) lower VO2 max. Reallocating 15 min/day to LPA from the remaining behaviours was associated with on average 0.15 kg/m2 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.27) higher BMI and 0.34 cm (95% CI: 0.01, 0.67) greater waist circumference. Reallocating 15 min/day to MVPA from the remaining behaviours was associated with on average 1.52 cm (95% CI: -2.85, -0.19) smaller waist circumference and 1.77 cm (95% CI: 0.69, 2.85) greater flexibility.

Conclusions: There is a beneficial association of reallocating more time to MVPA with adiposity and fitness, and a detrimental association of reallocating more time to SB and LPA with adiposity.

Keywords: Isotemporal substitution; Physical inactivity; Sitting; Thailand; Time use; Working adults.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. It was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR-IRB) (COA. No. 2022/05–129). All participants were informed about the study processes and provided written informed consent prior to participation in the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Estimated differences in BMI, waist circumference, VO2 max, and flexibility associated with reallocations of up to 15 mininutes between movement behaviours. Time is added to the behaviour in the header, drawn pro-rata from the remaining behaviours. Notes: Δ = added time; SB = sedentary behaviour; LPA = light physical activity; MVPA = moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; BMI = body mass index; VO2 max = maximum oxygen consumption; CI = confidence interval; Estimates were adjusted for sex, age, education level, marital status, monthly income, predominant posture at work, smoking, alcohol consumption, daily sweetened beverage intake, daily fruit and vegetable intake, and blood pressure
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