Sedentary time, physical activity, and adiposity in a longitudinal cohort of nonobese young adults

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Young adulthood is a critical period for excessive weight gain. The extent to which young adults’ sedentary time (ST) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) relate to adiposity and weight gain remains unclear. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of ST and MVPA with adiposity and change in adiposity in healthy, nonobese young adults over a 2-y period. Design Participants were 71 adults aged 20–35 y. Measurements included ST and MVPA by accelerometry and reported energy intake at baseline, and anthropometry (%FM) and fat mass (FM) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at baseline, year 1, and year 2. Associations of baseline ST and MVPA with adiposity were examined with the use of repeated-measures linear regression models, controlling for age, sex, and reported energy intake. The Benjamini-Hochberg procedure was used to adjust for multiple comparisons. Results Participants [mean ± SD body mass index (BMI; kg/m2): 22.6 ± 2.4] engaged in 8.5 ± 1.5 h ST/d and 0.4 ± 0.3 h MVPA/d. At baseline, adults who engaged in ST for ≥8 h/d had higher FM, %FM, and lower MVPA, whereas those who engaged in MVPA for ≥30 min/d had lower FM and %FM. In fully adjusted models, ST was significantly associated with baseline body weight, hip circumference, BMI, FM, and %FM and with year-1 body weight, waist and hip circumference, FM, and %FM, but not with any year-2 adiposity indicators. MVPA was not significantly associated with any adiposity indicators at baseline, year 1, or year 2 in fully adjusted models. Over 2 y, participants significantly increased waist circumference, BMI, FM, and %FM (all P-values <0.05), but there were no associations among baseline ST and MVPA with change in adiposity. Conclusions Among nonobese young adults, high ST and low MVPA were related to elevated adiposity but did not predict change in adiposity over time. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00945633.