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Associations Between Television Viewing and Adiposity Among South Asians

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Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Sedentary behaviors related to television (TV) viewing are associated with adiposity; however, few investigations have focused on South Asians, an ethnicity particularly vulnerable to metabolic perturbations. This study examined the relationships between TV viewing and adiposity in a cohort of middle-aged and older South Asians.

Method

Data were obtained from Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study (N = 906; mean age [standard deviation] = 55 [9.4] years, 46% women). TV viewing hours per week was assessed through questionnaire and classified into tertiles for analysis. Multivariate linear regression models were used to examine the associations between TV viewing and measures of adiposity and body composition including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, pericardial fat volume, and visceral, subcutaneous, and inter-muscular fat area after adjusting for covariates including intentional exercise.

Results

Participants who were women, older, with lower education levels, and living longer in the United States watched TV for longer periods of times. Duration of TV viewing was positively associated with BMI (p < 0.001), waist circumference (p < 0.001), visceral fat area (p = 0.001), and pericardial fat volume (p = 0.003) independent of intentional exercise.

Conclusions

While studies in South Asians with a longitudinal design need to confirm our findings, our cross-sectional results indicate that reduction in TV viewing may be beneficial in reducing adiposity and maintaining a healthy body composition.

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Funding

The MASALA study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant number R01-HL-093009) and body composition measurements were supported by grant K24HL112827. Data collection at UCSF was also supported by NIH/NCRR UCSF-CTSI (grant number UL1 RR024131).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave, NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Yichen Jin, Loretta DiPietro & Sameera A. Talegawkar

  2. Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Namratha R. Kandula

  3. Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Alka M. Kanaya

  4. Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Sameera A. Talegawkar

Authors
  1. Yichen Jin
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  2. Loretta DiPietro
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  3. Namratha R. Kandula
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  4. Alka M. Kanaya
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  5. Sameera A. Talegawkar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sameera A. Talegawkar.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethnical Approval

The study protocol and procedures were approved by the institutional review boards of UCSF and Northwestern University, and the informed consent was signed by all study participants.

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Jin, Y., DiPietro, L., Kandula, N.R. et al. Associations Between Television Viewing and Adiposity Among South Asians. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 5, 1059–1062 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-017-0454-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-017-0454-x

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