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Associations of breaks in sedentary time with abdominal obesity in Portuguese older adults

AGE volume 37, Article number: 23 (2015) Cite this article

Abstract

In older adults, sedentary time is positively associated with obesity. The manner in which it is accumulated, i.e., the number of breaks in sedentary time, might be also important. We examined the cross-sectional associations of breaks in sedentary time with abdominal obesity in 301 older adults (111 men and 190 women) aged 75.0 ± 6.8 years. Sedentary time (counts min−1 < 100) and physical activity were objectively measured by accelerometry, worn during waking hours for at least three consecutive days. A break was defined as an interruption (≥100 counts min−1 < 2020) in sedentary time while performing light intensity physical activities. Sedentary time was expressed as the number of daily breaks in sedentary time or hourly breaks in sedentary time. Abdominal obesity was defined by waist circumference (men >102 cm; women >88 cm). Using binary logistic regression analyses, the odds for abdominal obesity decreased 7 % for each additional hourly break in sedentary time in women (OR = 0.93, 95 % CI: 0.87–1.00), but not men, independently of total sedentary time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The odds for abdominal obesity were 3.21 times higher (p = 0.039) for women in quartile 1 (<225 breaks day−1) of daily breaks in sedentary time compared to those in quartile 4 (>353 breaks day−1) of daily breaks in sedentary time.

These findings indicate that older women who interrupt their sedentary time more frequently are less likely to present abdominal obesity. Public health recommendations regarding breaking-up sedentary time complementary to those for physical activity are likely to be relevant.

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Acknowledgments

Conflict of interest

There was no financial or any other kind of personal conflict of interest.

Author contributions

All authors meet the criteria for authorship stated in the Uniform Requirements Submitted to Biomedical Journals. PBJ, AMS, and LBS devised the idea for the study, and PBJ was responsible for the statistical analysis. All authors including DAS and FB were involved in interpreting the results of the analysis and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors approved the final version.

Sponsor’s role

Júdice is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/81403/2011). The funding sources had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.

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Affiliations

  1. Exercise and Health Laboratory, CIPER, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada da Costa, 1499-002, Lisboa, Cruz-Quebrada, Portugal

    Pedro B. Júdice, Analiza M. Silva, Diana A. Santos, Fátima Baptista & Luís B. Sardinha

  2. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Analiza M. Silva

Authors
  1. Pedro B. Júdice
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  2. Analiza M. Silva
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  3. Diana A. Santos
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  4. Fátima Baptista
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  5. Luís B. Sardinha
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luís B. Sardinha.

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Júdice, P.B., Silva, A.M., Santos, D.A. et al. Associations of breaks in sedentary time with abdominal obesity in Portuguese older adults. AGE 37, 23 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-015-9760-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-015-9760-6

Keywords

  • Breaks
  • Sedentary time
  • Waist circumference
  • Physical activity
  • Older adults
  • Abdominal obesity