This study was aimed at the evaluation of relationship between visceral fat area (VFA) and physical activity (PA) with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk in the physically active postmenopausal women. A total of 85 attendants of the University of the Third Age (U3A) aged 62.8 ± 5.9 years (median time since menopause 11.8 y), participated in this study. VFA was assessed by bioimpedance method using InBody 720 analyzer. PA was assessed using the ActiGraph GT1 M accelerometer. Fasting levels of serum lipids (TG, HDL), serum glucose, waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure were measured to diagnose MetS according to NCEP-ATP III criteria. In 73 out of 85 participants the VFA exceeded the upper normal level of 100 cm2, however, in almost a half of this group (n = 36) with elevated VFA (139.5 ± 26.1 cm2 on average), only 2 out of 5 criteria for MetS diagnosis were met. Participants were physically active, making on average 10,919 ± 3435 steps/day. The risk of MetS occurrence in women with VFA > 100 cm2 was twelve times higher (OR 12.33; CI 95% [1.5; 99.8]) than in the group with VFA < 100 cm2. The participants from the group with the highest PA level (≥12,500 steps/day) were at almost 4 times lower risk for MetS, than their less active counterparts (OR 3.84; CI 95% [1.27;11.64]). Increased level of VFA is a strong risk factor for the MetS in postmenopausal women, however high level of regular PA above the threshold of 12,500 steps/day may substantially reduce it.

Background This study aimed to use compositional data analysis to: (1) investigate the prospective associations between changes in daily movement behaviours and adiposity among elderly women; and (2) to examine how the reallocation of time between movement behaviours was associated with longitudinal changes in adiposity. Subjects/methods This is a 7-year longitudinal study in Central European older women (n = 158, baseline age 63.9 ± 4.4 years). At baseline and follow-up, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behaviour were measured by accelerometer and body adiposity (body mass index [BMI], body fat percentage [%BF]) was assessed from measured height and weight and bioelectrical impedance analyser. Compositional regression with robust estimators and compositional longitudinal isotemporal substitution analysis explored if, and how, changes in movement behaviours were associated with adiposity. Results Over 7 years, the prevalence of obesity in the sample increased by 10.1% and 14.6% according to BMI and %BF, respectively, and time spent in sedentary behaviour increased by 14%, while time spent in LIPA and MVPA decreased by 14% and 21%, respectively. The increase in sedentary behaviour at the expense of LIPA and MVPA during the 7-year period was associated with higher BMI and %BF at follow-up (both p < 0.01). The increase in LIPA or MVPA at the expense of sedentary behaviour was associated with reduced BMI and %BF at follow-up. In our sample, the largest change in BMI (0.75 kg/m 2 ; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.37-1.13) and %BF (1.28 U; 95% CI: 0.48-2.09) was associated with longitudinal reallocation of 30 min from MVPA to sedentary behaviour. Conclusions We found an association between longitudinal changes in daily movement behaviours and adiposity among elderly women in Central Europe. Our findings support public health programmes to increase or maintain time spent in higher-intensity physical activity among elderly women.

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This study is the first to use compositional data analysis to investigate movement behaviors of elderly women and their relationships with fat mass percentage (FM%). The focus of the study is on the associations of time reallocations from sedentary behavior (SB) to light physical activity (LIPA) or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with adiposity. Over 400 older adult women were recruited as part of the cross-sectionally conducted measurements of older adults aged 60+ in Central European countries. An accelerometer was used to assess daily movement behaviors. Body mass index (BMI) and fat mass percentage (FM%) were assessed as adiposity indicators using InBody 720 MFBIA. Using LS-regression, we found positive relationships of BMI and FM% with SB (relative to remaining movement behaviors) (p < 0.001 for both), while their relationship with MVPA (relative to remaining movement behaviors) were negative (p < 0.001 for both). The estimated BMI and FM% associated with a 30-min SB-to-MVPA reallocation were reduced by 1.5 kg/m2 and 2.2 percentage points, respectively, whereas they were not reduced significantly with the reallocation of 30 min from SB to LIPA. The findings highlight that SB and MVPA, but not LIPA, are significantly associated with adiposity in elderly women. The reallocation of time from SB to MVPA could be advocated in weight loss interventions in older women.

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