Flexibility is one of the components of physical fitness as well as cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular strength and endurance. Flexibility has long been considered a major component in the preventive treatment of musculotendinous strains. The present study investigated a new aspect of flexibility. Using a cross-sectional study design, we tested the hypothesis that a less flexible body would have arterial stiffening. A total of 526 adults, 20 to 39 yr of age (young), 40 to 59 yr of age (middle-aged), and 60 to 83 yr of age (older), participated in this study. Subjects in each age category were divided into either poor- or high-flexibility groups on the basis of a sit-and-reach test. Arterial stiffness was assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Two-way ANOVA indicated a significant interaction between age and flexibility in determining baPWV (P < 0.01). In middle-aged and older subjects, baPWV was higher in poor-flexibility than in high-flexibility groups (middle-aged, 1,260 +/- 141 vs. 1,200 +/- 124 cm/s, P < 0.01; and older, 1,485 +/- 224 vs. 1,384 +/- 199 cm/s, P < 0.01). In young subjects, there was no significant difference between the two flexibility groups. A stepwise multiple-regression analysis (n = 316) revealed that among the components of fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and flexibility) and age, all components and age were independent correlates of baPWV. These findings suggest that flexibility may be a predictor of arterial stiffening, independent of other components of fitness.
Abstract-Habitual moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity attenuates arterial stiffening. However, it is unclear whether light physical activity also attenuates arterial stiffening. It is also unclear whether light physical activity has the same effects in fit and unfit individuals. This cross-sectional study was performed to determine the relationships between amount of light physical activity determined with a triaxial accelerometer and arterial stiffness. A total of 538 healthy men and women participated in this study. Subjects in each age category were divided into either high-light or low-light physical activity groups based on daily time spent in light physical activity. Arterial stiffness was measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity. Two-way ANOVA indicated a significant interaction between age and time spent in light physical activity in determining carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PϽ0.05). In the older group, carotid femoral pulse wave velocity was higher in the low-light physical activity level group than in the high-light physical activity level group (945Ϯ19 versus 882Ϯ16 cm/s; PϽ0.01). The difference remained significant after normalizing carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity for amounts of moderate and vigorous physical activity. The carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (rϭϪ0.47; PϽ0.01) was correlated with daily time spent in light physical activity in older unfit subjects. No relationship was observed in older fit subjects. These results suggested that longer time spent in light physical activity is associated with attenuation of arterial stiffening, especially in unfit older people. (Hypertension. 2010;56:540-546.)
Arterial stiffening, hypertension and left ventricular (LV) remodelling are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with cardiovascular function and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. This cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness, arterial stiffness, blood pressure (BP) and LV remodelling in women. On the basis of peak oxygen uptake, a total of 159 premenopausal (young) and postmenopausal (older) women were categorized into either low (unfit) or high (fit) cardiorespiratory fitness groups. The arterial stiffness and LV remodelling were measured by brachialankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and carotid augmentation index (AI) and LV relative wall thickness (RWT). Two-way analysis of variance indicated a significant interaction between age and cardiorespiratory fitness in baPWV, carotid AI, BP and RWT. In the older group, arterial stiffness (baPWV; 1401 ± 231 vs 1250 ± 125 cm s -1 , Po0.01, AI; 32.9±9.9 vs 24.8±10.1%, Po0.01), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (130 ± 22 vs 117 ± 15 mm Hg, Po0.01) and RWT (0.47 ± 0.08 vs 0.42±0.04, Po0.05) in fit women were lower than in unfit women. In older women, RWT was significantly related to baPWV (r ¼ 0.46, Po0.01), carotid AI (r ¼ 0.29, Po0.05), SBP (r ¼ 0.57, Po0.01) .V 2peak (r ¼ À0.32, Po0.05). In young women, they were not significant correlations, except for a weak correlation between RWT and SBP (r ¼ 0.21, Po0.05). These results suggest that higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with lower arterial stiffness, BP and RWT in older women.
BACKGROUND:Obesity is one of the most common risks for lifestyle-related diseases, but the personality of individuals in relation to obesity has not been well studied. We investigated the association of personality traits with physical activity levels and eating behaviors in obese subjects. METHOD: The subjects were 116 males and 119 females in the Saku Control Obesity Program SCOP study. The influence of personality on obesity was analyzed using a questionnaire from the NEO-FFI. We analyzed the association of physical activity level (measured with an accelerometer) and eating behavior (assessed by a questionnaire) among the three classes (low, average, high) of scores within five personality domains. RESULTS: Scores in the Neuroticism and Agreeableness domains of females were significantly higher than those of males. There were significant differences among the three classes of Neuroticism and Agreeableness with regard to physical activity levels. Eating behavior was associated with the Neuroticism and Openness domains. The scales of bad eating behavior related to obesity were positively correlated with scores in the Neuroticism domain in both males and females. In males the scale of all categories of eating behavior increased as scores in the Openness domain rose; in females the scale of "perception of constitution and weight" decreased as Openness scores rose. CONCLUSION: Personality determined by NEO-FFI was related to physical activity level and eating behavior. In particular, the Neuroticism domain had great effects on these parameters.
Elevated fasting plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level is a vascular disease risk factor. Plasma Hcy is affected by 5,10-methylenetetrahydofolate reductase (MTHFR) genotype and dietary folate intake. This cross-sectional study in 434 Japanese adults examined the associations among objectively measured physical activity (PA), plasma Hcy adjusting for dietary folate intake, and MTHFR C677T genotype. Daily PA was measured by triaxial accelerometry and all subjects completed a questionnaire about their dietary habits. Plasma Hcy and MTHFR C677T genotype were determined. Plasma Hcy in subjects with the TT genotype was significantly higher than in those with CC or CT genotype (p < 0.001). Plasma Hcy was significantly different between ≥ 200 (7.6 ± 0.2 nmol/mL) and <200 µg/day (8.3 ± 0.3 nmol/mL) folate intake groups (p = 0.003). There were no differences in plasma Hcy adjusting for age, sex, and folate intake between groups according to PA category in all subjects. However, there were significant interactions between time spent in light PA (p = 0.003), vigorous PA (p = 0.001), or inactivity (p = 0.004), and MTHFR genotype. In only the TT genotype, shorter time spent in light PA was associated with higher plasma Hcy than a longer time spent in light PA (11.5 ± 3.3 nmol/mL vs. 8.5 ± 3.3 nmol/mL, p < 0.001), and longer time spent in vigorous PA and inactivity were associated with higher plasma Hcy (11.8 ± 3.3 nmol/mL vs. 8.4 ± 3.2 nmol/mL, 11.6 ± 3.3 nmol/mL vs. 8.4 ± 3.3 nmol/mL, respectively, p < 0.001). In conclusion, light and vigorous PA were associated with plasma Hcy only in the TT genotype, but there were no such associations in all genotypes.
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