Associations of TV viewing and physical activity with the metabolic syndrome in Australian adults

Abstract

Aims/hypothesis: We analysed a sample of Australian adults to determine the strength of associations of TV viewing and participation in physical activity with the metabolic syndrome. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 6,241 adults aged ≥35 years who were free from diagnosed diabetes mellitus and selfreported ischaemic disease and were not taking lipid-lowering or antihypertensive drugs. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the 1999 World Health Organization criteria. Participants self-reported TV viewing time and physical activity time for the previous week. Results: The adjusted odds ratio of having the metabolic syndrome was 2.07 (95% CI 1.49-2.88) in women and 1.48 (95% CI 0.95-2.31) in men who watched TV for >14 h per week compared with those who watched ≤7.0 h per week. Compared with those who were less active (<2.5 h per week), the odds ratio for the metabolic syndrome was 0.72 (95% CI 0.58-0.90) in men and 0.53 (95% CI 0.38-0.74) in women who were active (≥2.5 h per week). Longer TV viewing (>14 h per week) was associated with an increased risk of insulin resistance, obesity and dyslipidaemia in both men and women. A total physical activity time of ≥2.5 h per week was associated with a reduced prevalence of both insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia in both sexes and reduced prevalence of both obesity and hypertension in women. Conclusions/ interpretation: Increased TV viewing time was associated with an increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, while physical activity was associated with a reduced prevalence. Population strategies addressing the metabolic syndrome should focus on reducing sedentary behaviours such as TV viewing, as well as increasing physical activity.

Associations of television viewing time with excess body weight among urban and rural high-school students in regional mainland China

“…Several recent studies have reported the relationship between TV viewing and excess body weight to be independent of physical activity (21)(22)(23)(24)(25) . However, in previous studies, time sitting spent in classrooms and studying at home have not been taken into consideration.…”

Excesso de peso: determinantes sociodemográficos e comportamentais em adultos, Brasil, 2008

“…Sabese que esse hábito é um importante indicador de inatividade física 25 , agravando ainda mais o problema o fato de que 57,8% do total de propagandas relacionadas a produtos alimentícios referem-se a açúcares, gorduras e doces, não sendo observados anúncios relacionados a frutas, legumes e verduras 26 . Dustan et al 27 mostraram que o hábito de assistir a mais de 14 horas de televisão por semana associou-se a um maior risco de resistência a insulina, obesidade e dislipidemia, ao passo que os indivíduos que realizavam atividade física por, no mínimo, 2,5 horas por semana apresentaram menor prevalência de resistência a insulina e dislipidemia, para ambos os sexos, e menor prevalência de obesidade e hipertensão para as mulheres. Fernandes et al 25 mostraram que adultos, com 30 ou mais anos de idade, apresentaram menor IMC quando praticavam atividade física regularmente, observando-se o contrário para as mulheres que tinham hábito de assistir à televisão, o que esteve associado com a pré-obesidade.…”

Paradoja: "activo físicamente pero sedentario, sedentario pero activo físicamente". Nuevos antecedentes, implicaciones en la salud y recomendaciones

“…Siendo esto asociado tanto a anormalidades en el metabolismo de la glucosa 31,32 , como al síndrome metabólico 33 , afectando especialmente a las personas que ven más de 4 h de televisión al día. Asimismo, esta conducta ha sido relacionada con un aumento importante en el riesgo de muerte por enfermedad cardiovascular, diabetes tipo II, mortalidad por todas las causas, cáncer, etc.…”

“…Durante los últimos años, los estudios han mejorado significativamente la calidad de las investigaciones en esta área 39 , empleando la acelerometría [31][32][33][34]36,37,39,[40][41][42][43] , un método objetivo para cuantificar los niveles e intensidad de la actividad física, dejando de manifiesto las limitaciones inherentes al uso de los cuestionarios para dicha valoración 39,44 .…”