The Association of Body Fat and Leisure Time Physical Activity Called into Question for Asian Indians

Abstract

Objective: Thrifty genotypes may predispose to type 2 diabetes and body fat (%BF) excess through a differentiated relationship between physical activity and body fat. We explored this hypothesis in Asian Indians, a population thought to be thrifty. Methods:Three hundred and nine Guadeloupian adolescents responded to the modifiable activity questionnaire. Their body fat was assessed by bioimpedancemetry. We first studied the relationship between %BF and leisure time physical activity (LTPA). We then explored the associations of ethnicity with this relationship in a subgroup of 93 Asian Indians matched with 93 controls for age, sex, and LTPA class. The alpha risk retained was .05. Results:The analyses showed that Asian Indians had higher %BF even when matched with controls for age, sex and LTPA quartile, and the relationship between LTPA and %BF observed in controls was not evidenced in Asian Indians. Conclusions:The higher %BF in Asian Indians remained significant even when they were matched with controls for age, sex and LTPA quartile, and their LTPA was not associated -or was at least less robustly associated -with %BF. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis of thriftiness in Asian Indians, with the weaker relationship of high LTPA and low %BF a possible path to thriftiness. Ethn Dis.

An updated systematic review and meta-analysis on the social determinants of diabetes and related risk factors in the Caribbean

“…No significant difference in abdominal obesity (defined as elevated waist circumference) by ethnicity was found in adolescents in Jamaica (black versus non-black [reference]; 16) or Guadeloupe (17). In Suriname (18, 19), rates of abdominal obesity were highest among Amerindian indigenous populations (71.6%, 95%CI = 62.5 – 79.8; Creole 46.5%, 95%CI = 40.9 – 52.0; Hindustani 65.5%, 95%CI = 62.3 – 68.6; Javanese 52.3%, 95%CI = 47.4 – 57.1; Maroon 52.2%; 95%CI = 47.4 – 57.1; Mixed 60.1%; 95%CI = 54.9 – 65.0).…”

“…In Suriname (18, 19), rates of abdominal obesity were highest among Amerindian indigenous populations (71.6%, 95%CI = 62.5 – 79.8; Creole 46.5%, 95%CI = 40.9 – 52.0; Hindustani 65.5%, 95%CI = 62.3 – 68.6; Javanese 52.3%, 95%CI = 47.4 – 57.1; Maroon 52.2%; 95%CI = 47.4 – 57.1; Mixed 60.1%; 95%CI = 54.9 – 65.0). In addition, obesity measured by BMI (both as a continuous variable and as a prevalence ≥ 30kg/m 2 ) was described by ethnicity in 9 relationships across 7 studies: in Jamaica (16), Guadeloupe (17, 20), Suriname (18, 19), Trinidad and Tobago (21), and Barbados and Cuba (22). Studies found no significant differences in rates of obesity among black Jamaican adolescents (odds ratio [OR]: 1.03; 95%CI = 0.55 – 1.93), or among black adults in Barbados and Cuba combined (OR:1.33; 95%CI = 0.97 – 1.81) when compared to “white” (term used in the sources) subjects (16, 22).…”