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Body composition, energy expenditure and physical activity

Prospective association between body composition, physical activity and energy intake in young adults

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 482–487 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Despite considerable research on the association between physical activity (PA) and body composition, there remains limited information on the directionality of the relationship. The present study examined the prospective associations among objectively measured PA, energy intake (EI) and body composition.

Subjects/Methods:

A convenience sample of 430 adults (49% male) between 21 and 35 years of age was followed over 1 year with repeated measurements taken every 3 months. BMI (kg/m2) and percent body fat (%BF) were calculated based on anthropometric measurements and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. A multi-sensor device was worn over a period of 10 days to estimate total daily energy expenditure and time spent in different intensities. EI was calculated based on change in body composition and total daily energy expenditure.

Results:

A total of 379 participants provided valid data. On average, participants experienced a significant weight gain of 1.2±4.3 kg during the 12-month observation period, which was associated with an increase in %BF (0.8±3.2 %). Average time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) decreased significantly, whereas EI remained constant. Optimal linear mixed models, adjusting for age and sex, showed an inverse effect of MVPA on BMI and %BF, whereas EI only directly affected BMI (P<0.001). There was also a significant inverse effect of BMI and %BF on MVPA (P<0.001).

Conclusions:

Results of this study indicate an inverse reciprocal association between MVPA and measures of adiposity. Thus, primary preventive actions are warranted to avoid excess weight gain, which may result in a vicious cycle of weight gain and low PA.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the study participants and the Energy Balance Study team. Funding for the study was provided by an unrestricted grant from The Coca Cola Company. The sponsor had no role in the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, or preparation and submission of this manuscript.

Author contributions

GAH and SNB conceived the energy balance study. RPS managed data collection. CD and BC analyzed the data with PTK contributing to the interpretation. CD drafted the initial manuscript with important intellectual contributions from all co-authors. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, SC, USA

    C Drenowatz, G A Hand & S N Blair

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    B Cai & S N Blair

  3. School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, VA, USA

    G A Hand

  4. Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    P T Katzmarzyk

  5. Department of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    R P Shook

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  1. C Drenowatz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C Drenowatz.

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Competing interests

The study has been funded by an unrestricted grant from The Coca Cola Company. The sponsor had no role in the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, or preparation and submission of this manuscript. Gregory A Hand received financial support from NIH, CDC, HRSA, the American Heart Association, Body Media and The Coca Cola Company. Peter T Katzmarzyk received financial support from NIH and The Coca Cola Company. Steven N Blair has received research funding from the following organizations/companies: National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Body Media, and The Coca Cola Company. He is on Scientific/Medical Advisory Boards for the following organizations/companies: Technogym, Santech, Clarity, International Council on Active Aging, Cancer Fit Steps for Life. The remaining authors have no conflict to declare.

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Drenowatz, C., Cai, B., Hand, G. et al. Prospective association between body composition, physical activity and energy intake in young adults. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 482–487 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.133

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.133

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