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Body composition is associated with physical activity in daily life as measured using a triaxial accelerometer in both men and women

International Journal of Obesity volume 32, pages 1264–1270 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Background:

Activity-related energy expenditure is the most variable component of total energy expenditure and thus an important determinant of energy balance.

Objective:

To determine whether body composition is related to physical activity in both men and women.

Design:

A total of 134 healthy participants were recruited (80 women, 54 men; aged 21±2 years; body mass index, 22.0±2.4). Physical activity was measured for a period of 2 weeks using a triaxial accelerometer for movement registration (Tracmor). Percentage body fat (%BF) was determined by underwater weighing and deuterium dilution according to Siri's three-compartment model.

Results:

The participant characteristics—body mass, height and gender together explained a substantial part of the variation in %BF (R2=0.75, SEE=4.0%). Adding physical activity to the model increased the explained variation in %BF with 4% (R2=0.79, SEE=3.7%, P<0.001). Taking seasonality into account by adding the number of daylight hours as an independent variable further increased the explained variation with 1% (R2=0.80, SEE=3.7%, P<0.05). In analogy, the association was evaluated for both genders separately. In women, %BF and physical activity were significantly associated (P<0.001). In men, %BF was only associated with physical activity when seasonality was taken into account as well (P<0.05). This probably resulted from men participating more in season bound sports, because an association was found without adjusting for seasonality when only men with a consistent year-round participation in sports were considered.

Conclusion:

Evidence was found for an association between body composition and physical activity in both genders. A consistent year-round degree of physical activity appears to be a prerequisite to reveal the association. Moreover, Tracmor-assessed physical activity improves the estimate of %BF when a participant's characteristics are taken into account.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Loek Wouters for analyzing the deuterium samples.

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  1. Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    M den Hoed & K R Westerterp

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  1. M den Hoed
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  2. K R Westerterp
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Correspondence to M den Hoed.

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den Hoed, M., Westerterp, K. Body composition is associated with physical activity in daily life as measured using a triaxial accelerometer in both men and women. Int J Obes 32, 1264–1270 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.72

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