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Epidemiology and Population Health

Prospective association of daily ambulatory activity with metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and older Japanese adults: the Toon Health Study

International Journal of Obesity volume 48, pages 733–740 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

This cohort study aimed to examine the relationship between objectively measured daily ambulatory activity (AA) variables and the onset of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in middle-aged and older Japanese individuals.

Methods

A total of 1,034 participants (women, 76.8%; mean age, 56.9 years) who were initially free from MetS, underwent objective assessment of daily AA using a uniaxial accelerometer at baseline. The number of steps, time accumulated in light-intensity AA (LIAA), moderate-to-vigorous intensity AA (MVAA), and total AA (LIAA + MVAA) were calculated. The diagnostic criteria outlined by the Japanese standards were employed to define the presence of MetS. To explore the association between AA variables and MetS onset, both multivariate logistic regression and a restricted cubic spline model were used while controlling for variables such as age, sex, education, alcohol habit, smoking habit, energy intake, and the number of MetS components present at baseline.

Results

Over the course of the 5-year follow-up period, 116 participants (11.2%) developed MetS. In terms of the number of steps, LIAA, and total AA, the third quartile had significantly lower multivariate adjusted odds ratios for MetS onset than the first quartile. The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 0.386 (0.197–0.755), 0.527 (0.285–0.975), and 0.392 (0.206–0.745), respectively. In the spline model, an L-shaped association with MetS was observed for the number of steps (p for nonlinearity = 0.066), LIAA (p for nonlinearity = 0.034), and total AA (p for nonlinearity = 0.040).

Conclusions

Among the variables related to AA, the index of daily amount AA, in particular, may be linked to the onset of MetS.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2: Restricted cubic spline regression is employed to analyze the relationship between ambulatory activity (AA) variables and the onset of metabolic syndrome (MetS).

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Data availability

Data are available upon a reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the staff and participants of the Toon Health Study and the municipal authorities, officers, and health professionals of Toon City for their valuable contributions. This research was funded by JSPS KAKENHI, grant number 21H03202, 20H01617, 20590647, and 22390134.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Collaborative Regional Innovation, Ehime University, 3 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-8577, Japan

    Naofumi Yamamoto

  2. Laboratory of Community Health and Nutrition, Special Course of Food and Health Science, Department of Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University, 3-5-7 Tarumi, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-8566, Japan

    Koutatsu Maruyama

  3. Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi, Yufu, Oita, 879-5593, Japan

    Isao Saito

  4. Department of Public Health, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan

    Kiyohide Tomooka

  5. Department of Public Health, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan

    Takeshi Tanigawa

  6. Department of Diabetes and Molecular Genetics, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Shitsukawa, Toon, Ehime, 791-0295, Japan

    Ryoichi Kawamura, Yasunori Takata & Haruhiko Osawa

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Contributions

IS, TT, and HO designed the study. KM, KT, RK, and YT collected the data. NY analyzed data and wrote the manuscript. KM and IS contributed to the discussion and reviewed/edited the manuscript. All authors have provided the final approval.

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Correspondence to Naofumi Yamamoto.

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Yamamoto, N., Maruyama, K., Saito, I. et al. Prospective association of daily ambulatory activity with metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and older Japanese adults: the Toon Health Study. Int J Obes 48, 733–740 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-024-01483-w

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