Association of changes in commute mode with body mass index and visceral adiposity: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Prospective data are sparse for active commuting to work and body weight in Asia. We assessed the association of 5-year changes in commuting mode with body mass index (BMI) and the indicators of abdominal obesity in Japanese working adults.

METHODS

In this longitudinal study, we studied 29,758 participants (25,808 men and 3950 women) in Japan aged 30 to 64 years at baseline who underwent further health examination 5 years after the baseline examination. Changes in BMI were calculated from objectively measured body height and weight at baseline and follow-up examination. Visceral and subcutaneous fat areas and waist circumference measured by computed tomography scans were used as indicators for abdominal adiposity. Linear regression was applied to estimate the association of changes in commuting mode with the obesity outcomes.

RESULTS

Within the 5-year study period, adults who maintained inactive commuting gained weight, and compared with this group, adults who switched to inactive commuting had higher weight gain; conversely, adults who switched to active or public transportation commuting and especially those who maintained active or public transportation commuting experienced less weight gain. Subgroup analysis showed similar tendency across the different transitions of leisure-time exercise or occupational physical activity. For example, among adults who maintained no exercise (n = 16,087), the adjusted mean (95% confidence intervals) of the BMI change over 5 years in kg/m² were 0.27 (0.24 to 0.30) for maintained inactive commuting group (reference), 0.34 (0.30 to 0.38) for switching to inactive commuting group (P = 0.046), 0.20 (0.18 to 0.22) for switching to active commuting or public transportation group (P = 0.001), and 0.09 (0.06 to 0.13) for maintained active commuting or public transportation group (P < 0.001). Maintained inactive commuting tended to be associated with larger gain in abdominal adiposity indicators.

CONCLUSION

Switching from inactive commuting mode to more physically active commuting mode and maintaining active commuting can promote body weight control among working adults across different levels of occupational or leisure-time physical activity.

[A study regarding the control attempts on body weight and related factors among overweight and obese adults in China, 2013]

Objective: To understand the control attempts of body weight and its related factors among overweight and obese adults in China. Methods: Data was from the 2013 Chinese Chronic Diseases and Risk Factors Surveillance Program, which covered 302 surveillance sites. 179 570 adults, selected through multistage stratified cluster sampling method, were interviewed. Demographic characteristics and weight-control attempts were collected via face-to-face interview. BMI, waist circumstance and blood pressure were individually measured under physical examination. Venous blood samples were obtained and tested for FPG, OGTT-2h, TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C. A total of 87 545 overweight and obese patients were included in this study, with the exclusion of 152 patients having the missed critical information. Rates on weight control and attempts were analyzed, using the complex weighting on samples to represent the overall overweight and obese adults in China. Results: The rate of weight-control attempts was 16.3% (95%CI: 14.9%-17.7%). Among all the 12 133 patients who had undergone weight-control measures, the proportions of different attempts were as follows: diet (40.9%, 95%CI: 38.4%-43.3%), combination of diet and physical activity (31.5%, 95%CI: 28.9%-34.0%), physical activity (22.8%, 95%CI: 21.0%-24.6%) and drug control (1.3%, 95%CI: 1.0%-1.7%). Factors as: being female (OR=1.26, 95%CI: 1.15-1.38), at younger age (18-44 years old, OR=1.51, 95%CI: 1.31-1.74), with high education levels (college degree or above, OR=4.52, 95%CI: 3.76-5.43), having high annual income (≥24 000 Yuan, OR=1.94, 95%CI: 1.63-2.30) etc., appeared as favorable factors for taking the measures vs. rural residency (OR=0.63, 95%CI: 0.55- 0.72) as the unfavorable one. Conclusion: The rate of weight-control attempts appeared low among the overweight and obese adults who were affected by factors as age, education and income level. Personalized intervention measures should be carried out for people with different characteristics.

Meals and snacking, diet quality and energy balance

The present obesity "epidemic" has been attributed to a growing trend for snacking. Snacking may contribute to excess energy intake and weight gain through different ways, for example: context/environment of eating, frequency of consumption and quality of food choices. The present article reviews data and hypotheses about the role of snacks in diet quality and body weight control. One obvious difficulty in this field is the diversity of definitions and approaches used in cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intervention studies. A brief paragraph reviews the prevalence of snacking in various countries and its recent evolution. The literature addressing the contribution of snacks to daily energy and nutrient intake presents two contrasting pictures. In many reports, snacking appears to facilitate the adjustment of energy intake to needs, and to contribute carbohydrates, rather than fats, to the diet, in addition to valuable micronutrients. Such results are usually reported in healthy, normal-weight children and adults. By contrast, snacking often appears to contribute much energy but little nutrition in the diet of other consumers, particularly obese children and adults. In addition to selecting energy-dense foods, eating in the absence of hunger in response to external non-physiological cues, in an irregular fashion, in contexts (e.g. while watching television) that do not favor attention to the act of eating, might be crucial factors determining the nutritional effects of snacking. While efforts should be continued to harmonize definitions and minimize the influence of under-reporting, interventions aimed at decreasing detrimental snacking should address both food-related aspects and behavioral components.

A novel antioxidant beverage for body weight control based on coffee silverskin

The present research aimed to add value to coffee silverskin by looking for new innovative applications. Formulation of novel beverages based on coffee silverskin for body fat reduction and body weight control was proposed. Conditions for beverage preparation were optimised. Data on chemical composition and sensorial quality of the new drink were acquired. Health benefits were evaluated in vitro and in vivo employing as animal model Caenorhabditis elegans. An antioxidant beverage containing physiological active concentrations of caffeine and chlorogenic acid for prevention body fat accumulation and possessing acceptable sensorial properties was obtained. Our findings support that the use of coffee silverskin for obtaining bioactive extract is an innovative way for revalorisation of coffee by-product.