Associations between physical activity, nutritional practices and health-related anthropometry in Flemish males: a 5-year follow-up study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the extent to which extent health-related anthropometric characteristics such as body mass index, waist-hip ratio, waist girth, percentage of body fat and weight gain are associated with physical activity and nutritional habits in a prospective follow-up study.


METHODS
A 5-y prospective follow-up study.


METHODS
132 healthy men from The Leuven Longitudinal Study on Lifestyle, Physical Fitness, and Health.


METHODS
The main outcome measures in this study were body mass index, waist-hip ratio, waist girth, percentage of body fat and significant weight gain at the ages of 35 and 40y. An unhealthy body composition was defined as a body mass index above 26, a waist-hip ratio above 0.95, a waist girth and body fat percentage above percentile 75 at the end of the 5-y follow-up period and a significant weight gain of 5 kg or more between the two examination periods. Anthropometric characteristics were derived from clinical examination. Physical activity at the age of 35 and 40 and nutritional habits at the age of 40 were determined from questionnaires.


RESULTS
Physical activity was the most important predictor for the waist-hip ratio in this sample. In contrast, nutritional habits show a stronger relationship with body mass index. The absolute amount of energy intake is not as important as the dietary factors in predicting subjects with overweight or an unhealthy body composition. The index of occupational activities appears to be the most important physical activity variable.


CONCLUSIONS
The relative contribution of physical activity and nutritional habits in health-related anthropometry varies with the characteristic considered. It is important to include all components of physical activity, and occupational activities in particular, in determining these relationships in a general population sample.
Delvaux
K
K
Centre for Physical Development Research, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, K.U. Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium. katrien.delvaux@flok;kuleuven.ac.be
Lysens
R
R
Philippaerts
R
R
Thomis
M
M
Vanreusel
B
B
Claessens
A L
AL
Vanden Eynde
B
B
Beunen
G
G
Lefevre
J
J
D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001530:Belgium; D001823:Body Composition; D001824:Body Constitution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015444:Exercise; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D011446:Prospective Studies