title: Television viewing time is associated with overweight/obesity among older adults, independent of meeting physical activity and health guidelines.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have shown associations of sedentary behavior with cardiovascular risk, independent of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). However, few studies have focused on older adults. This study examined the joint associations of television (TV) viewing time and MVPA with overweight/obesity among Japanese older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A population-based, cross-sectional mail survey was used to collect self-reported height, weight, time spent in TV viewing, and MVPA from 1806 older adults (age: 65-74 years, men: 51.1%). Participants were classified into 4 categories according to TV viewing time (dichotomized into high and low around the median) and MVPA level (dichotomized into sufficient and insufficient by the physical activity guideline level of ≥ 150 minutes/week). Odds ratios (ORs) for overweight/obesity (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m²) were calculated according to the 4 TV/MVPA categories, adjusting for potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of all participants, 20.1% were overweight/obese. The median TV viewing time (25th, 75th percentile) was 840 (420, 1400) minutes/week. As compared with the reference category (high TV/insufficient MVPA), the adjusted ORs (95% CI) of overweight/obesity were 0.93 (0.65, 1.34) for high TV/sufficient MVPA, 0.58 (0.37, 0.90) for low TV/insufficient MVPA, and 0.67 (0.47, 0.97) for low TV/sufficient MVPA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this sample of older adults, spending less time watching TV, a predominant sedentary behavior, was associated with lower risk of being overweight or obese, independent of meeting physical activity guidelines. Further studies using prospective and/or intervention designs are warranted to confirm the presently observed effects of sedentary behavior, independent of physical activity, on the health of older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Tokyo Medical University, Japan. inoue@tokyo-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Takemi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takamiya
authors.forename: Koichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Neville
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: Teruichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimomitsu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors