title: Associations between physical activity and BMI, body fatness, and visceral adiposity in overweight or obese Latino and non-Latino adults.
abstract: Although several studies have reported associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), body fatness and visceral adipose tissue (VAT), the extent to which associations differ among Latinos and non-Latinos remains unclear. This study evaluated the associations between body composition and MVPA in Latino and non-Latino adults.
  
  
  
  An exploratory, cross-sectional analysis was conducted using baseline data collected from 298 overweight adults enrolled in a 12-month randomized controlled trial that tested the efficacy of text messaging to improve weight loss. MVPA, body fatness and VAT were assessed by waist-worn accelerometry, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and DXA-derived software (GE CoreScan GE, Madison, WI, USA), respectively. Participants with <5 days of accelerometry data or missing DXA data were excluded; 236 participants had complete data. Multivariable linear regression assessed associations between body composition and MVPA per day, defined as time in MVPA, bouts of MVPA (time per bout ⩾10 min), non-bouts of MVPA (time per bout <10 min) and meeting the 150-min MVPA guideline. The modifying influence of ethnicity was modeled with a multiplicative interaction term.
  
  
  
  The interaction between ethnicity and MVPA in predicting percent body fat was significant (P=0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.58, 4.43)) such that a given increase in MVPA was associated with a greater decline in total body fat in non-Latinos compared with Latinos (adjusted for age, sex and accelerometer wear time). There was no interaction between ethnicity and MVPA in predicting VAT (g) (P=0.78, 95% CI (-205.74, 273.17)) and body mass index (BMI) (P=0.18, 95% CI (-0.49, 2.26)).
  
  
  
  An increase in MVPA was associated with a larger decrease in body fat, but neither BMI nor VAT, in non-Latinos compared with Latinos. This suggests that changes in VAT and BMI in response to MVPA may be less influenced by ethnicity than is total body fatness.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.affiliation: Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Godino
authors.affiliation: Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.affiliation: Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wing
authors.affiliation: Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Patrick
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D061725:Accelerometry; D000273:Adipose Tissue; D050154:Adiposity / Q000208:ethnology*; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult