Comparisons of physical activity and dietary components in an overweight/obese population and their normal weight controls matched for gender, age and height

by Davis, Jaimie Nicole.

Background: Research comparing physical activity measured by accelerometers of adults carrying excess weight and their normal weight counterparts are limited. None have addressed compliance with the 2002 Institute of Medicine (IOM) exercise recommendations for 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise daily. Objectives: Research objectives were to compare activity measured with accelerometers to activity reported by questionnaire in an overweight/obese population and their gender, age and height matched controls, to compare physical activity between these two groups and to assess their compliance with the 1995 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American College of Sports Medicine recommendations of ?30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week and the 2002 IOM recommendations of ?60 minutes of physical activity daily. Design: Overweight/obese subjects included 31 adults, 12 males and 19 females, ages 25-69 years, who had BMI ?25 and their normal weight controls, BMI 18.5 to 24.9, matched for gender, age and height. Body composition was assessed via dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Physical activity was estimated with a 40-item investigator administered Yale Physical Activity Survey and measured with accelerometers worn by each participant for 7 consecutive days. Results: Compared to activity measured with an accelerometer, normal weight 60 subjects overestimated their activity on the Yale survey by 90% versus an overestimation of 60% by overweight/obese subjects. Accelerometer data indicated that adults with excess weight were less physically active, expended fewer kilocalories per kilogram of body weight, recorded fewer accelerometer counts throughout the week, and spent less time in moderate or greater intensity activity, than their normal weight age, gender, and height matched counterparts. An average of 71% of the overweight/obese and 94% of the normal weight subjects met 1995 exercise recommendations, but only 13% of overweight/obese subjects and 26% of normal weight participants met 2002 exercise recommendations. Conclusions: These results suggest that physical activity-related energy expenditure and the amount of time spent in moderate intensity activity or greater is associated with weight status. 61