Physical activity compliance: differences between overweight/obese and normal-weight adults.

OBJECTIVES: Comparisons of physical activity measured by accelerometers in overweight/obese adults and their normal-weight counterparts are limited. Compliance with the 2002 Institute of Medicine (IOM) exercise recommendations for 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise daily has not been reported. The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity, as measured by accelerometers, in overweight/obese adults vs. normal-weight controls and to assess compliance with recommendations for physical activity by the IOM in 2002 and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American College of Sports Medicine in 1995 for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, preferably all days of the week. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Sixty-two overweight/obese subjects, BMI > or = 25, included 31 adults, 12 men and 19 women, 25 to 69 years old, and their normal-weight controls, BMI 18.5 to 24.9, matched for gender, age, and height. Body composition was assessed using DXA. Physical activity was measured with Actigraph accelerometers (MTI, Fort Walton Beach, FL) worn by each participant for 7 consecutive days. RESULTS: Accelerometry data indicated that overweight/obese adults recorded approximately 60 counts per minute less per day and spent 21 minutes less engaged in moderate or greater intensity activity than their normal-weight counterparts. Although 71% to 94% of those studied met 1995 recommendations, only 13% of overweight/obese subjects and 26% of normal-weight participants met 2002 exercise recommendations. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that daily minutes spent in moderate-intensity activity or greater are associated with weight status and that the 2002 IOM recommendations may be difficult to meet even for normal-weight individuals.

Normal-weight adults consume more fiber and fruit than their age- and height-matched overweight/obese counterparts.

OBJECTIVES: To assess differences in dietary intake of overweight/obese subjects and sex-, age-, and height-matched controls and to identify dietary components associated with increased deposition of body fat. DESIGN/SUBJECTS: A convenience sample of 52 overweight/obese and 52 normal-weight adults matched for sex, age (+/-1 year), and height (+/-1 inch) were recruited from the local area. Dietary intake was assessed with the Block 60-item food frequency questionnaire, physical activity was measured by the Yale Physical Activity Survey, and percent body fat was measured via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Independent t tests compared between-group consumption of dietary components. The ability of dietary components to predict percent body fat before and after controlling for age-, sex-, and physical activity-related energy expenditure and other macronutrients was assessed with multiple regression analyses. Spearman correlation coefficients examined relationships among nutrients, Food Guide Pyramid servings, and percent body fat. RESULTS: Overweight/obese subjects consumed more total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol and less carbohydrate, complex carbohydrate, and dietary fiber than control subjects. Reported intake of dietary fiber was inversely related to percent body fat without (R(2)=0.052, P=0.02) and with (R(2)=0.045, P=0.013) control for potential confounding factors. Servings of fruit per day were negatively related to percent body fat (r=-0.40, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the composition of a diet, especially low dietary fiber and fruit intake, plays a role in the etiology of obesity.