Gender disparity in the associations of overweight/obesity with occupational activity, transport to/from work, leisure-time physical activity, and leisure-time spent sitting in working adults: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The associations of occupational activity (OA), commuting, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), and sitting with overweight/obesity in working adults are controversial. This study explored these factors with the risk of overall and abdominal overweight/obesity in a Chinese working population and whether these associations differ by gender. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data analysis was done among 6739 employed participants. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the studied associations. RESULTS: For male employees, those with heavy OA had a lower overall (OR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.62-0.93) and abdominal (OR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.62-0.93) overweight/obesity risk than those with light OA. Those with LTPA ≥150 min/week had a lower risk of overall (OR 0.73; 95% CI, 0.56-0.96) and abdominal (OR 0.70; 95% CI, 0.53-0.91) overweight/obesity than those with LTPA <150 min/week. Men with leisure-sitting time <2.5 h/day had a significantly lower risk of abdominal overweight/obesity than those sitting ≥4 h/day (OR 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65-0.99). And men who cycled to/from work had a lower risk of overall (OR 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53-0.90) and abdominal overweight/obesity (OR 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54-0.92) than passive transports. However, the above significant associations disappeared among female employees. CONCLUSIONS: Heavy OA, cycling to/from work, and LTPA were associated with lower risk of overall or abdominal overweight/obesity in male employees. Reducing leisure sitting time can also help male employees reduce the risk of abdominal overweight/obesity. More research on gender disparity in the risk of overweight and obesity should be done.

Associations of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with metabolic syndrome in a male Chinese population: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Whether cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains controversial. This study investigated the associations of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with MetS in a male population in China. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was used to collect data on cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, MetS status, and other related information from 8169 men aged 19-97 years. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between smoking and alcohol consumption and the risk of MetS. RESULTS: The prevalence of MetS was 15.2% in the study population. Proportions of current smokers and drinkers were 48.2% and 46.5%, respectively. Adjusted OR of MetS was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.01-1.79) among smokers who smoked ≥40 cigarettes/day compared with nonsmokers and 1.22 (95% CI 1.03-1.46) for those who consumed 0.1-99 grams of alcohol/day compared with nondrinkers. Adjusted OR was 2.32 (95% CI 1.45-3.73) among ex-drinkers who never smoked, 1.98 (95% CI 1.35-2.91) among ex-drinkers who were current smokers, and 1.34 (95% CI 1.08-1.68) among current drinkers who never smoked compared with those who neither smoked nor drank. There was a significant interaction between smoking and drinking alcohol on MetS (P for interaction is 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that smoking and drinking is associated with higher prevalence of MetS. Interactions between smoking and drinking on the risk of MetS in men in China may also exist. Our findings need to be confirmed in future case-control or cohort studies.