Associations of occupational, transportation, household and leisure-time physical activity patterns with metabolic risk factors among middle-aged adults in a middle-income country

Objective This study investigates physical activity in different domains and its association with metabolic risk factors among middle-aged adults. Method The study was performed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from August 2010–August 2011. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic/diastolic blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose/lipid profile were measured in 686 Malay participants (mean age 45.9 ± 6.5 years). Self-reported physical activity was obtained with the validated IPAQ (Malay version) and categorized into low-, moderate- and high-activity levels across occupational, transportation, household and leisure-time domains. Results Participants spent most of their time on household (567.5, 95% CI: 510–630 MET-minutes/week) and occupational activities (297, 95% CI: 245–330 MET-minutes/week). After adjusted for gender and smoking, participants with low-activity levels in occupational, transport and household domains were associated with significantly higher odds for metabolic syndrome (2.02, 95% CI: 1.33–3.05; 1.49, 95% CI: 1.01–2.21; 1.96, 95% CI: 1.33–2.91). Significantly higher odds for obesity and abdominal obesity were consistently reported among those with low-activity levels across all four domains. Conclusion High-activity levels in occupational, transportation and household domains were each negatively associated with metabolic syndrome among our cohort. Increase participation of physical activity across all four domains (including leisure-time activity) should be encouraged.