Substituting prolonged sedentary time and cardiovascular risk in children and youth: a meta-analysis within the International Children’s Accelerometry database (ICAD)

Abstract Background Evidence on the association between sitting for extended periods (i.e. prolonged sedentary time (PST)) and cardio-metabolic health is inconsistent in children. We aimed to estimate the differences in cardio-metabolic health associated with substituting PST with non-prolonged sedentary time (non-PST), light (LIPA) or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in children. Methods Cross-sectional data from 14 studies (7 countries) in the International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD, 1998–2009) was included. Accelerometry in 19,502 participants aged 3–18 years, together with covariate and outcome data, was pooled and harmonized. Iso-temporal substitution in linear regression models provided beta coefficients (95%CI) for substitution of 1 h/day PST (sedentary time accumulated in bouts > 15 min) with non-PST, LIPA or MVPA, for each study, which were meta-analysed. Results Modelling substitution of 1 h/day of PST with non-PST suggested reductions in standardized BMI, but estimates were > 7-fold greater for substitution with MVPA (− 0.44 (− 0.62; − 0.26) SD units). Only reallocation by MVPA was beneficial for waist circumference (− 3.07 (− 4.47; − 1.68) cm), systolic blood pressure (− 1.53 (− 2.42; − 0.65) mmHg) and clustered cardio-metabolic risk (− 0.18 (− 0.3; − 0.1) SD units). For HDL-cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure, substitution with LIPA was beneficial; however, substitution with MVPA showed 5-fold stronger effect estimates (HDL-cholesterol: 0.05 (0.01; 0.10) mmol/l); diastolic blood pressure: − 0.81 (− 1.38; − 0.24) mmHg). Conclusions Replacement of PST with MVPA may be the preferred scenario for behaviour change, given beneficial associations with a wide range of cardio-metabolic risk factors (including adiposity, HDL-cholesterol, blood pressure and clustered cardio-metabolic risk). Effect estimates are clinically relevant (e.g. an estimated reduction in waist circumference of ≈1.5 cm for 30 min/day replacement). Replacement with LIPA could be beneficial for some of these risk factors, however with substantially lower effect estimates.

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Combined associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary behaviour with cardiometabolic risk factors in children

Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism ◽

10.1139/apnm-2012-0382 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 38 (5) ◽

pp. 477-483 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Jean-Philippe Chaput ◽

Travis John Saunders ◽

Marie-Ève Mathieu ◽

Mélanie Henderson ◽

Mark Stephen Tremblay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Waist Circumference ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Sedentary Behaviour ◽

Screen Time ◽

Cardiometabolic Risk ◽

Sedentary Time ◽

Density Lipoprotein ◽

Hdl Cholesterol

The objective of this study was to examine the combined associations between time spent in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and time spent sedentary in relation to cardiometabolic risk factors in a cohort of Canadian children. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 536 white children aged 8–10 years with at least 1 obese biological parent. Time spent in MVPA and sedentary behaviour over 7 days was measured using accelerometry and participants were stratified by tertiles. Daily screen time over 7 days was also self-reported by the child. Outcomes included waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glucose concentrations. Analyses of covariance comparing tertiles of sedentary time/MVPA showed that higher levels of MVPA were associated with lower waist circumference, fasting triglycerides and diastolic blood pressure, and higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, irrespective of sedentary time. In linear regression, MVPA was inversely associated with waist circumference and diastolic blood pressure and positively associated with HDL cholesterol, independent of covariates including sedentary time. In contrast, sedentary time was positively associated with diastolic blood pressure but after adjustment for MVPA the association was no longer statistically significant. Self-reported screen time was positively associated with waist circumference and negatively associated with HDL cholesterol independent of covariates including MVPA. Overall, a high level of MVPA was associated with reduced cardiometabolic risk in this sample of children, regardless of their amount of sedentary behaviour. The type of sedentary behaviour (i.e., screen time) might be more important than overall sedentary time in relation to cardiometabolic risk.

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Abstract MP16: Reallocating Sedentary Behavior With Sleep or Physical Activity is Associated With Favorable Cardiovascular Health in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis: MESA

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.141.suppl_1.mp16 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 141 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Charles German ◽

Nour Makarem ◽

Jason Fanning ◽

Susan Redline ◽

Tali Elfassy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Cardiovascular Health ◽

Sedentary Time ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Ethnic Study ◽

The Mean

Introduction: Sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity are each independently associated with cardiovascular health (CVH). However, many studies have investigated these relationships in isolation even though a change in any one given behavior will affect the time spent in the others. It is unknown how reallocating time in sedentary behavior with sleep or physical activity effects overall CVH in a diverse cohort of men and women at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Hypothesis: Reallocating 30 minutes of sedentary time with sleep, light (LIPA), or moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is associated with more favorable overall CVH due to improvements in risk factors for CVD. Methods: Data for this analysis were taken from the Multi-Ethnic Study on Atherosclerosis (MESA) Sleep Ancillary Study. Eligible participants (n= 1718) wore Actiwatch accelerometers for 24 hours a day, and had at least 3 days of valid accelerometry. Time spent in sleep, sedentary behavior, LIPA, and MVPA was determined based on an established algorithm. The American Heart Association’s life simple 7 was used to represent the CVH score after excluding the physical activity component, with higher scores indicating more favorable CVH. All components were ascertained from MESA exam 5. Isotemporal substitution modeling was conducted to examine the effect of substituting 30 minutes of sedentary time for an equivalent amount of sleep, LIPA, or MVPA. Results: The mean age of participants was 68.3, 54.0% were female and 38.6% were white. The mean CVH score was 5.9 (95%CI: 5.8-6.0). On average, participants spent 499.3 minutes/day in sedentary time, 415.3 minutes/day in LIPA, 26.0 minutes/day in MVPA, and 388.2 minutes/day sleeping. Reallocating 30 minutes of sedentary time to sleep, LIPA, and MVPA was associated with a significantly higher CVH score [β(SE): 0.077(0.023), 0.039(0.017), and 0.485(0.065) respectively]. Reallocating 30 minutes of sedentary time to sleep was associated with lower BMI. Reallocating 30 minutes of sedentary time to LIPA was associated with higher diastolic blood pressure and total cholesterol, and lower BMI. Reallocating 30 minutes of sedentary time to MVPA was associated with lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and lower BMI. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that sleep, LIPA, and MVPA are all positively associated with more favorable overall CVH and several key CVD risk factors. These findings underscore the importance of lifestyle modifications in improving CVH.

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Association between maternal prepregnancy body mass index with offspring cardiometabolic risk factors: analysis of three Brazilian birth cohorts

Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease ◽

10.1017/s2040174421000179 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Mariane da Silva Dias ◽

Alicia Matijasevich ◽

Ana Maria B. Menezes ◽

Fernando C. Barros ◽

Fernando C. Wehrmeister ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Cardiometabolic Risk ◽

Hdl Cholesterol ◽

Cardiometabolic Risk Factors ◽

Birth Cohorts ◽

Prepregnancy Bmi ◽

Prepregnancy Body Mass Index

Abstract Evidence suggests that maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) is associated with offspring cardiometabolic risk factors. This study was aimed at assessing the association of maternal prepregnancy BMI with offspring cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescence and adulthood. We also evaluated whether offspring BMI was a mediator in this association. The study included mother–offspring pairs from three Pelotas birth cohorts. Offspring cardiometabolic risk factors were collected in the last follow-up of each cohort [mean age (in years) 30.2, 22.6, 10.9]. Blood pressure was measured using an automatic device, cholesterol by using an enzymatic colorimetric method, and glucose from fingertip blood, using a portable glucose meter. In a pooled analysis of the cohorts, multiple linear regression was used to control for confounding. Mediation analysis was conducted using G-computation formula. In the adjusted model, mean systolic blood pressure of offspring from overweight and obese mothers was on average 1.25 (95% CI: 0.45; 2.05) and 2.13 (95% CI: 0.66; 3.59) mmHg higher than that of offspring from normal-weight mothers; for diastolic blood pressure, the means were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.26; 1.34) and 2.60 (95% CI: 1.62; 3.59) mmHg higher, respectively. Non-HDL cholesterol was positively associated with maternal BMI, whereas blood glucose was not associated. Mediation analyses showed that offspring BMI explained completely the association of maternal prepregnancy BMI with offspring systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and non-HDL cholesterol. Our findings suggest that maternal prepregnancy BMI is positively associated with offspring blood pressure, and blood lipids, and this association is explained by offspring BMI.

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Rheumatoid Arthritis Impacts on the Independent Relationships between Circulating Adiponectin Concentrations and Cardiovascular Metabolic Risk

Mediators of Inflammation ◽

10.1155/2013/461849 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Patrick H. Dessein ◽

Gavin R. Norton ◽

Margaret Badenhorst ◽

Angela J. Woodiwiss ◽

Ahmed Solomon

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Hdl Cholesterol ◽

Intima Media Thickness ◽

Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽

Metabolic Risk ◽

Black African ◽

Pressure Independent

Adiponectin and leptin are likely involved in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and therefore potential new therapeutic targets. Adiponectin inhibition could be expected to enhance cardiovascular metabolic risk. However, it is unknown whether RA changes the influence of adipokines on cardiovascular metabolic risk. We determined whether RA impacts on the independent relationships of circulating leptin and adiponectin concentrations with cardiovascular risk factors and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in 277 black African subjects from a developing population; 119 had RA. RA impacted on the relationships of adiponectin concentrations with lipid concentrations and blood pressure, independent of confounders including adiposity (interactionP<0.05). This translated into an association of adiponectin concentrations with more favorable lipid variables including HDL cholesterol (P=0.0005), non-HDL cholesterol (P=0.007), and triglyceride (P=0.005) concentrations, total cholesterol-HDL cholesterol (P=0.0002) and triglycerides-HDL cholesterol (P=0.0003) ratios, and higher systolic (P=0.0006), diastolic (P=0.0004), and mean blood pressure (P=0.0007) in RA but not non-RA subjects. Leptin was not associated with metabolic risk after adjustment for adiposity. The cIMT did not differ by RA status, and adipokine concentrations were unrelated to atherosclerosis. This study suggests that leptin and adiponectin inhibition may not alter overall cardiovascular risk and disease in RA.

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Association between fried food consumption and hypertension in Korean adults

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s000711451500402x ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 115 (1) ◽

pp. 87-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Yunjin Kang ◽

Jihye Kim

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Food Consumption ◽

Hdl Cholesterol ◽

Metabolic Risk Factors ◽

Metabolic Risk ◽

Fried Food ◽

Korean Adults ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Low Hdl

AbstractThe present study explored the relationships between fried food consumption and metabolic risk factors and hypertension in Korean adults. The study was based on the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2010 and 2011. A total of 9221 Korean adults aged ≥19 years were studied. Fried food consumption was assessed using a validated FFQ. Metabolic risk factors such as waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), TAG, HDL-cholesterol and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) were measured. Hypertension was defined as SBP≥140 mmHg, DBP≥90 mmHg or current use of antihypertensive medication. Adjusted OR for elevated blood pressure significantly increased in men (OR 1·62; 95 % CI 1·11, 2·37;Ptrend=0·0447) and women (OR 2·20; 95 % CI 1·21, 4·00;Ptrend=0·0403) with a greater than twice a week consumption of fried food compared with those who rarely consumed fried food. However, fried food consumption was not associated with other metabolic risk factors (abdominal obesity, high FPG, hypertriacylglycerolaemia, low HDL-cholesterol and the metabolic syndrome). The adjusted OR for hypertension increased by 2·4-fold in women (OR 2·37; 95 % CI 1·19, 4·72;Ptrend=0·0272) with a greater than twice a week fried food consumption compared with those who rarely consumed it. No significant association was found between fried food consumption and hypertension in men. This study suggests that frequent fried food consumption is associated with hypertension in Korean women. Further studies are needed to investigate the effect of different types of fried foods on hypertension.

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Waist circumference, body mass index, and skinfold thickness as potential risk factors for high blood pressure in adolescents

Paediatrica Indonesiana ◽

10.14238/pi59.2.2019.79-86 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 79-86

Author(s):

Roslina Dewi ◽

Rafita Ramayati ◽

Nelly Rosdiana ◽

Oke Rina Ramayani ◽

Rosmayanti Siregar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

Waist Circumference ◽

Systolic Blood Pressure ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Potential Risk ◽

Predictive Factor ◽

Skinfold Thickness ◽

Potential Risk Factors

Background The prevalence of hypertension in children and adolescents has increased with the rising obesity epidemic. Recent studies have found that prevalence of hypertension was higher in obese children or adolescents than in the normal weight ones. Anthropometric measurements such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and skinfold thickness have been used as criteria to determine obesity in children and adolescents. Increased waist circumference has been most closely related to increased blood pressure. Objective To compare waist circumference, BMI, and skinfold thickness as potential risk factors for hypertension in adolescents. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2014 in three senior high schools in Medan, North Sumatera, and included 253 students with normal urinalysis test. All subjects underwent blood pressure, waist circumference, tricep- and subscapular-skinfold thickness (TST and SST), body weight, and body height measurements. The study population was categorized into underweight, normoweight, overweight, and obese, according to four different criteria: waist circumference, BMI, TST, and SST; all variables were analyzed for possible correlations with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Results There were significant positive correlations between systolic blood pressure and waist circumference (OR 7.933; 95%CI 2.20 to 28.65; P=0.011) as well as BMI (OR 4.137; 95%CI 1.16 to 14.75; P=0.041). There were also significant correlations between diastolic blood pressure and waist circumference (OR 3.17; 95%CI 1.83 to 5.51; P=0.002), BMI (P=0.0001; OR=3.69), TST (OR 4.73; 95%CI 2.31 to 9.69; P=0.0001), and SST (OR 3.74; 95%CI 2.35 to 5.94; P=0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that waist circumference was a predictive factor for systolic blood pressure (OR 9.667), but not for diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion Waist circumference is the strongest, significant, predictive factor for elevated systolic blood pressure; meanwhile BMI, SST, and TST could be predictive factors for elevated diastolic blood pressure.

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Association between Parent’s Metabolic Syndrome and 12- to18-Year-Old Offspring’s Overweight: Results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (K-NHANES) 2009–2016

International Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1155/2020/8737912 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Na Yeong Lee ◽

Kyungdo Han ◽

Yoonji Lee ◽

Seulki Kim ◽

Seonhwa Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Central Obesity ◽

Metabolic Risk Factors ◽

Metabolic Risk ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Age And Sex

Background. Little information is available on the association between parents’ metabolic syndrome (MetS) and adolescent offspring’s obesity in Korea. The aim of our study is to determine the association between parent’s metabolic syndrome and offspring’s obesity. Methods. The study data were obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted during 2009–2016. In the present study, 3140 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, their paternal pairs (PP, fathers = 2244), and maternal pairs (MP, mothers = 3022) were analyzed. Of these 3140 adolescents, 2637 had normal weight {age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) under the 85th percentile}, whereas 467 were overweight (age- and sex-specific BMI over the 85th percentile). Results. Offspring’s overweight and central obesity were associated with all components of the PP’s metabolic risk factors, including central obesity ( p < 0.001 ), systolic ( p < 0.001 ) and diastolic blood pressure ( p < 0.001 ), glucose intolerance ( p < 0.001 ), and triglyceride ( p < 0.002 ) and high-density lipoprotein levels ( p = 0.049 ). In addition, offspring’s overweight and central obesity were also associated with the metabolic risk factors of MP, including central obesity ( p < 0.001 ), systolic ( p < 0.001 ) and diastolic blood pressure ( p < 0.001 ), glucose intolerance ( p < 0.001 ), and triglyceride levels ( p < 0.001 ). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, offspring’s overweight was significantly and positively associated with parental central obesity (PP, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.593; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.192–2.128; MP, adjusted OR = 2.221, 95% CI: 1.755–2.812) and parental metabolic syndrome (PP, adjusted OR = 2.032; 95% CI: 1.451–2.846; MP, adjusted OR = 2.972, 95% CI: 2.239–3.964). As the number of parental metabolic risk factors increased, offspring’s risk for overweight and central obesity increased ( p for trends < 0.001). Conclusion. Parental metabolic syndrome was associated with obesity in 12- to 18-year-old offspring in Korea.

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Obesity in African women in the North West Province, South Africa is associated with an increased risk of non-communicable diseases: the THUSA study

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1079/bjn2001469 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 86 (6) ◽

pp. 733-740 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

H. S. Kruger ◽

C. S. Venter ◽

H. H. Vorster

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

South African ◽

Fasting Glucose ◽

Hdl Cholesterol ◽

African Women ◽

North West ◽

The North

The objective of the present study was to assess the relationship between anthropometric measurements and risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCD) in South African black women. A cross-sectional sample of 1040 apparently healthy black female volunteers, 15–70 years old, was recruited from thirty-seven randomly selected sites in the North West Province, stratified according to level of urbanisation. We analysed the association between BMI, waist:hip (WHR), waist circumference (WC) and skinfold measurements and the following risk factors for NCD: blood pressure, serum lipids, fasting serum glucose and insulin and plasma fibrinogen, by using age-adjusted correlation analyses and stepwise regression analysis. Of the subjects, 28·6 % were obese (BMI>30). After adjustment for age and smoking status, BMI correlated significantly with diastolic blood pressure (r0·21,P=0·037), serum triacylglycerols (TG) (r0·30,P=0·003), fasting glucose (r0·29,P=0·005) and log fasting insulin (r0·24,P=0·02). There was a significant negative correlation between BMI and HDL-cholesterol (r-0·38,P<0·001). Similar but stronger correlations were found between both WC and WHR and these risk factors. Together with age, WC was a significant predictor of TG, HDL-cholesterol and fasting glucose in regression analysis, while subscapular skinfold was a significant predictor of diastolic blood pressure and fasting glucose concentration. Triceps skinfold was a significant predictor of total serum cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, plasma fibrinogen and the insulin sensitivity index. Measures of obesity, particularly WC, are associated with the risk for NCD in black South African women, in which a high rate of obesity has been found.

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Prediction of Efficacy of Taeumjowi-Tang for Treatment of Metabolic Risk Factors Based on Machine Learning

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11188741 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (18) ◽

pp. 8741

Author(s):

Bum Ju Lee ◽

Mi Hong Yim ◽

Youngju Jeon ◽

Jun Su Jang ◽

Ji Ho So ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Herbal Medicine ◽

Cholesterol Level ◽

Triglyceride Level ◽

Hdl Cholesterol ◽

Metabolic Risk Factors ◽

Metabolic Risk ◽

Auc Value

Herbal medicine is widely prescribed worldwide. To date, however, studies on the prediction of efficacy of herbal medicine based on machine learning have very rarely been reported. The objectives of this study are to predict the efficacy of Taeumjowi-tang (one of herbal medicines) and evaluate the prediction model in treating metabolic abnormalities. Subjects were divided into an improvement group and a non-improvement group based on the difference before and after oral administration of an herbal medicine. Efficacy models of triglyceride level, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were built using a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) based on variables extracted from face shape, face colors, body circumference, questionnaire, voice, and tongue color. In predicting efficacy for four metabolic risk factors, the efficacy model of HDL cholesterol level showed the best the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value among the four models (AUC = 0.785 (confidence interval = 0.693, 0.877)). The AUC value of the efficacy model of triglyceride level was 0.659 (0.551, 0.768). Efficacy models of DBP and SBP showed AUC values of 0.665 (0.551, 0.78) and 0.54 (0.385, 0.694), respectively. The results may provide a clue to predict whether a drug will be effective for each subject with phenotypic information and to reduce the use of an ineffective drug or its side effects.

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DAILY STEPS AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS AMONG TEACHERS IN CENTRAL REGION, MALAYSIA

Malaysian Journal of Movement Health & Exercise ◽

10.15282/mohe.v9i2.393 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Shafiqah Mohd Radhi ◽

Nur Zakiah Mohd Saat ◽

Nor Farah Mohamad Fauzi ◽

Siti Aishah Hanawi

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Waist Circumference ◽

Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Blood Sugar ◽

School Teachers ◽

Steps Per Day

Physical activity is an important component of cardiovascular health. The fact that physical activity is also associated with a substantial number of cognitive and academic benefits, therefore schools teachers can be an important role model in promoting a physically-active lifestyle in school children. The aim of this study is to examine the levels of physical activity (PA) and its association with cardiovascular risk factors in a sample of school teachers. Forty-nine (n=49) teachers from primary and secondary schools around Klang Valley urban areas were recruited. The PA level was determined using pedometer, worn for three consecutive days. Anthropometric measurements and blood samples were collected to determine cardiovascular risk factors. Findings showed that the school teachers recorded an overall mean (± SEM) of 7707 ± 490 steps/day, which is below the recommended target of 10 000 steps per day. According to pedometer-determined physical activity indices proposed by Tudor-Locke and Bassett (2004), 20.83% of the sample were classified as ‘sedentary’ (<5000 steps/day), 35.40% were ‘low active’ (5000 – 7499 steps/day) and only 18.70% achieved more than 10 000 steps/day. According to Asian BMI cut-off points, 43% of the teachers were categorized as overweight and obese (>23 kg/m2). The mean values for waist circumference, fasting blood sugar, and cholesterol level, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 83.96 ± 1.90 cm, 5.41 ± 0.26 mmol/l, 4.64±0.26 mmol/l, 118.90 ± 1.72 mmHg and 72.40±1.58 mmHg respectively. Fisher Exact Test shown that there were significant association between daily step and age category. Daily steps weakly negative correlated with systolic blood pressure (r = -0.024, p > 0.05) as well as blood sugar levels (r = -0.061, p> 0.05), diastolic blood pressure (r = -0.079, p> 0.05), body mass index (r = -0.271, p> 0.05), waist circumference (r = -0.196, p> 0.05), as well as blood cholesterol levels (r = -0.037, p> 0.05). In conclusion, there were weak negative correlations between steps per day and cardiovascular risk factors. Generally, the level of physical activity in the sample of teachers needs to be improved. Interventions aimed at promoting PA among school teachers may be warranted in the future.

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