Steps, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and cardiometabolic profiles

Abstract

<p class="first" id="P1">The relative benefits of meeting the current moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and ‘active’ step count recommendations are unknown. Using robust linear regressions, we compared cardiometabolic marker differences (blood pressure, lipid levels, Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), hemoglobin A1C, C-reactive protein (CRP), and body mass index (BMI)) across MVPA (150 minutes/week) and step (10,000 steps/day) thresholds and between step categories (low active: 5,000 to 7,499, somewhat active: 7,500 to 9,999, and active: ≥10,000 steps/day vs. inactive: &lt;5,000 steps/day) in approximately 6,000 Canadian adults (41.5 years, SD 14.9). Differences across MVPA and step thresholds were similar but additional benefits were observed for BMI and A1C for the MVPA target (i.e., above vs. below 150 minutes/week MVPA: -1.02 kg/m ² (95% CI -1.25 to -0.80) and -0.04 % (95% CI -0.06 to -0.02); above vs. below ≥10,000 steps/day: -0.40 kg/m ² (95% CI -0.63 to -0.16) and 0.01% (95% CI -0.01 to 0.03)). In terms of step categories, the greatest gains were for the somewhat vs. inactive categories (e.g., 5,000 to 7,499 steps/day vs. &lt;5,000 steps/day: -0.36 (-0.73 to 0.02) but 7,500 to 9,999 steps/day vs. &lt;5,000 steps/day:-0.90 (-1.28 to -0.53)).Given that most benefits to markers of cardiometabolic health were at the ≥7,500 step/day threshold and that there was some additional benefit across the 150 minutes/week MVPA threshold compared to a 10,000 steps/day threshold, we suggest aiming for ≥7,500 steps/day and then advancing to a 150 minutes/MVPA goal. </p>