Objective To examine the combined associations and relative contributions of leisure-time physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with all-cause mortality. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Aerobics centre longitudinal study. Participants 31 818 men and 10 555 women who received a medical examination during 1978–2002. Assessment of risk factors Leisure-time PA assessed by self-reported questionnaire; CRF assessed by maximal treadmill test. Main outcome measures All-cause mortality until 31 December 2003. Results There were 1492 (469 per 10 000) and 230 (218 per 10 000) deaths in men and women, respectively. PA and CRF were positively correlated in men (r=0.49) and women (r=0.47) controlling for age (p<0.001 for both). PA was inversely associated with mortality in multivariable Cox regression analysis among men, but the association was eliminated after further adjustment for CRF. No significant association of PA with mortality was observed in women. CRF was inversely associated with mortality in men and women, and the associations remained significant after further adjustment for PA. In the PA and CRF combined analysis, compared with the reference group “not meeting the recommended PA (<500 metabolic equivalent-minute/week) and unfit”, the relative risks (95% CIs) of mortality were 0.62 (0.54 to 0.72) and 0.61 (0.44 to 0.86) in men and women “not meeting the recommended PA and fit”, 0.96 (0.61 to 1.53) and 0.93 (0.33 to 2.58) in men and women “meeting the recommended PA and unfit” and 0.60 (0.51 to 0.70) and 0.56 (0.37 to 0.85) in men and women “meeting the recommended PA and fit”, respectively. Conclusions CRF was more strongly associated with all-cause mortality than PA; therefore, improving CRF should be encouraged in unfit individuals to reduce risk of mortality and considered in the development of future PA guidelines.

Song BK, et al. J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2012 Jan;18(1):64-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.5056/jnm.2012.18.1.64

Background: A significant discovery was recently made in which participation in physical activity and sedentary behavior, two contrasting lifestyles, was found to be related to the frequency of hyperuricemia diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to identify the association between sedentary behavior and physical activity levels in South Korean men and women diagnosed with hyperuricemia. Methods: This study included 161,064 healthy men and women participants who had obtained a complete health examination. Physical activity levels and sitting time were assessed by the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form Korean version. The presence of hyperuricemia in the subjects was determined by measuring serum uric acid (SUA) concentration (SUA ≥6 mg/dL [male], SUA ≥7 mg/dL [female]). Logistic regression analysis, adjusting other confounding factors, was conducted to identify the association of sedentary behavior and physical activity levels with hyperuricemia (p<0.05). Results: Subjects who spent ≥10 hr/day in sedentary behavior were more likely to have hyperuricemia than those who spent <5 hour/day in sedentary behavior (OR=1.08, 95% CI=1.03–1.12). The subject group that more frequently participated in health enhanced physical activity (HEPA) had a lower hyperuricemia odds ratio than the subject group with lower physical activity participation rate (OR=0.90, 95% Ci=0.86–0.93). From the analysis of sex (male, female), age (young, middle, older), methods of measuring obesity (body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage), the association of sedentary behavior and physical activity levels with hyperuricemia was shown differently in different multivariable models. Conclusion: Participation in regular physical activity and reduced sedentary time is highly recommended in order to reduce the prevalence of hyperuricemia.