Physical activity is needed in today’s highly sedentary society. Research into Chinese trends with respect to the longitudinal association between changes in physical activity (PA) and dyslipidemia (DL) is limited. The present study assessed PA and PA-related changes associated with the level of serum lipids, and the risk of dyslipidemia stratified by gender, via a population-based longitudinal observational study among adults (>18 years old) residing in nine provinces in China. Data of 3380 adult participants, gleaned from two surveys in 2009 and 2015 used by the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), were analyzed. Three-level random intercept growth models were used to calculate the associations between total physical activity (TPA), the four activity subtypes, and changes in the level of blood lipids. Three-level logistic regression models were utilized to assess the association between TPA and the risk of DL. The highest level of TPA was observed to correlate with the lowest prevalence of DL. Compared with the lowest level of TPA, the highest level of TPA increases the concentration of HDL-C (β = 0.050, 95% CI = 0.005, 0.096) in males, and also reduces the risk in males of having low HDL-C by 31% (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.52, 0.91). Occupational PA was positively associated with higher HDL-C levels in both genders (males: β = 0.004, 95% CI = 0.002, 0.007; females: β = 0.002, 95% CI = 0.000, 0.004), and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) was negatively associated with TG levels in males. Increasing TPA benefited HDL-C levels in males, irrespective of the level of basic TPA of individuals. Physical activity (especially occupational PA) was superior in positively influencing HDL-C in males, but not in females. Leisure-time physical activity needs to be increased substantially in order to increase TPA to levels that would be beneficial to blood lipid levels and DL, irrespective of baseline TPA levels.

Physical activity (PA) is of benefit and particularly important for cardiovascular disease risk factors as being sedentary becomes a lifestyle habit. Research into Chinese complex association among physical activity, body-fat percentage (BF%), blood pressure, and serum lipids is limited. The present study is based on an observational study among adults (>18 years old) residing in fifteen provinces in China. Data of 10,148 adult participants in the 2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) were analyzed. The simple mediation effect models with covariates were utilized to assess the association among PA and blood pressure or serum lipids, and BF% was played as a mediator. The serial multiple-mediator models with covariates were constructed to the further analysis of the relationship between PA and blood pressure, and BF% was the mediator 1 and blood lipids were the mediator 2. Based on the above hypothesis, the moderated mediation models with covariates were used to analyze the association among PA, BF%, and blood pressure; in addition, BF% was used as the mediator and blood lipids played as the moderator. In the simple mediation models, the model with a dependent variable was high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); BF% was played as the partly mediation effect and the proportion of contribution was 0.23 and 0.25, respectively. In the serial multiple-mediator models, blood lipids, as the second mediator, played the mediation effect; however, the effect was smaller than the BF%. In the moderated mediation model, blood lipids had the moderation effect as the moderator variable. HDL-C played a moderating role in the latter pathway of the “PA→BF%→SBP/DBP” mediation model, and LDL-C/TC played a moderating role in the direct effect of the “PA→BF%→DBP”. In conclusion, BF% played a mediating role in the relationship between PA and blood pressure. HDL-C, LDL-C, and TC were more likely to act as moderating variables in the mediation model “PA→BF%→SBP/DBP”. PA could directly and indirectly benefit to control the CVD risk factors simultaneously.

Background As with the unprecedented economic and social development in China, physical activity (PA) have decreased dramatically and body fat percentage (BF%) have varied. In the lasted large scale field investigation, we described the distribution of PA and BF%, and their association across the entire percentiles. Methods Based on data from China Health and Nutrition Surveys (CHNS) in 2015, 5763 participants aged 40-64 years coming from 15 provinces were included. PA was calculated as metabolic equivalent task hours per day (MET·h/d). BF% was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test the difference of PA among gender, age, BMI groups, education, income, region and urbanization. Gender-Body mass index (BMI)-stratified quantile regression (QR) analyses were utilized to describe the association between PA and BF% distribution. Results A part of non-overweight/obese participants had high body fat. Older adults, overweight/obese group, higher education, higher income, residents of central China and higher urbanization had lower PA. Participants who engaged in vigorous PA had median BF% 2.0% and 1.5% lower than the slightly PA group (23.4%, 34.8%) for men and women, respectively. For every additional hour of moderate PA (4.5 MET·h/d), the total BF% was reduced by a median of 0.0290%, 0.0539% and 0.0699% in the 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles respectively, and 0.0490%, 0.0854% and 0.0998% in trunk BF% at the correspondingly percentiles respectively. The association between PA and total BF% was the strongest in normal weight obesity participants than others. Females and the non-overweight/obese group had more statistical significant coefficients at multiple percentiles than males and the overweight/obese group, respectively. Conclusions In middle-aged adults in China, a part of normal weight obesity persons were in non-overweight/obese group and women prone to gain fat mass with BMI increasing but muscle in men. Individuals with vigorous PA had lower BF% comparing with slightly active ones, and an extra moderate leisure PA per day was recommended, especially for normal weight obesity and abdominal adipose individuals.