Background According to previous reports, obesity especially visceral fat has become an important public health problem, causing an estimation of 20.5 disability-adjusted life years per 1000 inhabitants. Those who exercised for 1 or 2 days per week and reached the recommended 150 minutes of moderate physical activity (PA) per week have been defined as “weekend warriors” (WWs). Although the benefits of PA in suppressing obesity have been widely studied, the association of WWs with the Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) and the difference between WW activity and regular PA are yet to be explored. Objective This study aims to explore the association between WW activity and other PA patterns with VAI in US adults. Methods The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2016 data set was used, and the analytic sample was limited to adults 20 years and older who had complete information about VAI, PA patterns, and other covariates, including demographic characteristics, behavioral factors, and disease conditions. Participants’ characteristics in different PA pattern groups were tested using the Rao and Scott adjusted χ2 test and ANOVA. Univariate and multivariate stepped linear regression models were then used to explore the association between the PA pattern and VAI. Finally, stratified analyses and interaction effects were conducted to investigate whether the association was stable among subgroups. Results The final sample included 9642 adults 20 years or older, which is representative of 158.1 million noninstitutionalized US adults, with 52.15% (n=5169) being male and 70.8% (n=4443) being non-Hispanic White. Gender, age group, race, education level, income level, marital status, smoking status, alcoholism, VAI, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes were all correlated with the PA pattern, but no relationship between hypertension and PA pattern was observed. After adjusting for demographic covariates, smoking status, alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension, WW and regularly active adults had a β of .307 (95% CI –0.611 to –0.003) and .354 (95% CI –0.467 to –0.241), respectively, for reduced VAI when compared with inactive adults, but no significant effect of lowering VAI (β=–.132, 95% CI –0.282 to 0.018) was observed in insufficiently active adults when compared with inactive adults. Besides, no significant difference was exhibited between WW adults and regularly active adults (β=.047, 95% CI –0.258 to 0.352), suggesting WW adults had the same benefit of decreasing VAI as regularly active adults. Stratified analyses results exhibited that WW activity was related to reduced VAI in female adults aged 20-44 years who were non-Hispanic Black, other, or multiracial; high school or General Educational Development education; and never married, and the association between PA pattern and VAI remained stable in all demographic subgroups. Conclusions Compared with inactive adults, WWs could reduce VAI, and there was no significant difference between WWs and regular active adults in decreasing VAI. Our study provides compelling evidence of the beneficial effect of WW activity on visceral obesity.

中文翻译：

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美国成年人周末勇士活动模式与内脏肥胖指数的关联：重复横断面研究

背景据此前报道，肥胖尤其是内脏脂肪已成为一个重要的公共卫生问题，导致每1000名居民的伤残调整生命年减少20.5年。那些每周锻炼 1 到 2 天并达到建议的每周 150 分钟适度体力活动 (PA) 的人被定义为“周末战士”(WW)。尽管 PA 在抑制肥胖方面的益处已得到广泛研究，但 WW 与内脏肥胖指数 (VAI) 的关联以及 WW 活动与常规 PA 之间的差异仍有待探索。 客观的本研究旨在探讨 WW 活动和其他 PA 模式与美国成年人 VAI 之间的关联。 方法使用2007-2016年全国健康和营养检查调查数据集，分析样本仅限于20岁及以上的成年人，他们拥有有关VAI、PA模式和其他协变量的完整信息，包括人口特征、行为因素和疾病状况。使用 Rao 和 Scott 调整 χ2 检验和方差分析来测试不同 PA 模式组中参与者的特征。然后使用单变量和多变量逐步线性回归模型来探索 PA 模式与 VAI 之间的关联。最后，进行分层分析和交互效应来研究亚组之间的关联是否稳定。 结果最终样本包括 9642 名 20 岁或以上的成年人，代表 1.581 亿非收容美国成年人，其中 52.15% (n=5169) 为男性，70.8% (n=4443) 为非西班牙裔白人。性别、年龄组、种族、教育水平、收入水平、婚姻状况、吸烟状况、酗酒、VAI、心血管疾病和糖尿病均与PA模式相关，但未观察到高血压与PA模式之间存在相关性。调整人口统计协变量、吸烟状况、酗酒、心血管疾病、糖尿病和高血压后，WW 和经常活动的成年人的 β 分别为 0.307（95% CI –0.611 至 –0.003）和 0.354（95% CI –0.467 至–0.241），与不活动的成年人相比，VAI 降低，但与不活动的成年人相比，在活动不足的成年人中没有观察到降低 VAI 的显着效果（β=–.132，95% CI –0.282 至 0.018）。此外，WW 成人和经常活动的成人之间没有表现出显着差异（β=.047，95% CI –0.258 至 0.352），这表明 WW 成人与经常活动的成人在降低 VAI 方面具有相同的益处。分层分析结果表明，WW 活动与 20-44 岁非西班牙裔黑人、其他或多种族女性成人的 VAI 降低有关；高中或普通教育发展教育；且从未结婚，PA 模式与 VAI 之间的关联在所有人口亚组中保持稳定。 结论与不活动的成年人相比，WWs可以降低VAI，并且WWs和经常活动的成年人在降低VAI方面没有显着差异。我们的研究提供了令人信服的证据，证明 WW 活动对内脏肥胖的有益作用。