Cumulative sitting time as discriminator of overweight, obesity, abdominal obesity and lipid disorders in nursing university

Abstract

There is evidence demonstrating that prolonged sitting time is relevant risk factors for metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. The aim of this study was to identify the discriminatory power and propose cumulative sitting time cutoff points for overweight, obesity, abdominal obesity and lipid disorders in nursing university students. A cross-sectional study of 137 women, nursing students from a public university in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Data were obtained by applying specific forms, laboratory and anthropometric measurements. The predictive power and cutoff points of sitting time for the outcomes of interest were identified by receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC). A 95% confidence interval was established. Sitting time for a day of the week was a good discriminator of abdominal obesity: area under the ROC curve (AUC) = 0.66 (0.57-0.75). No AUC with statistical significance were found to discriminate overweight and total obesity. Sitting time over the weekend showed no discriminatory power for overweight, obesity or abdominal obesity. Sitting time during the week or weekend did not discriminate lipid abnormalities. Sitting time for 8 hours or more a day during the week discriminates the presence of abdominal obesity. The sitting time during the week of 8 hours accumulated per day discriminates abdominal obesity in undergraduate nursing. It is suggested that educational institutions establish measures to encourage a reduction in this sedentary behavior.

Keywords

• lipids
• obesity
• sedentary lifestyle