Different Relationship Between Physical Activity, Arterial Stiffness, and Metabolic Status in Obese Subjects

Although the relationship between physical activity and arterial stiffness has been shown in healthy persons, it remains controversial in obese persons.

From January 2014 to September 2014, we evaluated 795 obese subjects from 25 public health centers in Seoul, Korea. We compared physical activity and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) between obese subjects with metabolic syndrome (MetS) (MO) and obese subjects without MetS (NMO).

The MO group had more men, higher body mass index (BMI), higher fasting glucose level, lower high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level, and higher triglyceride level. The mean physical activity levels were similar between the 2 groups. baPWV was higher in the MO group than the NMO group. MO group showed positive correlation between baPWV and physical activity (P_trend = 0.04). Interestingly, baPWV was significantly higher in the MO group than in the NMO group in subjects with moderate and vigorous physical activity (1403.4 cm/sec vs 1349 cm/sec [95% CI 21.4 to 87.4], P < .05). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity was apparently associated with age, BMI, blood pressure, and glucose level.

In a community-based population, baPWV was higher in obese MetS group compared with obese non-MetS group. Physical activity showed different association with baPWV depending on metabolic status.