Association between objectively measured sedentary behavior and a criterion measure of obesity among adults

Results of published studies on the association between sedentary behavior (SB) and obesity are inconsistent, possibly due to reliance on subjective measures of SB and inappropriate measures of obesity. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between objectively measured SB and criterion-measured obesity among adults.

A total of 2284 adults (≥18 years) from the 2003 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included in the analysis. The participants were categorized into tertiles of SB time measured by accelerometry. Obesity was determined using body fat percentage measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Increased SB was significantly associated with obesity when controlling for covariates related to demographics, health behaviors, energy intake, and physical activity (P for trends = .025).

This finding suggests that avoiding SB may be beneficial for lowering the risk of obesity in adults.