Comparison of association between physical activity and resting metabolic rate in young and middle-aged Korean adults

The purpose of this study was to comparatively investigate the correlation among body composition, resting metabolic rate (RMR), and physical activity (PA) between young and middle-aged Korean adults.

A total of 53 [male n=23, female n=30] subjects were included in this study, among whom 34 subjects were healthy young adults [male n=18, female n=16] and 19 were middle-aged adults [male n=5, female n=14]. The body composition and RMR of all the participants were measured after overnight fasting (≥8 h). The Korean version of the WHO Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was used to assess physical activity.

Body composition was not significantly different between young adults and middle-aged adults. Whole-body bone mineral density and bone mineral contents (BMC) were significantly lower in middle-aged adults than in young adults. Total blood cholesterol (TC) and blood glucose levels were significantly higher in middle-aged adults (TC; 195.21 ± 43.34, glucose; 103.57 ± 12.61 mg/dL) than in young adults. RMR was significantly lower in middle-aged adults (1619.57 ± 290.28 kcal/day) than in young adults (1894.37 ± 405.00 kcal/day). In middle-aged adults physical activity (PA). PA (METs, min, EE) was inversely correlated with fat mass (FM, kg, and %) and blood triglyceride (TG) level in young adults. In middle-aged adults, PA showed a significant positive correlation with lean body mass (LBM), FM (%), and RMR. Furthermore, PA EE showed significant interrelatedness with BMC among middle-aged adults.

These results demonstrated that high PA levels enable LBM and RMR maintenance in middle-aged adults. Furthermore, in young adults, more PA is required to induce change in body composition.