Relationships between physical activity and common chronic disease risk markers in Singapore's working population

• Main Author: Soh, Ying Hua
• Other Authors: National Institute of Education
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59066
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between physical activity and inactivity with chronic disease risk markers in Singapore’s working population. The hypotheses are higher amounts of physical activity (PA), moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA) and walking are associated with decreased body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood pressure (BP), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG) and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C); longer sitting hours are associated with increased BMI, FBG, BP, TC, LDL-C, TG and decreased HDL-C. Seventy-three adults aged 23 to 56 years participated in the study. Participants went through a basic health test that included height, weight, blood pressure measurements and blood sampling. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short version was used to collect information on PA performed over the last 7 days. Medical questionnaire was also given to identify factors that may have prevented participants from performing PA. Significant positive correlations (p < .05) were found between total PA with TC and LDL-C; MVPA with BMI, systolic BP and TC; walking with TC and LDL-C. No significant correlation (p ≥ .05) was found between sitting hours per day and risk markers. Singapore working adults with higher BMI (≥ 23 kg/m2) claim to perform higher amounts of PA and yet have poorer health profiles (higher TC and LDL-C). Keywords: Physical activity, fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, blood pressure, BMI.