Negative Association of Domestic Activity and Active Commuting with Metabolic Syndrome in a Chinese Population Aged 35-64 Years

Objective To understand the associations of physical activity domains with metabolic syndrome among a middle-aged Chinese population. Methods In all, 3326 professional adults aged 35-64 years from Beijing and Zhejiang province were recruited with a cluster random sampling method. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was modified, and the recommended Asia-Pacific cut-offs of waist circumstance were introduced into the criteria for metabolic syndrome from the Adult Treatment Panel III. A binary logistic regression model was applied to examine the association of all physical activity domains with the risk of the syndrome. Results Participants who engaged in domestic activity for >= 1176 MET-min/week had a 41.6% less chance of having metabolic syndrome [odds ratio (OR), 0.584; 95% confidence interval (Cl), 0.480-0.710] than those without this activity. In adjusted models, adults who actively commuted for >= 33 MET-min/week but <528 MET-min/week had a 25% less chance of having the syndrome (OR, 0.750; 95% Cl, 0.582-0.966) than those who did not. No interaction was detected between the two domains of activity and the syndrome. Conclusion This study highlighted the independently negative association of traffic and house activity with the prevalence of the syndrome in this sample with a generally low level of moderate activity.