Association between the number of daily steps and the cardiovascular risk factors in basic education teachers

• Published in: Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness Vol. 58; no. 5; p. 714
• Main Authors: Rodrigues de Oliveira, Renata A, Dos Santos Amorim, Paulo R, Mota Júnior, Rômulo J, Dornelas Ferreira Tavares, Debora, Rocha de Faria, Fernanda, Costa Moreira, Osvaldo, Moreira Lima, Luciana, Rodrigues Britto, Raquel, Bouzas Marins, João C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy Edizioni Minerva Medica 01-05-2018
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Blood pressure; Blood Pressure - physiology; Body Composition; Body fat; Body Mass Index; Body weight; Brazil; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - blood; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, LDL - blood; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dyslipidemia; Elementary school teachers; Exercise; Female; Fitness Trackers; Health Promotion; High density lipoprotein; Hip; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Overweight; Overweight - blood; Physical activity; Risk Factors; School Teachers; Scientific Concepts; Triglycerides; Triglycerides - blood; Waist-Hip Ratio; Walking; Brazil
• ISSN: 0022-4707; 1827-1928
• DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.07330-3

Regular physical activity is suggested as an important non-pharmacological mechanism to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Thus, the objective the present study was to verify the association of the number of daily steps with cardiovascular risk factors in basic education teachers and analyze the suitability of the cutoff of 10,000 steps/day as a predictor for the main risk factors in this sample.
Two hundred teachers (43.2±10.2 years) of basic education were assessed in Viçosa, Brazil. It was analyzed the number of daily steps, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio, body fat percentage (%BF), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol, high-density (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
The group which exceeded the 10,000 steps had lower BMI, BF% and triglycerides (P<0.05) compared to those who did not reach this value. A weak inverse correlation between the number of steps and BMI, WC and %BF was observed. Overweight and dyslipidemia were significantly associated with low number of steps (<10,000). The average number of daily steps was predictive of major cardiovascular risk factors, with the best cutoff near the 8000 steps for the presented results.
Basic education teachers who exceed the 10,000 daily steps have a lower BMI, %BF and triglycerides. On the other hand, teachers who do not overcome show a greater chance of overweight and dyslipidemia. The cutoff point of 8000 steps/day in this sample had an appropriate value in the prediction of the risk factors analyzed.