24-hour movement behaviors among adults: insights in the relation with behavioral correlates and cardiometabolic health

Background: Optimal levels 24-hour movement behaviors (24h-MB), encompassing sufficient physical activity (PA), limited sedentary behavior (SB) and sufficient sleep duration are crucial for cardiometabolic health. Despite the importance of these 24h-MBs, many adults have difficulties with consistently adopting optimal levels of these behaviors. Understanding factors that underpin adults’ 24h-MB is the fundament for intervention development to optimize these behaviors.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore associations between 24h-MBs and cardiometabolic health and to identify the correlates explaining adults’ 24h-MBs.

Methods: The 24h-MBs were objectively collected by Actigraph GT3X accelerometers. The following cardiometabolic variables were measured: HbA1c, fasting glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and fat%. Explanatory variables were collected by an online questionnaire, i.e. attitude, facilitators, barriers, self-efficacy, subjective norm, subjective modelling, and social support. Regression analyses were used to explore associations between cardiometabolic variables or explanatory variables on the one hand and 24h-MB time use estimates on the other hand (Compositional Data Analysis).

Results: Data of 191 adults (45 y/o, 68% female) showed associations between the 24h-MB composition with adults’ BMI, WC, and fat% (p<0.001). Different correlates showed significant associations with a more active 24h-MB composition such as male sex (p=0.010), waking up early (p=0.001), being younger (p=0.001), higher self-efficacy regarding PA (p=0.050), less perceived barriers regarding PA (p=0.005), less perceived modelling regarding SB (p=0.040), less perceived barriers regarding interrupting SB (p=0.003), and less perceived facilitators of being sedentary (p=0.008).

Conclusions: These preliminary results highlight the association with 24h-MBs and adiposity and will advance the current understanding of correlates of 24h-MB compositions among Flemish adults.

Practical implications: Insights in the association between 24h-MBs and cardiometabolic health and the correlates of 24h-MBs provides key points for the development of healthy lifestyle interventions.

Funding: Researcher Foundation Flanders (I.W.).