Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #393845
Research Project: Nutrition, Epidemiology, and Healthy Aging

Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging

Title: Conjoint associations of adherence to physical activity and dietary guidelines with cardiometabolic health: The Framingham Heart Study

Author
item LEE, JOOWON - Boston University
item WALKER, MAURA - Boston University
item BOURDILLON, MAXIMILLIAN - Boston University
item SPARTANO, NICOLE - Boston University
item ROGERS, GAIL - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item JACQUES, PAUL - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item VASAN, RAMACHANDRAN - Boston University
item XANTHAKIS, VANESSA - Boston University

Submitted to: Journal of the American Heart Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/26/2021
Publication Date: 3/31/2021
Citation: Lee, J., Walker, M.E., Bourdillon, M.T., Spartano, N.L., Rogers, G., Jacques, P.F., Vasan, R.S., Xanthakis, V. 2021. Conjoint associations of adherence to physical activity and dietary guidelines with cardiometabolic health: The Framingham Heart Study. Journal of the American Heart Association. 10(7):e019800. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.120.019800.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.120.019800

Interpretive Summary: The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is the clustering of key cardiometabolic risk factors, such as abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure. MetS is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and it is known that a healthy lifestyle decreases risk of cardiovascular disease. This study aims to better understand whether adherence to the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines (PAG) for Americans and the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) in midlife, versus just one or the other, promotes better cardiometabolic health later in life. Our results show that adherence to the PAG and DGA were individually associated with lower risk of MetS, and adherence to both guidelines was associated with the lowest risk. Thus, our results further highlight the importance of regular physical activity and healthy eating in midlife as a means of reducing cardiometabolic disease risk later in life.

Technical Abstract: Background The conjoint associations of adherence to the recent physical activity and dietary guidelines with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) are incompletely understood. Methods and Results We evaluated 2379 FHS (Framingham Heart Study) Third Generation participants (mean age, 47 years; 54.4% women) attending examination cycle 2. We examined the cross-sectional relations of adherence to the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (binary; moderate-to-vigorous physical activity >=150 versus <150 min/wk) and 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (binary; 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Adherence Index >=median versus