Odds of Metabolic Disease Lower With Fast Subjective Walking Speed in Patients With Obesity

MONDAY, Dec. 30, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Fast subjective walking speed is associated with lower odds of metabolic diseases among individuals with obesity, according to a study published online Nov. 15 in Scientific Reports.

Yuiko Yamamoto, from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, and colleagues examined the association between walking speed and metabolic diseases in a cross-sectional analysis involving 8,578 individuals with a body mass index ≥25.0 kg/m², 9,626 individuals with waist circumference ≥85 cm in men and ≥90 cm in women, and 6,742 individuals who met both criteria of body mass index and waist circumference.

The researchers found that individuals with obesity based on body mass index and fast subjective walking speed showed a significantly lower risk for diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia in the model adjusted for age and sex (risk ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.70 [0.63 to 0.77] and 0.97 [0.94 to 1.00], respectively). Fast subjective walking speed showed a significant negative association with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia among those with obesity based on waist circumference (risk ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.94 [0.90 to 0.97], 0.70 [0.64 to 0.77], and 0.96 [0.94 to 0.99], respectively) and both body mass index and waist circumference (risk ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.95 [0.92 to 0.99], 0.70 [0.63 to 0.77], and 0.96 [0.94 to 0.99], respectively).

“This study revealed that even in those with obesity, who have a higher risk of metabolic diseases, a fast subjective walking speed was associated with lower odds of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia,” the authors write.

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