Dietary fat, sedentary behaviors and the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among Qingdao adults

BackgroundCurrently, more than 30% of energy comes from fat, and 2.3 h/day on average are spent watching television and 0.9 h/day using a computer during non-working hours among adults in China. Moreover, one-fifth of Chinese adults have the metabolic syndrome. Recent reports showed that dietary fat and sedentary behaviors were two potential determinants of the metabolic syndrome frequency.ObjectiveTo examine the association of dietary fat and sedentary behaviors with the metabolic syndrome among Qingdao's adults.Methods and resultsA total of 1460 adults aged 25 year and over, from the first city-wide Nutrition and Health Survey in Qingdao, were evaluated. The nutrient intake of the participates was assessed using three consecutive days of dietary recollection. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program and introduced Asia-Pacific criteria for abdominal obesity recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).In unadjusted analysis, participants having ≥44.4%of energy from fat had twice the odds of having the metabolic syndrome [odds ratio (ORs), 2.00; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.37–2.91] as those having <28.9%. And in unadjusted model, adults engaged ≥4 h/day in watching television or reading or using a computer had ORs 1.44 (95% CI 0.97–2.14) times more than those spent <2 h/day for having the syndrome. Adjustment for other covariates led to slight or few attenuation of the above associations. The joint association of the two factors with the syndrome was not detected.ConclusionDietary fat and sedentary behaviors were independently associated with the metabolic syndrome among adults aged 25 and over in Qingdao.