Associations of health-related physical fitness with body fat distribution and obesity risk using bioelectrical impedance in Taiwanese adults

Abstract Background: In terms of public health, obesity and being overweight have become major concerns worldwide. Nevertheless, regarding body composition, it is important to have a more precise understanding of fat-to-muscle ratio. Hence, this study aimed to adopt bioelectrical impedance measurements to test body fat percentage (BF%) and to determine the associations of health-related physical fitness with body fat (BF) distribution and BF obesity risk in Taiwanese adults.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study and reviewed the data derived from Taiwan’s Scientific Physical Fitness Survey. From the database, responses from 17,970 participants aged 23-64 years were collected in this study. Each participant completed a series of health-related physical fitness measurements, including cardiorespiratory fitness (3-min of a progressive knee-up and step [3MPKS] test), muscular fitness (hand grip strength), and flexibility (sit-and-reach test). The BF% of each participant was assessed by using the bioelectrical impedance analysis method. Results: BF% was negatively associated with low performance on the 3MPKS (β = 11.314, p < 0.0001 for men; β = 12.308, p < 0.0001 for women), hand grip strength (β = 2.071, p < 0.0001 for men; β = 0.859, p < 0.0001 for women), and sit-and-reach (β = 0.337, p = 0.008 for women) tests but was positively associated with sit-and-reach (β = -0.394, p = 0.004 for men). The risk of BF obesity for the low performance of 3MPKS (odds ratio [OR] = 26.554, p < 0.0001 for men; OR = 25.808, p < 0.0001 for women), hand grip strength (OR = 1.682, p < 0.0001 for men; OR = 1.234, p < 0.0001 for women), and sit-and-reach (OR = 1.142, p = 0.007 for women) tests was observed.Conclusion: These results suggested that low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness, and flexibility are associated with an increased risk of BF obesity.