ACTIVITY LEVEL AND RISK OF OVERWEIGHT IN MALE HEALTH-PROFESSIONALS

Objectives. This study undertook to examine relationships between nons edentary activity level, time spent watching television (TV)/videocass ette recorder (VCR), and risk of overweight among men. Methods. Men pa rticipating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study were mailed su rveys. Cross-sectional analyses examined the prevalence and odds of be ing overweight over 2 years of follow-up. Results. Cross-sectionally, odds of being overweight were 50% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 45%, 55%) lower for men in the highest quintile of nonsedentary activity l evel when compared with men in the lowest quintile. Among men watching 41 or more hours of TV/VCR per week, the odds of being overweight wer e 4.06 (95% CI = 2.67, 6.17) times greater than those for men watching no more than 1 hour per week. Prospectively, higher levels of nonsede ntary activity and lower levels of TV/VCR viewing were independently a ssociated with lower relative risks for becoming overweight between su rvey years. Conclusions. Both a lack of nonsedentary activity and time spent watching TV/VCR contribute to the development of overweight in men. Sedentary and nonsedentary activities represent separate domains, each with independent risks for overweight.