Beer, wine, and spirits differentially influence body composition in older White adults ‐ a UK Biobank study

BACKGROUND

Aging is characterized by body composition alterations, including increased visceral adiposity accumulation and bone loss. Alcohol consumption may partially drive these alterations, but findings are mixed. This study primarily aimed to investigate whether different alcohol types (beer/cider, red wine, white wine/Champagne, spirits) differentially associated with body composition.

METHODS

The longitudinal UK Biobank study leveraged 1869 White participants (40–80 years; 59% male). Participants self‐reported demographic, alcohol/dietary consumption, and lifestyle factors using a touchscreen questionnaire. Anthropometrics and serum for proteomics were collected. Body composition was obtained via dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry. Structural equation modeling was used to probe direct/indirect associations between alcohol types, cardiometabolic biomarkers, and body composition.

RESULTS

Greater beer/spirit consumptions were associated with greater visceral adiposity (β = 0.069, p < 0.001 and β = 0.014, p < 0.001, respectively), which was driven by dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. In contrast, drinking more red wine was associated with less visceral adipose mass (β = −0.023, p < 0.001), which was driven by reduced inflammation and elevated high‐density lipoproteins. White wine consumption predicted greater bone density (β = 0.051, p < 0.005).

DISCUSSION

Beer/spirits may partially contribute to the “empty calorie” hypothesis related to adipogenesis, while red wine may help protect against adipogenesis due to anti‐inflammatory/eulipidemic effects. Furthermore, white wine may benefit bone health in older White adults.1

Physical activity and sarcopenia in older adults

BACKGROUND

Sarcopenia is prevalent in ever growing older adult populations.

AIM

The aim of this study was to quantify the association between physical activity (PA), sedentary time (SED), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and strength (STR) with sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults using a standard definition of sarcopenia.

METHOD

This cross-sectional study examined a large group of older adults (n = 304) who provided a broad range of health, lifestyle, and socioeconomic variables. PA was assessed using a pedometer worn for 7 days. SED was assessed by survey. CRF was assessed by 400-m walk test performance. Strength (STR) was assessed by one-repetition maximum chest and leg press. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) definition defined 10.9% (n = 33) as sarcopenic.

RESULTS

PA, CRF, and STR were significantly associated with sarcopenia components (muscle mass, muscle strength, and muscle function). The upper two-thirds of CRF had significantly lower odds of having sarcopenia, whereas the strongest third of STR was associated with lower odds of sarcopenia. All exposure variables had significant odds ratios associated with at least one component of sarcopenia. Joint analyses indicated additional benefit may be gained from being both active (≥ 5000 daily steps) and fit (top two-thirds), active and strong (top two-thirds), and fit and strong.

DISCUSSION

Overall, objectively measured PA, CRF, and STR, and self-reported SED, are associated with sarcopenia and its components.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, older adults who are physically active, maintain higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, upper and lower body strength, and avoid sedentary time may have significantly lower odds of sarcopenia.

Walking in the Light: How History of Physical Activity, Sunlight, and Vitamin D Account for Body Fat-A UK Biobank Study

OBJECTIVE

The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and obesity drives the need for successful strategies that elevate vitamin D levels, prevent adipogenesis, and stimulate lipolysis. This study provides a theoretical model to evaluate how physical activity (PA) and sunlight exposure influence serum vitamin D levels and regional adiposity. This study hypothesized a posteriori that sunlight is associated with undifferentiated visceral adiposity by increasing the ratio of brown to white adipose tissue.

METHODS

Using 10-year longitudinal data, accelerometry, a sun-exposure questionnaire, and regional adiposity quantified by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry imaging, a structural-equation mediation model of growth curves was constructed with a data-driven methodology.

RESULTS

Sunlight and PA conjointly increased serum vitamin D. Changes in vitamin D levels partially mediated how sunlight and PA impacted adiposity in visceral and subcutaneous regions within a subjective PA model. In an objective PA model, vitamin D was a mediator for subcutaneous regions only. Interestingly, sunlight was associated with less adiposity in subcutaneous regions but greater adiposity in visceral regions.

CONCLUSIONS

Sunlight and PA may increase vitamin D levels. For the first time, this study characterizes a positive association between sunlight and visceral adiposity. Further investigation and experimentation are necessary to clarify the physiological role of sunlight exposure on adipose tissue.

Validation of a Multielectrode Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzer With a Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometer for the Assessment of Body Composition in Older Adults

Changes in body composition are related to mobility, fall risk, and mortality, especially in older adults. Various devices and methods exist to measure body composition, but bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) has several advantages. The purpose of this study was to validate a common BIA device with a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer (DXA) in older adults and develop prediction equations to improve the accuracy of the BIA measurements. The participants were 277 older adults (162 women and 115 men; age 73.9 ± 5.8 years) without a history of cancer and without a history of severe medical or mental conditions. Individuals fasted 12 hr before BIA and DXA measurement. The correlations between the two methods for appendicular lean mass (ALM), fat-free mass (FFM), and percentage body fat (%BF) were .86, .93, and .92, respectively, adjusting for age and sex. The mean percentage error (DXA-InBody) and mean absolute percentage error were -12% and 13% for ALM, -13% and 13% for FFM, and 16% and 17% for %BF. The prediction equations estimated ALM, FFM, and %BF; sex was coded as 1 for male and 0 for female: DXAALM=0.0673+(0.6732×BIAALM)+(2.33507×sex)+(0.13349×BMI),R2=.94; DXAFFM=0.72323+(0.72384×BIAFFM)+(3.675012×sex)+(0.2816×BMI),R2=.97; and DXA%BF=15.8896+(0.64694×BIA%BF) -(3.99945×sex)+(0.13824×BMI),R2=.91 Although highly correlated, BIA overestimated FFM, and ALM and underestimated %BF compared with DXA. An application of prediction equations eliminated the mean error and reduced the range of individual error across the sample. Prediction equations may improve BIA accuracy sufficiently to substitute for DXA in some cases.

Physical Activity, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Incident Glaucoma

PURPOSE

This study aimed to examine the associations of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness (hereafter fitness) with incident glaucoma in a prospective observational study.

METHODS

Physical activity was measured by self-reported leisure-time activities, and fitness was measured by maximal treadmill test. Incident glaucoma was defined based on physician diagnosis. Participants were 9519 men and women between the ages of 40 and 81 yr old (mean age 50 yr) who were enrolled in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard regression after adjusting for age, sex, race, examination year, smoking status, heavy alcohol drinking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, abnormal ECG, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

RESULTS

A total of 128 cases of incident glaucoma were reported during a mean follow-up of 5.7 yr. A significantly lower risk of incident glaucoma (HR = 0.53, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.35-0.79) was found in individuals who met the physical activity guidelines of ≥500 MET·min·wk compared with inactive individuals (0 MET·min·wk). Compared with low fitness (lower third), individuals with high fitness (upper third) also had a significantly lower risk of incident glaucoma (HR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.38-0.95). A joint analysis of physical activity and fitness showed that meeting physical activity guidelines and being in the high fitness category was associated with the lowest risk for developing glaucoma (HR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.31-0.79).

CONCLUSION

These data provide epidemiological evidence that meeting physical activity guidelines or being fit reduces the risk of developing glaucoma.

Comparison of Consumer and Research Monitors under Semistructured Settings

PURPOSE

This study evaluated the relative validity of different consumer and research activity monitors during semistructured periods of sedentary activity, aerobic exercise, and resistance exercise.

METHODS

Fifty-two (28 male and 24 female) participants age 18-65 yr performed 20 min of self-selected sedentary activity, 25 min of aerobic exercise, and 25 min of resistance exercise, with 5 min of rest between each activity. Each participant wore five wrist-worn consumer monitors [Fitbit Flex, Jawbone Up24, Misfit Shine (MS), Nike+ Fuelband SE (NFS), and Polar Loop] and two research monitors [ActiGraph GT3X+ on the waist and BodyMedia Core (BMC) on the arm] while being concurrently monitored with Oxycon Mobile (OM), a portable metabolic measuring system. Energy expenditure (EE) on different activity sessions was measured by OM and estimated by all monitors.

RESULTS

Mean absolute percent error (MAPE) values for the full 80-min protocol ranged from 15.3% (BMC) to 30.4% (MS). EE estimates from ActiGraph GT3X+ were found to be equivalent to those from OM (± 10% equivalence zone, 285.1-348.5). Correlations between OM and the various monitors were generally high (ranged between 0.71 and 0.90). Three monitors had MAPE values lower than 20% for sedentary activity: BMC (15.7%), MS (18.2%), and NFS (20.0%). Two monitors had MAPE values lower than 20% for aerobic exercise: BMC (17.2%) and NFS (18.5%). None of the monitors had MAPE values lower than 25% for resistance exercise.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the research monitors and Fitbit Flex, Jawbone Up24, and NFS provided reasonably accurate total EE estimates at the individual level. However, larger error was evident for individual activities, especially resistance exercise. Further research is needed to examine these monitors across various activities and intensities as well as under real-world conditions.