Variations in adiposity, body fat percentage, and muscular strength, according to physical activity level in young adults

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to examine the discrepancies between moderately physically active (MPA) and highly physically active (HPA) male (n=96, age=22.5±1.7 years) and female (n=85, age=21.3±1.6 years) young adults regarding various anthropometric adiposity indices (AIs), body fat percentage (BF%), and muscular strength, and to determine the associations between physical activity level (PAL) and the aforementioned variables. METHODS: Participants’ height, body mass, BF%, waist and hip circumferences, and maximal isometric grip strength was measured. They were dichotomized according to their PAL, estimated by the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), as MPA (≥600-3000 MET-min/week) and HPA (≥3000 MET-min/week). RESULTS: Participants in the HPA groups had significantly lower BF% (ES 0.67 ♂; 0.72 ♀), body mass (ES 0.46 ♂; 0.58 ♀), waist circumference (ES 0.55 ♂; 0.48 ♀), hip circumference (ES 0.46 ♂; 0.49 ♀), and BMI (ES 0.46 ♂; 0.59 ♀) than the participants in the MPA groups in both genders. Grip strength performances were comparable between groups. The PAL, regardless of gender, was found to be significantly and negatively correlated with all AIs and BF%. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that high habitual physical activity level mediates body size and composition among young adults.