ArticleBMC public health2025
Dose-response relationship between physical activity and visceral fat mass: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2011-2018.
Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- A Pilot Study to Describe Cardiometabolic Health Indicators and Prescription Medication Use in Postmenopausal Women with a Self-Reported History of PMOS.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Phenotypic Age Acceleration as a Mediator in Thyroid Hormone-Related Cardiovascular Risk Among the Elderly.Cardiology research and practice · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Excess visceral fat mass (VFM) is a key risk factor for metabolic diseases, and physical activity (PA) is a modifiable behavior associated with lower VFM. This cross-sectional study investigates the dose-response relationship between PA and VFM, with a focus on differences by sex and race/ethnicity, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2018. Among 9,111 adults aged 20-59 years, PA was measured as metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes per week via the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) and categorized into quintiles (Q1: 0-280, Q2: 281-1,680, Q3: 1,681-5,400, Q4: 5,401 - 11,020, Q5: >11,020 MET-min/week). VFM was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Weighted linear regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were employed to examine associations, adjusting for demographic (age, sex, race/ethnicity), lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, caloric intake), and health-related (BMI, diabetes, hypertension) covariates. Higher PA levels were associated with lower VFM ratios, with the highest quintile (Q5) having a 12% lower ratio compared to the lowest (Q1) (Ratio = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.85-0.91, P < 0.001) after full adjustment.RCS analyses revealed sex-specific patterns: males exhibited a monotonic decrease in VFM up to 50,000 MET-min/week, while females showed a U-shaped association, with the lowest VFM at ~ 6,000 MET-min/week, suggesting moderate PA (~ 5,000-7,000 MET-min/week) as optimal. Significant interactions by sex (P_interaction = 0.008) and race/ethnicity (P_interaction < 0.001) highlighted heterogeneity: Non-Hispanic Whites showed a consistent VFM decline, while Mexican Americans exhibited a weaker association with An inverted U-shape, peaking at 1,000-3,000 MET-min/week. These findings underscore the need for tailored PA recommendations by sex and race/ethnicity. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.