Purpose: To (i) describe the characteristics of physical fitness and cardiometabolic risk in Chinese university students with normal-weight obesity (NWO); (ii) assess the association between NWO with physical fitness and cardiometabolic risk.
Methods: A total of 249 participants from the 2018 Shanghai University of Sport Alumni Health Cohort Study in China formed the study cohort. NWO was defined as normal body mass index (17.9– 23.9 kg/m² for males; 17.2– 23.9 kg/m² for females) but with excess body-fat percentage (≥ 20% for males; ≥ 30% for females). Body composition was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Physical-fitness scores were calculated from a battery of sex-specific tests. Cardiometabolic risk was calculated using a continuous clustered risk (MetS) score.
Results: We found that 16.7% of male and 45.3% of female university students were classified as having NWO. Participants with NWO showed worse cardiorespiratory fitness than those with normal weight (NW) (male NWO (37± 8) vs male NW (41± 6) mL/kg/min, p < 0.01; female NWO (31± 4) vs female NW (33± 6) mL/kg/min, p < 0.01). NWO was associated negatively with the fitness score (OR = 0.853; 95% CI = 0.793– 0.917) and was associated positively with the MetS score (1.280; 1.162– 1.410).
Conclusion: University students with NWO were characterized by higher cardiometabolic risk and lower levels of physical fitness. Our findings implied that university students with NWO should be mindful of the potential hidden health risks of excess body fat and participate in exercise to enhance physical fitness.
Keywords: body composition, body mass index, body fat distribution, skeletal muscle, public health