Objective:

To use a new methodology to classify the level of physical activity (PA) by combining the levels of PA and sedentary time (SED) in order to establish its association with metabolic syndrome (MS).

Materials and methods:

A representative sample of Chilean adults (≥18 years old) who participated in the National Health Survey (ENS 2009-2010) was included in this study (n=5 040). Four categories were created using a combination of PA and SED levels through the GPAQ questionnaire. MS was defined according to the norms established by NCEP ATP-III.

Results:

A lower probability of MS was observed only in the categories that comply with the international recommendations of PA, “active and low-SED” (OR=0.72 [0.57 to 0.91]) and “active and high-SED” (OR=0.63 [0.49 to 0.81]). While the level of SED (high/low) was not associated with a significant reduction of MS in any of the groups.

Conclusions:

This type of classification demonstrates that the main strategy to reduce the risk of MS should be associated with compliance with the recommendations of PA.