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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1514805
This article is part of the Research Topic Ensuring Public Health: The Active Role of Healthcare Professionals View all 6 articles

How Exercise Frequency Affects BMI: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study Exploring Key Influencing Factors, Including Dietary Behavior

Provisionally accepted
Ming Zhang Ming Zhang 1Qinyi Guan Qinyi Guan 2JIANRONG MAI JIANRONG MAI 3*Si Li Si Li 4Chengwu Liu Chengwu Liu 5Ling Zhou Ling Zhou 6Lina Lin Lina Lin 6Kaisheng Teng Kaisheng Teng 2
  • 1 Department of Physical Education, Guangzhou Xinhua College, Guangzhou, China
  • 2 School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangx, China
  • 3 School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Health Science College, Guangzhou, China
  • 4 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgical ICU, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑sen University, Guangzhou, China
  • 5 School of Public Health and Health Professions, Guangzhou Health Science College, Guangzhou, China
  • 6 School of Nursing, Guangzhou Xinhua College, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Purpose: Body Mass Index (BMI) is an important indicator for assessing obesity and related health risks. With the rapid socio-economic development and changes in lifestyle, abnormal BMI (such as underweight, overweight, and obesity) has become an increasingly serious public health issue. This study aims to explore the impact of exercise frequency on BMI among Chinese adults aged 19 to 59, and to analyze the role of dietary behaviors in regulating BMI, providing a basis for BMI intervention strategies. Method：The study employs a multi-stage sampling method across 23 provinces, provincial capitals, and four municipalities in China, randomly selecting 120 cities from each region. Online surveys were conducted using Wenjuanxing by trained surveyors. Result: A total of 8,611 individuals participated in the survey.Among them, 1,066 (12.38%) had a BMI < 18.5, 5,354 (62.18%) had a BMI between 18.5 and 23.9, and 2,191 (25.44%) had a BMI ≥ 24. Factors such as gender, age, marital status, monthly household income, smoking, and alcohol consumption significantly affected BMI (P < 0.05). The overall impact of exercise on abnormal BMI was -0.003, with a direct effect of -0.005. The mediating effect of dietary behaviors between exercise and abnormal BMI was 0.002, accounting for 92.48% of the total effect. Conclusion: This study highlights the widespread prevalence of abnormal BMI among individuals aged 19 to 59 in China. A single exercise intervention may be insufficient to effectively improve abnormal BMI; thus, it should be combined with strategies aimed at enhancing dietary behaviors.

    Keywords: ：Body Mass Index, Exercise, dietary behavior, mediation effect, influencing factor

    Received: 21 Oct 2024; Accepted: 24 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Guan, MAI, Li, Liu, Zhou, Lin and Teng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: JIANRONG MAI, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Health Science College, Guangzhou, China

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