Physical Activity Impacts Abdominal Adiposity in HIV

Higher levels of physical activity are tied to decreased abdominal adiposity among older adults with HIV, according to findings published in AIDS. Amanda Willig, MD, and colleagues examined the association between objectively measured physical activity and abdominal adiposity in virologically suppressed adults with HIV as part of the PROSPER-HIV study. Participants wore an accelerometer for 7 to 10 days to track their physical activity and had their waist and hip circumferences measured. The study included 419 people with HIV who were mostly men (77%) with an average age of 58. More than half the study population was Black (54%). The average number of steps per day was 4,905 (range, 3,233-7,140), with 5.4 hours of sedentary time per day. After controlling for age, sex, employment status, and medications, the number of daily steps was associated with decreased abdominal adiposity (P<0.001), and the number of hours of sedentary time per day was associated with higher abdominal adiposity (P<0.001). “Future work should investigate how to tailor the amount, type, and intensity of physical activity needed to reduce adiposity in [people with HIV] taking contemporary HIV medication,” Dr. Willig and colleagues wrote.