The mediating role of visceral adiposity in the relationship among schooling, physical inactivity, and unhealthy metabolic phenotype.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mediating role of visceral adiposity, as assessed by the visceral adiposity index (VAI), in the relationship among schooling, physical inactivity, and unhealthy metabolic phenotype (UMP). METHODS: A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted with 854 adult individuals of both sexes from a Brazilian city. Data were collected through interviews, anthropometric evaluation, and clinical and laboratorial tests. We used multivariate path analysis, which simultaneously analyzes multiple relationships between variables. The analyses were adjusted by sex and age and stratified according to nutritional status. RESULTS: A positive direct effect of visceral adiposity on the UMP was observed for normal weight, standardized estimate (SE) = 0.632; confidence interval (CI 95%) = 0.547, 0.707) and overweight individuals (SE = 0.732; CI 95% = 0.647, 0.808), and negative direct effect of schooling on physical inactivity (normal weight: SE = -0.408; CI 95% = -0.550, -0.265) and overweight (SE = -0.304; CI 95% = -0.479, -0.129). Among normal-weight individuals, there was a positive direct effect (SE = 0.193; CI 95% = 0.059, 0.328) of physical inactivity on VAI. In relation to indirect effects, there was a mediating role of visceral adiposity in the association of schooling level and physical inactivity with the UMP only among normal-weight individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Visceral adiposity has a direct effect on the UMP regardless of nutritional status, and there is a mediating effect of VAI on the relationship among schooling, physical inactivity, and UMP in normal-weight individuals.