Modifications of 24-h movement behaviors to prevent obesity in retirement: a natural experiment using compositional data analysis

Retirement often leads to a more passive lifestyle and may therefore lead to weight gain. This study aims to investigate longitudinal associations between changes in 24-h movement behaviors and BMI and waist circumference in relation to the transition from work to retirement. The study population included 213 retiring public sector workers (mean age 63.5 years) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging study. Before and after retirement participants wore an Axivity thigh-worn accelerometer and completed a daily log for at least four days to measure daily time spent sleeping, in sedentary behavior (SED), light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). BMI and waist circumference were measured repeatedly. Compositional linear regression and isotemporal substitution analyses were used to study associations between one-year changes in 24-h movement behaviors and concurrent changes in BMI and waist circumference. An increase in MVPA in relation to sleep, SED and LPA was associated with a decrease in BMI (β = -0.60, p = 0.04) and waist circumference (β = -2.14, p = 0.05) over one year from before to after retirement. Increasing sleep in relation to SED, LPA and MVPA was associated with an increase in BMI (β = 1.34, p = 0.02). Reallocating 60 min from MVPA to SED or sleep was estimated to increase BMI by 0.8–0.9 kg/m² and waist circumference by 3.0 cm during one year. During the retirement transition, increasing MVPA was associated with slight decreases in BMI and waist circumference, whereas increasing sleep was associated with increasing BMI. Common life transitions, like retirement, should be considered when giving recommendations and guidance for physical activity and sleep.

Kristin Suorsa, Nidhi Gupta, Tuija Leskinen, Lars L. Andersen, Jesse Pasanen, Pasan Hettiarachchi, Peter J. Johansson, Jaana Pentti, Jussi Vahtera, Sari Stenholm