# The Relationship Between Physical Activity Profiles and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Results of a Cross-Sectional Survey of Active Duty U.S. Service Members

## TL;DR

This study finds that higher physical activity levels in U.S. service members are linked to lower risks of heart disease factors like high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

## Contribution

The study identifies distinct physical activity subgroups among service members and links them to cardiovascular disease risk factors using latent class analysis.

## Key findings

- Three physical activity subgroups were identified: High Activity, Moderate Activity, and Low Active.
- High Activity members had significantly lower odds of hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and multimorbidity compared to Low Active members.
- Similar protective associations were observed in service members meeting Healthy People 2030 standards.

## Abstract

This study aimed to identify subgroups of active duty U.S. service members (ADSMs) based on physical activity levels and their association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Our secondary aim was to assess how these profiles vary across sociodemographic factors.

A cross-sectional survey of ADSMs, yielding a 9.6% response rate and 17,166 usable surveys, was conducted by the DoD and RAND Corporation in 2018 using stratified random sampling. In this secondary analysis, latent subgroups of ADSMs were determined based on physical activity levels and a weighted multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations.

Three latent subgroups were identified as “High Activity” (17.1%), “Moderate Activity” (45.3%), and “Low Active” (37.6%). Older age, female, White (as compared to Hispanic), cohabiting, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard were associated with increased odds of “Low Active” membership. Compared to the “Low Active” class, the “High Active” class showed lower odds of hyperlipidemia (aOR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.99), hypertension (aOR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.98), and multimorbidity (aOR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.80). Compared to the “Low Active” class, the “Moderate Active” class showed lower odds of hyperlipidemia (aOR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.81) and multimorbidity (aOR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.53, 0.83). Similar patterns of associations were seen in ADSMs who met the objectives for Healthy People 2030 (HP2030) standards.

The study emphasizes the importance of combining physical activity and strength training to reduce CVD risk factors, supporting the implementation of tailored physical activity programs within the military to align fitness standards.