Association between Walking Pace and obesity in Chilean Population: Findings from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016-2017

Background: Walking Pace is a functional marker, used as a predictor of chronic diseases. However, there is a lack of evidence on the association between walking pace and obesity. Aim: To investigate the association between-self-reported walking pace with obesity in the Chilean adult population. Methods: 6,183 Chilean participants (aged 15 to 98 years) from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016-2017 were included in this cross-sectional study. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were the outcomes of interest. Self-reported walking pace (slow, average and brisk) was the exposure. The association between walking pace and obesity was determined by linear regression and Poisson regression and all analyses were adjusted in models according to sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Results: In the most adjusted model, those who reported an average and brisk walking pace had a lower BMI (beta: -1.03, p = 0.017 and -1.56 p = 0.001), lower WC (beta: -2.98, p = 0.004 and -3.64, p = 0.001) and waist to height ratio (beta: -0.19, p = 0.004 and -0.26 p < 0.0001) compared to people who reported a slow walking pace. A brisk walking pace was associated with a lower probability of obesity and central obesity. Conclusion: the average and brisk walking pace was associated with lower body weight, BMI, waist circumference and waist to height ratio and a brisk walking pace was associated with a lower probability of obesity and central obesity, independently of sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.