Higher levels of physical activity are associated with a lower risk of arterial stiffness among middle-aged and older Chinese adults, with this association partially mediated by improvements in visceral fat metabolism as measured by the Metabolic Score For Visceral Fat.
Each standard deviation increase in physical activity intensity was associated with a 22% reduction in arterial stiffness risk.
Both moderate-intensity and high-intensity physical activity were significantly associated with a lower risk of arterial stiffness compared to low-intensity physical activity.
Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a nonlinear association between physical activity intensity and arterial stiffness risk.
The Metabolic Score For Visceral Fat significantly mediated the negative association between physical activity and arterial stiffness.
This research suggests that being more physically active is linked to healthier, more flexible arteries in middle-aged and older adults in China. Using data from a large national health survey conducted in 2015, researchers found that people who engaged in moderate or high levels of physical activity had meaningfully lower odds of having stiff arteries compared to those with low activity levels. The relationship was not simply linear — the benefits grew as activity levels increased, and even moderate activity conferred significant protection. The study also investigated why physical activity might protect against arterial stiffness, focusing on visceral fat — the harmful fat stored around internal organs. Researchers used a measure called the Metabolic Score For Visceral Fat and found that improvements in visceral fat metabolism explained about 11.4% of the protective effect of physical activity on arterial stiffness. This means that while reducing visceral fat is one way exercise helps keep arteries healthy, most of the benefit likely comes through other biological mechanisms not captured in this study. This research suggests that promoting physical activity among middle-aged and older adults could be an important strategy for preserving cardiovascular health, with part of the benefit working through reductions in harmful visceral fat. The findings highlight visceral fat metabolism as one potential pathway connecting exercise to arterial health, which could inform future research into targeted interventions for reducing cardiovascular disease risk.
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Upload Your LabsJiang H, Shao X, Jiang L, Zhang T. (2026). Association of physical activity with arterial stiffness: the mediating role of the visceral fat metabolism score.. Archives of endocrinology and metabolism. https://doi.org/10.20945/2359-4292-2026-0094