A Canonical Correlation Analysis of Physical Activity Parameters and Body Composition Measures in College Students

The aim of this study was to examine the multivariate associate between physical activity (PA) parameters and body composition (BC) measures in college students. A total of N=60 college students who completed a PA questionnaire and had their BC assessed were included in this study. Three variables were used to measure the PA construct: VO2max (ml/kg/min), minutes of moderate PA (MMPA) (min/week), and muscle strengthening activity (MSA) (days/week). Three variables were used to measure the BC construct: percent body fat (PBF) (%), body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2), and waist circumference (WC) (cm). Three different statistical software packages were used to ensure consistent canonical correlation analysis (CCA) findings: SAS, SPSS, and R. Two variates presented useful in the CCA. The first variate showed 77.8% explained variance and a large canonical correlation (rc = .512). The second variate showed 21.8% explained variance and a modest canonical correlation (rc = .301). All communalities (h2s) were large for PA variables. However, h2s were only large for PBF and BMI in the BC construct. Results from this study indicate that PA and BC constructs are correlated with each other in college students. Of particular note, is the contribution of MSA, MMPA, PBF, and BMI to the first variate. As well, the contribution of VO2max, MSA, and BMI to the second variate. These findings may suggest two different relationships between PA and BC: 1) a general PA behavior and BC relationship and 2) an exercise and BC relationship.