Effect of exercise on decreasing Visceral Adiposity Index among the Royal Thai Army personnel in Thailand: a 1-year follow-up study.

Introduction: The Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) was developed as a reliable indicator of visceral adipose function and demonstrated an association with the risk of cardiovascular disease. Recent studies provided an association between exercise and cardiometabolic risk factors among the Royal Thai Army (RTA) personnel in Thailand, with limited evidence from a cross-sectional design. We assessed how exercise affected changes in the VAI in this sample during a 1-year follow-up study.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the surveillance database of cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome among RTA personnel from 2022 to 2023. VAI was calculated using anthropometric data and lipid profiles. We used the generalised estimating equations model to evaluate the differences in the mean change in VAI between individuals with no, irregular and regular exercise.

Results: The analysis included a total of 8433 participants. Those reporting no, irregular and regular exercise were 1.7%, 33.3% and 65.1%, respectively. At the 1-year follow-up, the mean change in VAI for not exercising was 0.19 (95% CI: -0.22 to 0.61), after adjusting for baseline characteristics. On the other hand, the regular exercise group's mean change in VAI was -0.36 (95% CI: -0.54 to -0.18), whereas the irregular exercise group's mean change was -0.36 (95% CI: -0.52 to -0.19). The mean change in VAI for irregular exercise was -0.55 (95% CI: -1.00 to -0.10, p=0.016), which was significantly different from the no-exercise group. The difference between regular exercise and no exercise was -0.56 (95% CI: -1.01 to -0.10, p=0.016).

Conclusion: This 1-year follow-up study demonstrated how exercise reduced VAI among RTA personnel. Our results demonstrate that individuals who reported irregular and regular exercise had a decrease in VAI, but those who reported no exercise did not.