Men who suffer sensory loss, particularly hearing loss, are more likely to be physically inactive and obese than women, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Public Health (doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckab077).
In the report “Gender differences in the association between physical activity and obesity in adults with vision and hearing losses,” researchers from the Vision and Eye Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK, examined data from the Spanish National Health Survey 2017, comprising 23,089 adults. The participants self-reported vision and hearing problems.
A multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that the association between physical inactivity and obesity was stronger in those who had difficulty hearing compared with those who had difficulty seeing. A gender-stratified analyses showed a significant association between physical inactivity and obesity in men who reported difficulty hearing and difficulty seeing, but not in women. “This indicates that, especially in men with hearing loss, exercise and being active has a very important role in preventing obesity,” said lead author Shahina Pardhan, PhD, in a media release.