Physical activity, weight, and waist circumference in midlife women.

During midlife years, women are at risk of increasing body weight and waist circumference. We evaluated changes in weight and waist circumference from enrollment to 2 years later and examined the influence of physical activity level on those changes among 232 women aged between 40 and 50. Weight increased significantly for the entire sample.

Body mass index in multiethnic midlife women: influence of demographic characteristics and physical activity.

We examined the influence of demographic characteristics and physical activity on body mass index (BMI) in multiethnic midlife women. A sample of 236 African, European, and Mexican/Central Americans aged 40-50 completed the initial, 1-year, and 2-year assessments. The effects of demographic characteristics and physical activity on BMI at the 2-year assessment were evaluated using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.