Physical activity patterns of Singaporean adolescents

The purpose of this study was to document the level of physical activity and sedentary behavior in a representative sample of Singaporean adolescents. A random sample of 1,827 secondary school students from six secondary schools (929 boys, 898 girls, mean age 14.9 +/- 1.2 yr) completed the Three-Day Physical Activity Recall (3DPAR) self-report instrument. Approximately 63% of Singaporean high school students met current guidelines requiring 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. Just over half (51.6%) met the guideline calling for regular vigorous physical activity. Across all grade levels, boys were consistently more active than girls. More than 70% of Singaporean high school students exceeded the recommended 2 hours per day of electronic media use. Collectively, these findings suggest that a significant proportion of Singaporean adolescents are not sufficiently active and are in need of programs to promote physical activity and decrease sedentary behavior.

A pathology of the animal spirits – the clinical neurology of Thomas Willis (1621–1675) Part II – Disorders of intrinsically abnormal animal spirits

Thomas Willis (1621-1675), author of the classical work Cerebri Anatome (1664), was arguably the father of the modern era of neurology. His clinical neurology, as described in his Pathologiae Cerebri (1667) and De Anima Brutorum (1672), was largely derived from personal observations and not from traditional authorities and was based around his concept of the animal spirits, a fictitious entity in many ways analogous to the present day idea of the nerve impulse. This concept allowed him to develop a pathology of the animal spirits which embraced the whole content of the clinical neurology and psychiatry of his times. The anatomical and physiological background to Willis' concepts of animal spirit dysfunction, and those disorders he regarded as due to disturbed function of intrinsically normal animal spirits, have been dealt with in the previous part of this paper. The disorders he attributed to intrinsically abnormal animal spirits, dealt with in this part of the paper, comprised two categories. In one, the animal spirits possessed explosive properties, whilst in the other the abnormalities were non-explosive in their nature. The former category included epilepsy, hysteria and hypochondriasis, whilst the latter included mainly disorders now considered psychiatric e.g. delirium, melancholy, madness and stupidity. Willis' ideas about the pathogenesis of nervous system disorder seem never to have been generally accepted, partly because they appeared at a time when others were increasingly calling into question the existence of the animal spirits. Nevertheless, Willis' attempt to record and interpret all nervous system disease on the basis of disorder of function of a single underlying mechanism represents a formidable synthetic intellectual endeavour on the part of a very busy physician. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The challenge of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing the social determinants

The importance of professional disciplines working together to address the critical social and health issues facing society today cannot be overstated. Policy makers, service providers and researchers have long been calling for greater interdisciplinary collaboration. Despite this there has been little systemic analysis of the constraints involved in such collaboration. Far too often disciplines continue to work in silos. This paper aims to analyse the barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration through a case study of the relationship between social work and public health. These two disciplines have a lot more in common than might first appear. There is real potential for social work and public health to work together and enhance each other's efforts to address their common goal of greater social equality. However, this will require a genuine commitment from both disciplines to develop a shared political analysis, common language and a framework for action, which utilises their respective strengths.