Long-term effects of physical activity level on changes in healthy body mass index over 12 years in young adult women

Objectives To examine the effects of overall level and timing of physical activity (PA) on changes from a healthy body mass index (BMI) category over 12 years in young adult women. Patients and Methods Participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (younger cohort, born 1973-1978) completed surveys between 2000 (age 22-27 years) and 2012 (age 34-39 years). Physical activity was measured in 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009 and was categorized as very low, low, active, or very active at each survey, and a cumulative PA score for this 9-year period was created. Logistic regression was used to examine relationships between PA accumulated across all surveys (cumulative PA model) and PA at each survey (critical periods PA model), with change in BMI category (from healthy to overweight or healthy to obese) from 2000 to 2012. Results In women with a healthy BMI in 2000, there were clear dose-response relationships between accumulated PA and transition to overweight (P=.03) and obesity (P<.01) between 2000 and 2012. The critical periods analysis indicated that very active levels of PA at the 2006 survey (when the women were 28-33 years old) and active or very active PA at the 2009 survey (age 31-36 years) were most protective against transitioning to overweight and obesity. Conclusion These findings confirm that maintenance of very high PA levels throughout young adulthood will significantly reduce the risk of becoming overweight or obese. There seems to be a critical period for maintaining high levels of activity at the life stage when many women face competing demands of caring for infants and young children.

Physical activity and diabetic complications in patients with type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is associated with the risk for late diabetic complications which are divided into microvascular (retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy) and macrovascular (cardiovascular disease, CVD) diseases. The risk for diabetic complication can be reduced by effective treatment, most importantly the glycaemic control. Glycaemia in type 1 diabetes is influenced by the interplay between insulin injections and lifestyle factors such as physical activity and diet. The effect of physical activity in patients with type 1 diabetes is not well known, however. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the physical activity and the physical fitness of patients with type 1 diabetes with special emphasis on glycaemic control and the diabetic complications. The patients included in the study were all part of the nationwide, multicenter Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane) Study which aims to characterise genetic, clinical, and environmental factors that predispose to diabetic complications in patients with type 1 diabetes. In addition, subjects from the IDentification of EArly mechanisms in the pathogenesis of diabetic Late complications (IDEAL) Study were studied. Physical activity was assessed in the FinnDiane Study in 1945 patients by a validated questionnaire. Physical fitness was measured in the IDEAL Study by spiroergometry (cycle test with measurement of respiratory gases) in 86 young adults with type 1 diabetes and in 27 healthy controls. All patients underwent thorough clinical characterisation of their diabetic complication status. Four substudies were cross-sectional using baseline data and one study additionally used follow-up data. Physical activity, especially the intensity of activities, was reduced in patients affected by diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and CVD. Low physical activity was associated with poor glycaemic control, a finding most clear in women and evident also in patients with no signs of diabetic complications. Furthermore, low physical activity was associated with a higher HbA1c variability, which in turn was associated with the progression of renal disease and CVD during follow-up. A higher level of physical activity was also associated with better insulin sensitivity. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in type 1 diabetes was also lower the higher the physical activity. The aerobic physical fitness level of young adults with type 1 diabetes was reduced compared with healthy peers and in men an association between higher fitness level and lower HbA1c was observed. In patients with type 1 diabetes, a higher physical activity was associated with better glycaemic control and may thus be beneficial with respect to the prevention of diabetic complications.

Leisure-time physical activity, health related functioning and retirement : a prospective cohort study among middle-aged employees

Physical inactivity has become a major threat to public health worldwide. The Finnish health and welfare policies emphasize that the working population should maintain good health and functioning until their normal retirement age and remain in good health and independence later in life. Health behaviours like physical activity potentially play an important role in reaching this target as physical activity contributes to better physical fitness and to reduced risk of major chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to examine first whether the volume and intensity of leisure-time physical activity impacts on subsequent physical health functioning, sickness absence and disability retirement. The second aim was to examine changes in leisure-time physical activity of moderate and vigorous intensity after transition to retirement. This study is part of the ongoing Helsinki Health Study. The baseline data were collected by questionnaires in 2000 - 02 among the employees of the City of Helsinki aged 40 to 60. The follow-up survey data were collected in 2007. Data on sickness absence were obtained from the employer s (City of Helsinki) sickness absence registers and pension data were obtained from the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Leisure-time physical activity was measured in four grades of intensity and classified according to physical activity recommendations considering both the volume and intensity of physical activity. Statistical techniques including analysis of covariance, logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards models and Poisson regression were used. Employees who were vigorously active during leisure time especially had better physical health functioning than those physically inactive. High physical activity in particular contributed to the maintenance of good physical health functioning. High physical activity also reduced the risk of subsequent sickness absences as well as the risk of all-cause disability retirement and retirement due to musculoskeletal and mental causes. Among those transferred to old-age retirement moderate-intensity leisure-time physical activity increased on average by more than half an hour per week and in addition the occurrence of physical inactivity reduced. Such changes were not observed among those remained employed and those transferred to disability retirement. This prospective cohort study provided novel results on the effects of leisure-time physical activity on health related functioning and changes in leisure-time physical activity after retirement. Although the benefits of moderate-intensity physical activity for health are well known these results suggest the importance of vigorous physical activity for subsequent health related functioning. Thus vigorous physical activity to enhance fitness should be given more emphasis from a public health perspective. In addition, physical activity should be encouraged among those who are about to retire.

Early Growth and Later Health, Focus on Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity and Physical Activity

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Hypothesis proposes that adverse health outcomes in adult life are in part programmed during fetal life and infancy. This means that e.g. restricted nutrition during pregnancy programmes the offspring to store fat more effectively, to develop faster and to reach puberty earlier. These adaptations are beneficial in terms of short term survival. However, in developed countries these adaptations often lead to an increased risk of obesity and metabolic disturbances in later life, due to a mismatch between the prenatal and postnatal environment. This thesis aimed to study the role of early growth in people who are obese as adults, but metabolically healthy as well as in those who are normal in weight but metabolically obese. Other study aims were to assess whether physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness are programmed early in life. The role of socioeconomic status in the development of obesity from a life course setting was also studied. These studies included 2003 men and women born in Helsinki between 1934 and 1944 with detailed information of their prenatal and childhood growth as well as living conditions. They participated in the detailed clinical examination during the years 2001-2004. A sub-group of the subjects participated in the UKK Institute 2-kilometre walk test. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the 2005 criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. Among the obese men and women 20 % were metabolically healthy. Those with metabolic syndrome did not differ in birth size compared to the healthy ones, but by two years of age, they were lighter and thinner, and remained so up to 11 years. The period when changes in BMIs were predictive of the metabolic syndrome was from birth to 7 years. Of the normal weight individuals 17 % were metabolically obese. Again, there were no differences in birth size. However, by the age 7 years, those men who later developed metabolic syndrome were thinner. Gains in BMI during the first two years of life were protective of the syndrome. Children who were heavier, and especially taller, were more physically active, exercised with higher intensity and had higher cardiorespiratory fitness in their adult life than those who were shorter and thinner as children. Lower educational attainment and lower adult social class were associated with obesity in both men and women. Childhood social class was inversely associated with body mass index only in men while lower household income was associated with higher BMI in women. These results support the role of early life factors in the development of metabolic syndrome and adult life style. Early detection of risk factors predisposing to these conditions is highly relevant from a public health point of view.

Effect of Aquathol K Treatments on Activity Patterns of Largemouth Bass in Two Coves of Lake Seminole, Georgia

Thirty largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoide s Lacepde) were implanted with radio tags in late October 2003 in two coves of Lake Seminole, Georgia, and tracked over a 24-hour period about every 10 days to determine their response to herbicide application. After five weeks of tracking, hydrilla ( Hydrilla verticillata Royle) in each cove was treated in early December 2003 with dipotassium salt of endothall (Aquathol K; 7-oxabicyclo [2.2.1] heptane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid) at a rate of 3.5 ppm. Largemouth bass were tracked during application and tracking continued for three months post treatment to assess effects of herbicide treatment on activity patterns. The treatment in Desser Cove successfully reduced hydrilla in approximately half the cove. However, the treatment in Peacock Lake completely eliminated all submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) by April 2004. Movement and activity centers remained similar between treatment periods in Desser Cove, but increased after treatment in Peacock Lake. Depth occupied by telemetered fish decreased after Aquathol K treatment in both coves. In general, behavior of largemouth bass did not change appreciably during treatment, and only minor changes were observed in the posttreatment period in Peacock Lake, where all SAV was eliminated. Fish showed little attraction to or movement away from treatment areas, and fish migration from either cove was nil after treatment. Application of Aquathol K and subsequent reduction of SAV had little effect on largemouth bass behavior or movement. (PDF has 8 pages.)

Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Time during Childhood, Adolescence and Young Adulthood: A Cohort Study

Background: To know how moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time change across lifespan periods is needed for designing successful lifestyle interventions. We aimed to study changes in objectively measured (accelerometry) MVPA and sedentary time from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to young adulthood. Methods: Estonian and Swedish participants from the European Youth Heart Study aged 9 and 15 years at baseline (N = 2312) were asked to participate in a second examination 6 (Sweden) to 9/10 (Estonia) years later. 1800 participants with valid accelerometer data were analyzed. Results: MVPA decreased from childhood to adolescence (21 to 22.5 min/d per year of follow-up, P = 0.01 and ,0.001, for girls and boys respectively) and also from adolescence to young adulthood (20.8 to 22.2 min/d per year, P = 0.02 and ,0.001 for girls and boys, respectively). Sedentary time increased from childhood to adolescence (+15 and +20 min/d per year, for girls and boys respectively, P,0.001), with no substantial change from adolescence to young adulthood. Changes in both MVPA and sedentary time were greater in Swedish than in Estonian participants and in boys than in girls. The magnitude of the change observed in sedentary time was 3–6 time larger than the change observed in MVPA. Conclusions: The decline in MVPA (overall change = 30 min/d) and increase sedentary time (overall change = 2:45 h/d)observed from childhood to adolescence are of concern and might increase the risk of developing obesity and other chronic diseases later in life. These findings substantially contribute to understand how key health-related behaviors (physical activity and sedentary) change across important periods of life.

Increased physical activity is not enough to recover astrocytic population from dark-rearing. Synergy with multisensory enrichment is required

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Activity patterns of Kemp's ridley turtles, Lepidochelys kempii, in the coastal waters of the Cedar Keys, Florida

Radio and sonic telemetry were used to investigate the tidal orientation, rate of movement (ROM), and surfacing behavior of nine Kemp's ridley turtles, Lepidochelys kempii, tracked east of the Cedar Keys, Florida. The mean of mean turtle bearings on incoming (48 ± 49 0) and falling (232 ± 41 0) tides was significantly oriented to the mean directions of tidal flow (37±9°, P<0.0025, and 234±9 0, P<0.005, respectively). Turtles had a mean ROM of 0.44±0.33 km/h (range: 0.004-1.758 km/h), a mean surface duration of 18± 15 s (range: 1-88 s), and a mean submergence duration of 8.4± 6.4 min (range: 0.2-60.0 min). ROM was negatively correlated with surface and submergence durations and positively correlated with the number of surfacings. Furthermore, ROMs were higher and surface and submergence durations were shorter during the day. Daily activities of turtles were attributed to food acquisition and bioenergetics.

Day and night abundance, distribution, and activity patterns of demersal fishes on Heceta Bank, Oregon

Most shallow-dwelling tropical marine fishes exhibit different activity patterns during the day and night but show similar transition behavior among habitat sites despite the dissimilar assemblages of the species. However, changes in species abundance, distribution, and activity patterns have only rarely been examined in temperate deepwater habitats during the day and night, where day-to-night differences in light intensity are extremely slight. Direct-observation surveys were conducted over several depths and habitat types on Heceta Bank, the largest rocky bank off the Oregon coast. Day and night fish community composition, relative density, and activity levels were compared by using videotape footage from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operated along paired transects. Habitat-specific abundance and activity were determined for 31 taxa or groups. General patterns observed were similar to shallow temperate day and night studies, with an overall increase in the abundance and activity of fishes during the day than at night, particularly in shallower cobble, boulder, and rock ridge habitats. Smaller schooling rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) were more abundant and active in day than in night transects, and sharpchin (S. zacentrus) and harlequin (S. variegatus) rockfish were significantly more abundant in night transects. Most taxa, however, did not exhibit distinct diurnal or nocturnal activity patterns. Rosethorn rockfish (S. helvomaculatus) and hagfishes (Eptatretus spp.) showed the clearest diurnal and nocturnal activity patterns, respectively. Because day and night distributions and activity patterns in demersal fishes are likely to influence both catchability and observability in bottom trawl and direct-count in situ surveys, the patterns observed in the current study should be considered for survey design and interpretation.

Self-reported sitting time and physical activity: interactive associations with mental well-being and productivity in office employees

Background: Little is known about how sitting time, alone or in combination with markers of physical activity (PA), influences mental well-being and work productivity. Given the need to develop workplace PA interventions that target employees' health related efficiency outcomes; this study examined the associations between self-reported sitting time, PA, mental well-being and work productivity in office employees. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Spanish university office employees (n = 557) completed a survey measuring socio-demographics, total and domain specific (work and travel) self-reported sitting time, PA (International Physical Activity Questionnaire short version), mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburg Mental Well-Being Scale) and work productivity (Work Limitations Questionnaire). Multivariate linear regression analyses determined associations between the main variables adjusted for gender, age, body mass index and occupation. PA levels (low, moderate and high) were introduced into the model to examine interactive associations. Results: Higher volumes of PA were related to higher mental well-being, work productivity and spending less time sitting at work, throughout the working day and travelling during the week, including the weekends (p < 0.05). Greater levels of sitting during weekends was associated with lower mental well-being (p < 0.05). Similarly, more sitting while travelling at weekends was linked to lower work productivity (p < 0.05). In highly active employees, higher sitting times on work days and occupational sitting were associated with decreased mental well-being (p < 0.05). Higher sitting times while travelling on weekend days was also linked to lower work productivity in the highly active (p < 0.05). No significant associations were observed in low active employees. Conclusions: Employees' PA levels exerts different influences on the associations between sitting time, mental well-being and work productivity. The specific associations and the broad sweep of evidence in the current study suggest that workplace PA strategies to improve the mental well-being and productivity of all employees should focus on reducing sitting time alongside efforts to increase PA.

Longitudinal study of changes in body mass index, anthropometric measures, dietary intake and physical activity in cohorts of school-going Irish adolescents

The prevalence of obesity worldwide has increased dramatically over the last few decades. Poor dietary habits and low levels of exercise in adolescence are often maintained into adulthood where they can impact on the incidence of obesity and chronic diseases. A 3-year longitudinal study of anthropometric, dietary and exercise parameters was carried out annually (2005 - 2007) in 3 Irish secondary schools. Anthropometric measurements were taken in each year and analysed longitudinally. Overweight and obesity were at relatively low levels in these adolescents. Height, weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences and TST increased significantly over the 3 years. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) decreased significantly over time. Boys were significantly taller than girls across the 3 years. A 3-day weighed food diary was used to assess food intake by the adolescents. Analysis of dietary intake data was determined using WISP©. Mean daily energy and nutrient intakes were reported. Mean daily energy and macronutrient intakes were analysed longitudinally. The adolescents’ diet was characterised by relatively high saturated fat intakes and insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption. The dietary pattern did not change significantly over the 3 years. Boys consumed more energy than girls over the study period. A validated questionnaire was used to assess physical activity and sedentary activity levels. Boys were substantially more active and had higher energy expenditure estimates than girls throughout the study. A significant longitudinal decrease in physical activity levels among the adolescents was observed. Both genders spent more than the recommended amount of time (hrs/day) pursing sedentary activities. The dietary pattern in these Irish adolescents is relatively poor. Of additional concern is the overall longitudinal decrease in physical activity levels. Promoting consumption of a balanced diet and increased exercise levels among adolescents will help to reduce future public health care costs due to weight-related diseases.

Activity patterns in design processes of IT standards

Contemporary IT standards are designed, not selected. Their design enacts a complex process that brings together a coalition of players. We examine the design of the SOAP standard to discover activity patterns in this design process. The paper reports these patterns as a precursor to developing a micro-level process theory for designing IT standards.

Physical activity in US Blacks: a systematic review and critical examination of self-report instruments.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity self-report instruments in the US have largely been developed for and validated in White samples. Despite calls to validate existing instruments in more diverse samples, relatively few instruments have been validated in US Blacks. Emerging evidence suggests that these instruments may have differential validity in Black populations. PURPOSE: This report reviews and evaluates the validity and reliability of self-reported measures of physical activity in Blacks and makes recommendations for future directions. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify published reports with construct or criterion validity evaluated in samples that included Blacks. Studies that reported results separately for Blacks were examined. RESULTS: The review identified 10 instruments validated in nine manuscripts. Criterion validity correlations tended to be low to moderate. No study has compared the validity of multiple instruments in a single sample of Blacks. CONCLUSION: There is a need for efforts validating self-report physical activity instruments in Blacks, particularly those evaluating the relative validity of instruments in a single sample.

Benefits and Effects of Interactive Gaming Exercise as Compared to Traditional Exercise Techniques: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Physical Activity Levels and Mode of Activity in College Students

Gemstone Team F.I.T.N.E.S.S. (Fun Interactive Techniques for New Exercise and Sport Styles)