Journal of physical activity & health最新文献

Background: Leisure-time physical activity is associated with health benefits, whereas occupational physical activity (OPA) may, paradoxically, increase health risks. This study examined associations between OPA and mortality in a representative US sample.

Methods: Data from 8041 full-time workers (age 41.4 ± 0.2 y) in the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, linked to the 2019 National Death Index, were analyzed. Self-reported occupations were categorized as low, moderate, or high OPA. Cox proportional hazards models estimated adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) for all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, adjusting for demographics, health behaviors, and health status. Effect modification by age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, and leisure-time physical activity was examined.

Results: Moderate OPA was associated with higher all-cause mortality (aHR = 1.24, 95% CI, 1.00-1.53) compared with low OPA. Moderate (aHR = 1.79, 95% CI, 1.16-2.75) and high OPA (aHR = 1.71, 95% CI, 1.00-2.92) showed higher CVD mortality risk. Adults aged ≤44 years and females with high OPA had higher all-cause mortality risk compared with low OPA (aHR = 1.60, 95% CI, 1.00-2.57 and aHR = 1.59, 95% CI, 1.05-2.41; respectively). Among never smokers, those with some college education, and those meeting leisure-time physical activity guidelines, high OPA was associated with increased CVD mortality (aHR = 3.44, 95% CI, 1.26-9.37; aHR = 3.50, 95% CI, 1.60-7.64; and aHR = 6.21, 95% CI, 2.10-18.39; respectively).

Conclusion: This analysis supports the physical activity health paradox in a US population, with higher OPA levels associated with increased mortality risk, particularly from CVD. These findings underscore the need for targeted workplace interventions, especially for vulnerable populations.

Background: Most people are insufficiently physically active. Evidence indicates that social support can be used to promote physical activity and can be sourced from online connections, but it is unclear which type (1. appraisal, 2. belongingness, 3. emotional, 4. informational, or 5. instrumental) and setting (in-person or remote) of social support is associated with physical activity levels.

Methods: A one-time, online Qualtrics survey asked participants (n = 201) how many minutes per week they spend being physically active; who their social supporters are; and how often support is sought, received, reciprocated, satisfactory, in-person, and remote. Network composition scores were computed by averaging the frequencies of (1) seeking, (2) receiving, (3) reciprocating, (4) satisfaction of, (5) in-person setting, and (6) remote setting for all nominations within each type of social support. Five regressions were used to assess if network compositions are associated with physical activity level.

Results: The informational (R2 = .07, P = .19), instrumental (R2 = -.12, P = .88), appraisal (R2 = .05, P = .25), and belongingness (R2 = -.03, P = .60) models were not statistically significant; however, the emotional (R2 = .39, P < .001) model was statistically significant. Notably, in-person (b = -163.11, SE = 53.57), receiving (b = -156.33, SE = 74.63), and reciprocating (b = 116.25, SE = 53.08) emotional support was associated with physical activity level.

Conclusions: These results indicate that physical activity is associated with receiving less but reciprocating more emotional support. In addition, the in-person setting for emotional support seems contradirectional to physical activity, but further research is required to determine the directionality and causality of in-person emotional support and physical activity.

Background: Acute exercise has been demonstrated to improve cognitive functioning among the general population. We provide the first review to establish the evidence for acute exercise to improve cognitive function among adults with cognitive impairment (CI).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that investigated the effects of a single exercise session on cognitive function. Data sources were PubMed, SportDiscus, PsychINFO, Cochrane Central, PEDro, and Embase. Eligibility criteria were randomized controlled trials of acute exercise with participants aged 18+ and physician diagnosed or self-reported CI. We used dual data abstraction, risk-of-bias assessment, and strength of evidence assessment. We pooled results using the inverse variance heterogeneity model or with narrative synthesis.

Results: Fifteen studies (8 parallel group and 7 crossover) representing 500 participants were included, 10 in the meta-analysis. Acute exercise significantly improved executive function (moderate evidence, 9 studies, 330 participants, g = 0.33, small effect, 95% CI, 0.07-0.59, P = .01, I2 = 26.77%). However, this was only for high risk of bias/crossover studies. Acute exercise improved reaction time but not significantly (very low evidence, 7 studies, 271 participants, g = 0.17, small effect, 95% CI, -0.20-0.54, P = .36, I2 = 50.18%). Narratively, improvements were noted for memory, but there was mixed evidence for attention, information processing, and motor memory.

Conclusions: Acute exercise provides a small improvement in executive function and may also improve reaction time and memory for adults with CI. Additional research is needed before reaching an evidence-based consensus on the promotion of acute exercise for adults with CI.

Background: Korea experiences rapid aging among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. This population faces challenges, such as physical and mental health issues. Physical activity promotes successful aging, yet longitudinal evidence examining its causal effects on health and life satisfaction among them remains unexplored.

Methods: Longitudinal data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging were examined, using 43,234 observations from 2006 to 2020. The analysis employs fixed-effects models to assess the long-term causal impact of regular exercise and exercise frequency on health and life satisfaction.

Results: Regular exercise participation leads to a 2.59 point increase in self-assessed health (P < .1), with a relatively larger effect observed among males compared to females. Exercise frequency positively affects health satisfaction with coefficients of 0.41 (P < .01) overall, 0.50 (P < .01) for males, and 0.33 (P < .01) for females. For life satisfaction, regular exercise shows positive effects with coefficients of 2.25 (P < .01) for the full sample, 2.28 (P < .01) for males, and 2.20 (P < .01) for females.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence of a long-term impact between regular exercise, exercise frequency, and health and life satisfaction among older adults in Korea. Findings emphasize the importance of physical activity programs and the role of public health policies in encouraging active lifestyles to support healthy aging.

Background: To examine the independent, stratified, and joint associations of physical activity (PA) and adiposity with microvascular diseases (MVDs) in prediabetes.

Methods: This cohort study included 9063 prediabetic individuals from the UK Biobank. Total PA, light-intensity PA, moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA, and vigorous-intensity PA were measured by wrist-worn AX3 accelerometers and determined through a machine learning approach. Moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA was categorized by the guideline (≥150 min/wk), and the others were categorized by tertiles. Body fat percentage (BF) was measured by bioimpedance and divided into low and high groups according to sex-specific medians. Cox proportional hazards models were used.

Results: During a median follow-up of 8.0 years, 700 cases of MVDs were documented. Recommended moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA and high vigorous-intensity PA (median = 18 min/wk) were associated with reduced risks of MVDs across all BF levels, but the protective association of light-intensity PA was only observed in the low BF group (hazard ratio: 0.67; 95% CI, 0.49-0.91). Joint analyses showed that the lowest risks of MVDs were observed in combinations of low BF and high PAs. The findings had no substantial change using body mass index as an indicator of adiposity.

Conclusions: The findings suggested that short-time vigorous-intensity PA (approximate 18 min/wk) may reduce the risk of MVDs in all strata of adiposity, whereas the protective role of high light-intensity PA was mainly prominent in those with low adiposity among prediabetes. These findings highlighted the need to personalize PA advice combined with adiposity management to improve microvascular health.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the social and physical environments for sport, exercise, and physical activity (SEPA) participation. However, limited research has examined how patterns of activity co-occurrence have changed across demographic groups. This study aimed to explore shifts in SEPA participation before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on identifying co-occurrence patterns by sex and age group.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2019, 2021, and 2023 waves of the Korean National Sports Survey (N = 6609). Respondents who reported participating in 2 or more types of SEPA were included. Association rule mining was applied using the Apriori algorithm to identify coparticipation patterns. Rules were filtered using thresholds of support ≥ 0.01, confidence ≥ 0.50, and lift ≥ 1.00.

Results: Co-occurrence patterns of SEPA participation changed notably across the prepandemic, pandemic, and postpandemic periods. In 2019, team sports such as basketball, soccer/futsal, and swimming showed strong co-occurrence. During the pandemic years, walking, hiking, and gymnastics became central activities. Men were more likely to engage in vigorous, competitive combinations, whereas women participated more in accessible, low-impact combinations. Younger adults exhibited the greatest shifts toward individual activities, whereas middle-aged and older adults maintained stable co-occurrence patterns centered around walking, gymnastics, and gateball.

Conclusions: This study revealed substantial shifts in SEPA co-occurrence patterns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings highlight the need for promoting flexible, multiactivity strategies that are responsive to demographic differences and adaptive to external environmental changes.

Background: Monitoring temporal trends in physical fitness provides valuable insight into population health that can help identify current and future physical health. This study examined temporal trends in physical fitness among children and adolescents aged 6-18 from the Macao Special Administrative Region between 2005 and 2020.

Methods: Representative repeated cross-sectional physical fitness data were collected in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 (n = 17,987). Body size and physical fitness were objectively measured. Trends in means were calculated using general linear models. Models were adjusted for sex, age, height, and weight. Trends in distributional characteristics were assessed as the ratio of the coefficients of variation and described visually.

Results: Despite an increase in body size, we found significant small to large body size adjusted decline in cardiorespiratory fitness (effect size [ES] = -0.27, -0.93) and small declines in reaction time (ES = -0.21, -0.38). Declines in other fitness components varied by age, with negligible to small declines in children's (aged 6-12 y) balance (ES = -0.15) and speed (ES = -0.25) and in adolescents' (aged 13-18 y) muscular power (ES = -0.17, -0.36). A small improvement was observed in adolescents' flexibility (ES = 0.24). Mixed trends were found in distributional variability for flexibility, along with differing trends in distributional asymmetry among fitness components.

Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to enhance fitness levels in the young Macao population. Addressing these trends is crucial for improving the current and future health outcomes of young people in the region.

Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased globally, posing a significant public health concern owing to its impact on chronic illnesses, warranting effective mitigation strategies. Studies highlight a negative correlation between a higher body mass index and both executive function and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This study aimed to assess the effects of a contemporary dance program on executive function, BDNF levels, and cardiovascular fitness in children with obesity.

Methods: Overall, 35 children with obesity aged 9-12 years were randomly divided into a dance (n = 17) or control (n = 18) group. Each participant underwent 60-minute moderate-intensity training sessions 3 times weekly for 10 weeks. Before and after training, 3-mL blood samples were collected to measure BDNF levels, and peak oxygen consumption evaluations were conducted. Furthermore, executive function was assessed using the digit span test to evaluate working memory and gauge cognitive changes.

Results: BDNF levels positively correlated with VO2peak (r = .356). Contemporary dance training significantly elevated BDNF levels (P = .005) and VO2peak in the dance group compared with those in the control group (P = .004). The program markedly improved working memory, as evidenced by enhanced test scores (P = .022).

Conclusions: This study highlighted the potential benefits of dance programs for children with obesity, emphasizing improved BDNF levels, cardiorespiratory fitness, and working memory. Although evidence supports the cognitive and physical benefits of dancing, further research is warranted to optimize protocols and evaluate how dancing compares with other physical activity types regarding enhancing cognitive function.