Journal of healthy eating and active living最新文献

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities for indoor and sometimes outdoor recreation were restricted across the world. Despite restrictions, many greenways and rail-trails saw increased use. Messaging from the federal and state public health authorities stressed the importance of social distancing and other preventive measures in reducing spread of the coronavirus. Little is known about actual behaviors of individuals and groups using these outdoor recreational opportunities. This study used passive infrared cameras to systematically observe physical distancing behaviors on multi-user trails in Boone, North Carolina, and Morgantown, West Virginia, to assess safety implications of trail use during June 2020. Most interactions (72.2%) occurred with the recommended six feet of distance between users. Maintaining six feet of distance is more likely to occur when a single individual passes another single individual (88.2%), users pass while traveling in opposite directions (75.9%), and trails are wider (76.8% on 12 ft width trail vs. 62.6% on a 10 ft width trail). Messaging on multi-user trails should target how groups pass other groups, such as "keep six feet" and "pass single file."

The health benefits of physical activity and spending time in nature are well established. However, youths and adults in the United States are not participating in sufficient levels of physical activity and are not spending much time outdoors. Recently, the need for equitable access to nature for all populations has been receiving more public health attention, though a specific focus on nature-based physical activity has been limited. The purpose of this scoping review is to operationalize the health benefits of nature-based physical activity in order to provide guidance for collaborations to program administrators, advocates, and researchers. Peer-reviewed literature is found in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar as well as in published reviews of the literature. The literature is divided into three categories of: 1) amount and location of nature-based components and physical activity; 2) added health benefits of exposure to nature-based components and physical activity; and 3) nature-based components and physical activity effect on non-white, marginalized, and vulnerable populations. This review supports and encourages multiple strategies to increase nature-based physical activity as this provides even greater benefit to health and wellness than exposure to nature or physical activity alone. Although many of the physical and mental health benefits of nature and physical activity are well established, additional research is needed to better understand the relationship between exposure to nature and nature-based physical activity, which will require greater investment and support from funding agencies.

Obesity is increasingly affecting Chinese adolescents due to trends in unhealthy eating, including lower fruit and vegetable consumption and increased consumption of processed foods. A cross-sectional study of adolescents was conducted in Wuhan, China, in October 2019 that included measurements of perceived social isolation, eating when anxious or depressed, diet composition, body weight, and height. Social isolation, eating when sad or anxious, and eating alone were significant predictors of processed food and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, although only eating when sad or anxious was a significant predictor of fruit and vegetable consumption. Eating when anxious or depressed did not mediate these relationships. Social isolation was associated with consumption of processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages by boys, but not by girls, and only eating home-cooked dinner was associated with fruit and vegetable consumption by female adolescents. Eating when sad or anxious, eating alone, and eating home-cooked meals were all associated with fruit and vegetable consumption among male adolescents. The effects of social isolation, anxiety, and depression could act to increase unhealthy eating through several mechanisms potentially mediated by chronic stress, while eating alone could also act to increase unhealthy eating due to effects of self-efficacy and food availability. The interplay between diet and outside factors, including environment, social factors, and personal psychology specific to Chinese adolescents needs to be better understood to develop comprehensive interventions for this population.