Trends in physical activity status in Catalonia, Spain (1992–2003)
TL;DR: The physical activity related to work and transportation has decreased during the period observed, and a slight improvement has been noted in the percentage of people who are sedentary during leisure time is still high among both men and women.
Abstract: AimThe promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle among the population is essential for the prevention of numerous chronic diseases. Physical activity measurement and surveillance is crucial for understanding and evaluating campaigns to promote its practice.ObjectiveTo evaluate the 10-year trends in physical activity habits in the Catalan population.DesignTwo cross-sectional nutritional surveys were carried out within a 10-year interval in the population of Catalonia. Data on physical activity include leisure-time physical activity, occupational physical activity and walking activity and regular stair climbing.SubjectIn all, 2344 individuals participated in the ENCAT 1992–93 study and 2055 individuals in the ENCAT 2002–03 survey, aged 10 to 75 years.ResultsInactivity related to occupation increased (from 53% in 1992–93 to 56% in 2002–03 of the Catalan population having sedentary work-related activities). In both genders, the percentage of people who walked to work at least 30 min decreased (from 19% to 16% in men and from 25% to 19% in women). There was a decrease in the percentage of people who were completely sedentary during leisure time (from 59% to 56%), and an increase in the percentage of people who did at least 2 days of vigorous activity (from 39% to 46% in men and from 26% to 32% in women).ConclusionsThe physical activity related to work and transportation has decreased during the period observed. Although a slight improvement has been noted, the percentage of people who are sedentary during leisure time is still high among both men and women.
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TL;DR: Vitamin C, vitamin D, folic acid, calcium, selenium, and iodine were the nutrients showing a higher prevalence of inadequate intakes in Europe.
Abstract: Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of nutrient intake inadequacy in Europe, applying the Nordic Nutritional Recommendations in the context of the EU
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TL;DR: The concept of the "Physical Activity Transition" is introduced and the potential effects that declining physical activity levels may play on health and life expectancy as countries undergo economic and demographic changes are explored.
Abstract: Physical activity is important for the prevention of chronic disease morbidity and mortality, and the lack of adequate levels of physical activity represents a growing public health burden around the world. The purpose of this report is to introduce the concept of the "Physical Activity Transition" and to explore the potential effects that declining physical activity levels may play on health and life expectancy as countries undergo economic and demographic changes. Physical activity is related to mortality rates in humans, and the available evidence suggests that the adoption of a lifestyle characterized by lower levels of physical activity will attenuate the expected gains in life expectancy associated with the epidemiological transition. Advances in the measurement of physical activity at work, in the home, for transport, and in leisure time in a wide variety of populations will be integral to advancing the current understanding of how macro-level factors shape physical activity patterns and patterns of morbidity and mortality.
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TL;DR: The risk of excessive intakes is relatively low for the majority of nutrients with a few exceptions, and children are the most vulnerable group as they are more likely to exhibit high intakes relative to the UL.
Abstract: Background: Recent European Union regulation requires setting of maximum amount of micronutrients in dietary supplements or foods taking into account the tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) established by scientific risk assessment and population reference intakes. Objective: To collect and evaluate recently available data on intakes of selected vitamins and minerals from conventional foods, food supplements and fortified foods in adults and children. Intake of calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, folic acid, niacin and total vitamin A/retinol, B6, D and E was derived from nationally representative surveys in Denmark, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. Intake of high consumers, defined as the 95th percentile of each nutrient, was compared to the UL. Results: For most nutrients, adults and children generally consume considerably less than the UL with exceptions being retinol, zinc, iodine, copper and magnesium. The major contributor to intakes for all nutrients and in all countries is from foods in the base diet. The patterns of food supplements and voluntary fortification vary widely among countries with food supplements being responsible for the largest differences in total intakes. In the present study, for those countries with data on fortified foods, fortified foods do not significantly contribute to higher intakes for any nutrient. Total nutrient intake expressed as percentage of the UL is generally higher in children than in adults. Conclusion: The risk of excessive intakes is relatively low for the majority of nutrients with a few exceptions. Children are the most vulnerable group as they are more likely to exhibit high intakes relative to the UL. There is a need to develop improved methods for estimating intakes of micronutrients from fortified foods and food supplements in future dietary surveys. Keywords: micronutrients; EU legislation; upper safe levels; adults; children (Published: 5 October 2009) Citation: Food & Nutrition Research Supplement 1, 2009. DOI: 10.3402/fnr.v53i0.20
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TL;DR: The authors examined mean differences in, and relationships among, motivational regulations and physical activity in three different age groups (young adults: 18-24, adults: 25-44, and middle-age adults: 45-64 years) using self-determination theory.
157 citations
Cites methods from "Trends in physical activity status ..."
...In addition, these age groups have been widely used in national databases (Adams & Schoenborn, 2006; Ham & Ainsworth, 2010; Román-Viñas et al., 2007; Wilson, Elliott, Eyles, & Keller-Olaman, 2007), and therefore would allow comparison between the current data and population based data....
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TL;DR: These findings have practical implication for identifying individuals at-risk for exercise dependence symptoms, and may aid in targeting and guiding the implementation of prevention program for adults.
Abstract: Objectives The purpose of our study was to explore the prevalence, and the role of mood, exercise frequency, age, and gender differences of exercise dependence. Methods Regular exercisers (N = 409) completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Exercise Dependence Scale, and the Profile of Mood States. For data analyses, the participants were stratified for sex and age (age ranges = young adults: 18–24 years, adults: 25–44 years, and middle-aged adults: 45–64 years). Results We found that: (a) 4.4% of the participants were classified as at-risk for exercise dependence; (b) the men and the two younger groups (i.e., young adults and adults) had higher exercise dependence scores; and (c) age, gender, exercise frequency, and mood state were related to exercise dependence. Conclusions Our results support previous research on the prevalence of exercise dependence and reveal that adulthood may be the critical age for developing exercise dependence. These findings have practical implication for identif...
103 citations
References
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TL;DR: The hypothesis that the majority of cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented by the adoption of a healthier lifestyle is supported.
Abstract: Background Previous studies have examined individual dietary and lifestyle factors in relation to type 2 diabetes, but the combined effects of these factors are largely unknown. Methods We followed 84,941 female nurses from 1980 to 1996; these women were free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer at base line. Information about their diet and lifestyle was updated periodically. A low-risk group was defined according to a combination of five variables: a body-mass index (the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) of less than 25; a diet high in cereal fiber and polyunsaturated fat and low in trans fat and glycemic load (which reflects the effect of diet on the blood glucose level); engagement in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least half an hour per day; no current smoking; and the consumption of an average of at least half a drink of an alcoholic beverage per day. Results During 16 years of follow-up, we documented 3300 new cases of type 2 diabetes. Overweight or obesity was the single most important predictor of diabetes. Lack of exercise, a poor diet, current smoking, and abstinence from alcohol use were all associated with a significantly increased risk of diabetes, even after adjustment for the body-mass index. As compared with the rest of the cohort, women in the low-risk group (3.4 percent of the women) had a relative risk of diabetes of 0.09 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.05 to 0.17). A total of 91 percent of the cases of diabetes in this cohort (95 percent confidence interval, 83 to 95 percent) could be attributed to habits and forms of behavior that did not conform to the low-risk pattern. Conclusions Our findings support the hypothesis that the majority of cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented by the adoption of a healthier lifestyle.
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TL;DR: In this article, the Guide to Community Preventive Service's methods for systematic reviews were used to evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches to increasing physical activity: informational, behavioral and social, and environmental and policy approaches.
1,866 citations
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TL;DR: Despite extensive use over 40 years, physical activity questionnaires still show limited reliability and validity and attempts at detailed interpretation in terms of exercise dosage and the extent of resulting health benefits seem premature.
Abstract: Despite extensive use over 40 years, physical activity questionnaires still show limited reliability and validity. Measurements have value in indicating conditions where an increase in physical activity would be beneficial and in monitoring changes in population activity. However, attempts at detailed interpretation in terms of exercise dosage and the extent of resulting health benefits seem premature. Such usage may become possible through the development of standardised instruments that will record the low intensity activities typical of sedentary societies, and will ascribe consistent biological meaning to terms such as light, moderate, and heavy exercise.
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TL;DR: There is good consensus across studies with most showing an inverse dose-response gradient across both activity and fitness categories for morbidity from coronary heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, or cancer; and for CVD, cancer, or all-cause mortality.
Abstract: BLAIR, S. N., Y. CHENG, and J. S. HOLDER. Is physical activity or physical fitness more important in defining health benefits? Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 33, No. 6, Suppl., 2001, pp. S379 ‐S399. Purpose: We addressed three questions: 1) Is there a dose-response relation between physical activity and health? 2) Is there a dose-response relation between cardiorespiratory fitness and health? 3) If both activity and fitness have a dose-response relation to health, is it possible to determine which exposure is more important? Methods: We identified articles by PubMed search (restricted from 1/1/90 to 8/25/00) using keywords related to physical activity, physical fitness, and health. An author scanned titles and abstracts of 9831 identified articles. We included for thorough review articles that included three or more categories of activity or fitness and a health outcome and excluded articles on clinical trials, review papers, comments, letters, case reports, and nonhuman studies. We used an evidence-based approach to evaluate the quality of the published data. Results: We summarized results from 67 articles meeting final selection criteria. There is good consensus across studies with most showing an inverse dose-response gradient across both activity and fitness categories for morbidity from coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, cardiovascular disease (CVD), or cancer; and for CVD, cancer, or all-cause mortality. Conclusions: All studies reviewed were prospective observational investigations; thus, conclusions are based on Evidence Category C. 1) There is a consistent gradient across activity groups indicating greater longevity and reduced risk of CHD, CVD, stroke, and colon cancer in more active individuals. 2) Studies are compelling in the consistency and steepness of the gradient across fitness groups. Most show a curvilinear gradient, with a steep slope at low levels of fitness and an asymptote in the upper part of the fitness distribution. 3) It is not possible to conclude whether activity or fitness is more important for health. Future studies should define more precisely the shape of the dose-response gradient across activity or fitness groups, evaluate the role of musculoskeletal fitness, and investigate additional health outcomes. Key Words: EPIDEMIOLOGY, MORTALITY, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, CANCER, DIABETES, LONGITUDINAL STUDY
1,126 citations