Biomedical subjects

B Marti

Publications and source records attributed to B Marti.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1991

Low physical activity and worsening of glucose tolerance: results from a 2-year follow-up of a population sample in Malta.

The relationship between the level of habitual physical activity and glucose intolerance was examined cross-sectionally and during a 2-year follow-up among a sample of 388 subjects in Malta. At baseline, the subjects were classified into three categories of physical activity, which was inversely related to the 2-h post challenge blood glucose (P = 0.02). In a multivariate analysis, age (standardized regression coefficient 0.23; P less than 0.001), family history of diabetes (0.20; P less than 0.001), and physical activity (-0.18; P = 0.002) were the strongest predictors of the 2-h blood glucose at baseline. The age standardized 2-year risk of glucose intolerance, i.e. impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes was consistently and inversely related to the level of physical activity. Among subjects with normal glucose tolerance at baseline (n = 127) those with low physical activity had a 2.7 times higher risk of glucose intolerance during follow-up than those with high physical activity (P = 0.1), and even a 3.7-fold risk of glucose intolerance at baseline (n = 196) when both the subjects with normal and impaired glucose tolerance at baseline were considered together (P = 0.005). Similar trends were observed for the risk of diabetes. The suggested protective effect of physical activity was independent of body mass, a family history of diabetes and gender. Within the limits of this small study we conclude that physical activity may have some importance in the primary prevention of impaired glucose tolerance and, possibly, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Body fat distribution in the Finnish population: environmental determinants and predictive power for cardiovascular risk factor levels.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to examine (1) whether health habits are associated with body fat distribution, as measured by the waist/hip girth ratio, and (2) to what extent environmental factors, including anthropometric characteristics, explain the variability in levels of cardiovascular risk factors. DESIGN: The study was a population based cross sectional survey, conducted in the spring of 1987 as a part of an international research project on cardiovascular epidemiology. SETTING: The survey was conducted in three geographical areas of eastern and south western Finland. SUBJECTS: 2526 men and 2756 women aged 25-64 years took part in the study, corresponding to a survey participation rate of 82%. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In men, waist/hip ratio showed stronger associations with exercise (Pearson's r = -0.24), resting heart rate (r = 0.10), alcohol consumption (r = 0.07), smoking (r = 0.05), and education (r = -0.23) than did body mass index. Jointly, exercise, resting heart rate, alcohol consumption, education, and age explained 18% of variance in male waist/hip ratio, but only 9% of variance in male body mass index. In women, environmental factors were more predictive for body mass index than for waist/hip ratio, with age and education being the strongest determinants. Waist/hip ratio and body mass index were approximately equally strong predictors of cardiovascular risk factor levels. The additional predictive power of waist/hip ratio over and above body mass index was tested in a hierarchical, stepwise regression. In this conservative type of analysis the increase in explained variance uniquely attributable to waist/hip ratio was 2-3% for female and 1-2% for male lipoprotein levels, and less than 0.5% for female and 0-2% for male blood pressure values. CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of abdominal obesity in Finland is significantly influenced by health habits and sociodemographic factors in both men and women. This in turn is obviously one reason for the relatively small "independent" effect of body fat distribution on cardiovascular risk factor levels.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed1991

Health effects of recreational running in women. Some epidemiological and preventive aspects.

Estimated maximum oxygen uptake of middle-aged nonelite road race entrants is around 45 to 50 ml/kg/min, which is 40 to 100% higher than values from the female general population. Endurance training, low bodyweight, and nonsmoking of runners explain part of, but not the whole, difference in aerobic capacity observed between athletes and the general population. Sedentary women can improve cardiorespiratory fitness through aerobic exercise programmes, and the women with the lowest level of initial fitness have the highest proportional improvement following training. Regularly exercising women have a significantly reduced risk of fatal and nonfatal coronary events, and low cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with an increased risk of death and nonfatal stroke. The influence of habitual running on the female blood lipid profile is not clear. Cross-sectional studies have found elevated HDL cholesterol concentrations in distance runners, but intervention studies on the effect of jogging on lipid and lipoprotein levels have provided equivocal results. A higher level of physical fitness is associated with a lower risk to subsequently develop hypertension. Experimental studies have shown that moderate intensity aerobic exercise (40 to 60% VO2max) is able to reduce blood pressure significantly in hypertensive subjects. An athletic lifestyle may be associated with a reduced risk of adult-onset diabetes mellitus (via an exercise-induced increase in insulin-sensitivity), and with a reduced risk of cancers of the reproductive system, breast, and colon. Recreational running is also correlated with better weight control. Surveys of recreational and elite distance runners show a great variability in the prevalence of secondary amenorrhoea, between 1 and 44%. Environmental factors determining the risk of amenorrhoea in runners are low body fat content, mileage, and nutritional inadequacy, with low intakes of calories, protein, and fat. Amenorrhoeic athletes in their third and fourth decade have lower vertebral bone density, which is improved after resumption of menses but does not completely reach age-specific average values. Regardless of menstrual status, the effectiveness of exercise to maintain bone mass throughout life is an important issue. Habitual exercise is associated with increased bone density of the spine both in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Several controlled training studies suggest that postmenopausal women may at least retard their bone loss with regular aerobic exercise. Running-related injuries and complaints are common in recreational joggers, even though the reported 1-year incidence, varying between 14 and approximately 50%, depends on injury definition. Mileage and a history of previous running injury are known risk factors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

PubMed1991

The dimensions of health promotion applied to physical activity.

Health promotion is a complementary array of educational and environmental strategies applied in various settings and targeted at selected populations. The few successful and well-described physical activity projects have applied multiple strategies in multiple settings to specific target groups. There is clear and persuasive evidence that regular physical activity improves health. Over the past 20-25 years participation in leisure-time physical activity has increased in Canada, Finland, the USA, and the German Democratic Republic. Unfortunately, more than half the population in each of these four countries remains inactive during leisure time, and total physical activity probably has decreased because of declining activity on the job and for transportation. National physical activity promotion programs need to include both educational and environmental strategies. Regular surveys of physical activity patterns and continued research into the most effective methods to promote regular physical activity are needed.

Exercise↗

PubMed1991

[Subjective health and career status of former top athletes. A controlled 15-year follow-up study].

36 former Swiss elite athletes, all of them members of the National team in 1973, were re-examined in 1988 at an average age of 42 years, together with a control group of 23 normally active men. In 1988, maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) was 68 +/- 5 ml/kg.min in the 18 still active runners, 55 +/- 8 ml/kg.min in the 9 inactive former runners, 45 +/- 6 ml/kg.min in bobsledders, and 44 +/- 6 ml/kg.min in controls. In 1988, the 27 runners had modest but significantly more frequent radiological signs of degenerative hip disease than non-runners, while no influence of long-term physical training on the radiological state of the ankle joint was found. In 1988, runners tended to report themselves healthier; subgroup analyses revealed 1) that this superior self-rated health was confined to those runners still active in 1988 (p less than 0.05) and that VO2max in 1988 was associated with subjective wellbeing (p less than 0.05), and 2) that body fat content was the strongest negative predictor of self-rated health (p = 0.001). 22% of former elite athletes indicated chronic, sports-related complaints but nevertheless rated their health as good as their athletic counterparts free of complaints. 53% of the elite athletes felt that the "benefits" of their own sports career outweighed its "costs", and in two of five of all athletes even "by far". This attitude was neither significantly influenced by the existence of chronic sports-related complaints nor by radiological signs of degenerative hip disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Fifteen-year changes in exercise, aerobic power, abdominal fat, and serum lipids in runners and controls.

To describe effects of past as well as current exercise, aerobic power, and subcutaneous fat on the serum lipid profile, two groups of former elite athletes (N = 27 runners, N = 9 bobsledders) and a control group of normal men (N = 23) were investigated. Analysis of variance indicated a significant effect of the type of sports activity on HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, and triglyceride levels and on the LDL/HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B/A-I ratios, with the most favorable values seen in runners and the least favorable values seen in controls. Of the 27 former elite runners, one third (N = 9) had given up or strongly reduced training. This subgroup showed the steepest 15-yr decrease (from 1973 to 1988) in maximum aerobic power and the largest 15-yr increase in subcutaneous fat, and the lipid profile (measured in 1988) corresponded more to the one of bobsledders and controls than to the one of runners who had remained active. Separate correlational analyses of all runners (N = 27) and nonrunners (N = 32) showed that, in both cohorts, i) the 1988 measurements of exercise, aerobic power, and subcutaneous fat were more predictive for the lipid profile in 1988 than the corresponding 1973 values, ii) anthropometric characteristics, especially abdominal fat, had a stronger relation with serum lipid concentrations than exercise and aerobic power, and iii) 15-yr changes in anthropometric characteristics were, but 15-yr changes in exercise and aerobic power were not, associated with triglyceride, lipoprotein, and apolipoprotein levels in 1988.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abdomen↗

PubMed1990

[Total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and blood pressure in relation to life style: results of the first population screening of the Swiss MONIKA Project].

To evaluate the association of individual health habits with levels of cardiovascular risk factors such as serum cholesterol and blood pressure, data from a representative population sample of 860 men and 788 women, aged 25 to 64 years and residing in Western Switzerland, were analyzed cross-sectionally. The data had been collected during 1984/85 as a part of the WHO MONICA project, an international research project on the epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases. In age-adjusted analysis, a score of prudent diet was a reasonably strong inverse correlate of total cholesterol in men (p less than 0.001) but less so in women (p = 0.11); the diet score was unrelated to HDL cholesterol. In both genders, alcohol consumption was associated with elevated levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (men: both p less than 0.001; women: p = 0.05 and 0.01 respectively) and of HDL cholesterol (men and women: p less than 0.001). Coffee consumption was unrelated to either blood lipids or blood pressure. In both men and women, leisure-time exercise was a predictor of a low-risk lipid profile, i.e. a low total cholesterol/HDL ratio (both p less than 0.001). Better educated persons, especially women, revealed consistently lower levels of cardiovascular risk factors. The independent character of these lifestyle-risk factor-associations was largely confirmed in a multivariate analysis, with cigarette smoking emerging as another significant predictor of a deteriorated lipid profile, while education was not an independent determinant of biological risk factors. Lifestyle variables, including body mass index, explained 9 to 19% of variance in cardiovascular risk factors, with relative weight being the strongest of the predictors related to behaviour. Entering age and sex into the regression models enhanced the predictive power of the equations to 16 to 26% explained risk factor variance. We conclude from this population-based, cross-sectional study that personal health habits such as diet, exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking, as well as body weight are significantly and independently related to blood lipid and blood pressure levels; the apparent size of effect of these behavioural traits on biological risk factors for cardiovascular diseases was only modest, but it may nevertheless be relevant to prevention.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

[Reasons for athletic activity versus inactivity of urban population of Basel-Stadt 1988].

A representative sample of 778 inhabitants of Canton Basel-Stadt aged 16 to 75 years were asked about their exercise habits and reasons for participating in or abstaining from sports (Response rate: 81%). 56% of the responders took part in a sport more than once a month; the percentage was higher among younger adults and markedly lower among obese subjects. For 27% of the "active" respondents, the most important single motivation for sports was "fun, pleasure und well-being", in 20% of the cases "fitness", in 16% "health" and in 12% "compensation for work and relaxation". For 32% of the "inactive" group, the main reason for abstaining from sports was "lack of time", for 22% "no interest" and in 16% of the cases "sickness or disability"; "no clubs or sports-facilities" was hardly ever mentioned as a reason for being physically inactive (1%). Some significant differences were found when sociodemographic subgroups were analysed. For example, "health" was more often given as a reason for sports by the elderly, and "compensation for work and relaxation" was more often mentioned as the level of education rose. "Lack of time" was a more frequent reason for being physically inactive among young adults, whereas "sickness" was more important among the elderly. A better knowledge of the relative importance of the motivation for leisure time physical activity is likely to be significant for effective sports-promotion.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Some determinants of body weight, subcutaneous fat, and fat distribution in 25-64 year old Swiss urban men and woman.

Data from a predominantly urban sample of 116 men and 130 women aged 25-64 years and collected in 1984/85 as a part of the Swiss WHO MONICA project, were analysed cross-sectionally to study the interrelationship between relative weight, subcutaneous fat and fat distribution, as well as the dependence of these anthropometric characteristics on behavioral and sociodemographic factors. Skinfold thicknesses were found to increase with age almost linearly in women, while in men they increased only before age 40 to 45. Subcutaneous fat was, but fat distribution was not, highly correlated with relative weight in both sexes. Alcohol consumption, healthy dietary habits (inversely), and exercise (inversely) were all significantly related to subcutaneous fat in men, while the relatively strongest predictors of female skinfold thicknesses were smoking (inversely), coffee consumption, and education (inversely). In multivariate analysis, environmental factors explained up to 10% of skinfold variance in male subjects and between 10 and 15% in females. Fat distribution was more influenced by environmental factors in men (about 8% of explained variance) than in women (about 4%). In men, truncal fat depended more on lifestyle that did upper arm fat, with smoking (directly) and exercise (inversely) being relatively most predictive of abdominal fat. We conclude that, although relative weight, subcutaneous fat, and fat distribution correlate intra-individually, they are not equivalent and interchangeable anthropometric characteristics. This is reflected by the varying associations of the three fatness indicators with age and environmental factors such as smoking, diet, exercise, and education. Gender seems to be an important modifying factor of environment-body fat-associations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed1990

Effects of long-term, self-monitored exercise on the serum lipoprotein and apolipoprotein profile in middle-aged men.

To study the effects of long-term, self-monitored exercise on the serum lipid profile and body composition of middle-aged non-smoking males, a controlled study was conducted in 61 sedentary, middle-class Swiss men. Thirty-nine men were randomly allocated to jog 2 h/wk for 4 months on an individually prescribed, heart rate-controlled basis, whereas 22 men served as controls. Despite varying adherence to the exercise regimen, the following 4-month net changes (effect in exercise group minus effect in control group) in lipids were seen: HDL cholesterol (C) +0.12 mmol/l (95% CI 0.02, 0.22; P = 0.028), LDL-C +0.08 mmol/l (ns), VLDL-C -0.26 mmol/l (-0.45, -0.07; P = 0.009), total triglycerides (TT) -0.21 mmol/l (ns), HDL-C/total C +0.02 (0.001, 0.05; P = 0.047). The net changes in endurance capacity and resting heart rate in favour of exercisers were significant as well, whereas no significant changes in apolipoprotein levels were seen. Exploratory analyses revealed, for example, associations of the increase in total physical activity with an increase in the HDL-C/total C ratio (r = 0.46; P less than 0.001), and of the change in estimated body fat content with an opposed change in the HDL-C/total C ratio (r = -0.40; P less than 0.001), or an inverse relationship of the change in subcutaneous fat with a change in the HDL2-C level (r = -0.39; P less than 0.001). Multivariable regression analysis suggested that much of the effect of jogging on HDL-C was apparently mediated through a decrease in body fat content. A change in the waist/hip ratio was unrelated to lipoprotein changes but was related to the change of TT level (r = 0.22; P less than 0.05). This study confirms that individually prescribed, unsupervised jogging can increase HDL-C levels and improve the serum lipoprotein profile in self-selected nonsmoking males. Although the effect is modest, it may be relevant to preventive cardiology, given the evidence for a reduction in cardiovascular risk even after apparently small decreases in risk factor levels.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1990

Effects of self-monitored jogging on physical fitness, blood pressure and serum lipids: a controlled study in sedentary middle-aged men.

To study the effects of long-term, home-based exercise on physical fitness and cardiovascular risk factors of middle-aged nonsmoking males, a controlled study was conducted in 61 sedentary Swiss men. Thirty-nine men were randomly allocated to jog 2 h/week for 4 months on an individually prescribed and heart-rate-controlled basis, whereas 22 men served as controls. Despite varying adherence to the exercise regimen, the 4-month net change (effect in exercise group minus effect in control group) in estimated endurance capacity was significant and positive. Net changes in arterial blood pressure, measured with a random-zero device, were nonsignificant, but after exclusion of low-normotensive men (n = 19) from analysis, a significant net effect of exercise on diastolic blood pressure was seen (-4.3 mmHg; p = .048). The following net changes in serum lipid levels occurred: HDL cholesterol + 0.12 mmol/l (p = .028), total triglycerides -0.21 mmol/l (ns), HDL-C/total cholesterol ratio +0.02 (p = .047). Exploratory analyses revealed that an increase in estimated endurance capacity was associated with a rise in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.49 and 0.43, respectively; p less than 0.01 both). Changes in the waist-hip ratio were directly related to the change in diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.27; p less than 0.05). Multivariable analysis indicated that much of the beneficial effect of exercise on diastolic blood pressure was apparently mediated through a decrease in body fat. This study confirms that individually prescribed jogging can reduce cardiovascular risk factors in self-selected nonsmoking males.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1990

[Risk of arthrosis of the upper ankle joint in long distance runners: controlled follow-up of former elite athletes].

To study the potential influence of long-term, high-intensity physical training on premature osteoarthrosis of the ankle joint, we re-examined former members of the Swiss National team from 1973 in retrospective cohort study in 1988. Twenty-seven track and field long-distance runners and orienteers (mean age 42 [95% confidence interval 41-43] years), 9 bobsledders (42 [39-46] years) and a control group of 23 healthy normal men (35 [33-36] years) were investigated. Physiological and exercise characteristics of all subjects had been recorded in 1973, and in 1988 these measurements were repeated together with a rheumatological and radiological examination of the ankle joint. A four-point scale of radiological joint state was used, taking into account the degree of subchondral sclerosis, osteophyte formation and joint space narrowing. In univariate analysis, the long-distance runners, and among them especially the orienteers (n = 10), showed significantly (both p less than 0.05) more radiological signs of degenerative ankle disease than controls. After adjustment for age, this difference disappeared. Age was itself significantly and positively related to radiological degenerative ankle disease (r less than 0.38; p less than 0.01). Orienteers reported significantly more frequently (60 vs 12%; p less than 0,01) functional instability of the ankle joint than track and field runners. Functional and mechanical (clinical) instability were interrelated in our material (r = 0.33; p less than 0.05) but neither of them was significantly related to radiological signs of degenerative ankle disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Long-term effects of physical training on aerobic capacity: controlled study of former elite athletes.

We studied 15-yr changes in physical training, subcutaneous fat, and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) in male former elite athletes (27 long-distance runners and 9 bobsledders) and in a control group of 23 normal men. In 1973, elite athletes all trained vigorously, whereas in 1988 there was a great interindividual variation in physical training. In the lowest tertile of runners' training activity in 1988 (n = 9), the rate of decline in VO2max during the 15 yr was 1.11 +/- 0.15 (SE) ml.kg-1.min-1.yr-1, or 16% per decade, whereas the most active quintile of runners (n = 5) tended to increase VO2max (NS). The remaining 13 runners showed a rate of decline in VO2max of 0.54 +/- 0.14 ml.kg-1.min-1.yr-1, or 7% per decade. The rates of decline were 0.22 +/- 0.12 and 0.56 +/- 0.10 ml.kg-1.min-1.yr-1, or 5 and 11% per decade, in bobsledders and controls, respectively. When normalized for lean body mass instead of body weight, VO2max showed a reduced variability in the rate of decline, with values ranging from 0.00 +/- 0.27 (most active runners) to 0.69 +/- 0.15 ml.kg lean body mass-1.min-1.yr-1 (least active runners). In multiple linear regression analysis, 15-yr changes in mileage, running pace, and truncal fat together explained 51% of variance in the 15-yr change of VO2max normalized for body weight in runners and 41% in all study men. In runners, change in truncal fat was dependent on changes in both mileage and running pace. In the presence of physical training and anthropometric variables in the regression equation, the 15-yr decrease in maximum heart rate was only modestly predictive of the change in VO2max.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed1990

Variation in coronary risk factor levels of men and women between the German-speaking MONICA centres.

The aim of this analysis was to compare levels of risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) in men and women aged 25-64 years between German-speaking MONICA collaborating centres, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Augsburg - the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)(Au), Bremen - FRG (Br), Heidelberg - FRG (He), and Vaud/Fribourg - Switzerland (CH, with a German-speaking minority). Prevalence of cigarette smoking in men showed little variation in four centres (34 to 40%) and was higher in BR men (49%), while it varied from 17% (GDR) to 33% (BR) in women. Mean total serum cholesterol values (mmol/L) were highest in GDR and CH men (both 6.2) and GDR women (6.1), and lowest in both He men (5.7) and He women (5.6). The proportion with cholesterol values greater than or equal to 6.7 mmol/L was largest in CH men (34%) and smallest in FRG (He) women (17%), while lowering the cut-off point from 6.7 to 6.5 mmol/L raised the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia in all centres by 5 to 10%. Mean values (mmHg) of blood pressure (BP) were highest in both GDR men (140/88) and women (138/86), as was the prevalence of hypertensive BP values. In all centres, women aged 25-34 had BP values approximately 12/5 mmHg lower than age-matched men, but BP values similar to men at age 55-64, which indicates that age-parallel increase in BP was steeper in women than men.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Trends in cardiovascular risk factors in treated and untreated hypertensive and normotensive Finnish subjects, 1982-1987.

We compared cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and their changes in drug-treated hypertensive subjects with those of untreated hypertensive and normotensive subjects in the FINMONICA population surveys in 1982 and 1987. The hypertensive subjects had, whether treated or not, a significantly higher mean serum total cholesterol concentration than the normotensive subjects. The mean serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration was significantly lower in treated hypertensive subjects than in the untreated ones or in normotensive subjects. From 1982 to 1987 the mean serum total cholesterol decreased 2% (95% confidence interval (CI) -4.8%, +0.9%) and 4.7% (-7.2%, -2.0%) and HDL-cholesterol increased 4.5% (+8.0%, +0.1%) and 9.9% (+13.5%, +6.3%) in treated hypertensive men and women, respectively. On the other hand, the mean body mass index (BMI) of treated hypertensive men increased significantly during the study period, and also the alcohol consumption and the prevalence of smoking tended to increase.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Body fat distribution, serum lipoproteins and blood pressure in middle-aged Finnish men and women.

The association of body fat distribution as measured by the ratio of waist to hip girth (WHR) to age, to serum total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol and to blood pressure was studied in a population-based sample of 2461 men and 2768 women aged 25 to 64 years not treated with cardiovascular drugs. In men, the relationships of age with WHR and age with body mass index (BMI) were similar, an increase levelling at the age of about 50 years. In women, BMI increased linearly, but WHR exponentially with age. In both sexes, age-adjusted WHR and BMI associated positively with non-HDL cholesterol, and with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and inversely with HDL-cholesterol and the HDL/non-HDL cholesterol ratio. WHR and BMI were independently related to several cardiovascular risk factors. HDL-cholesterol concentration was 19% lower in men, and 17% lower in women who belonged to the upper tertile of both WHR and BMI, than in the subjects in the lower tertiles of WHR and BMI. Age-adjusted WHR and BMI also predicted fasting and 2-hour post-challenge blood glucose values in women aged 45 to 64 years, but not in men. The WHR provides additional information on elevated cardiovascular risk factors in cross-sectional analysis among middle-aged men and women independently of BMI. The measurement of WHR in large-scale risk factor surveys should be recommended, in order to assess the independent contribution of WHR to the risk of cardiovascular disease, and to find out the importance of WHR for the prevention of chronic diseases.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed1990

[Sports correlate with positive living habits. Results from the population survey the Swiss MONICA project].

Exercise is associated with positive health habits: Findings from the populations survey of the Swiss MONICA-project. Relatively little is known on population-wide relations of habitual exercise to relevant health factors such as diet, cigarette smoking and overweight. Data from a population-based sample of approximately 800 men and women each, aged 25-64, collected in western Switzerland as a part of an international WHO-project, were used to examine cross-sectionally the interrelationships between different lifestyle factors. Men and women training regularly (i.e. greater than or equal to 2 times/wk) exhibited consistently and highly significantly more favourable health habits, regarding diet (i.e. trimming visible fat, higher intake of fruits, salad and vegetables, yogurt and cottage cheese), nonsmoking, and weight control. Men and women with at least some regular physical activity during leisure-time had in turn more favourable health habits than their sedentary counterparts. In both sexes, educational level was directly related to exercise and a healthy diet, and inversely related to smoking and relative weight. Regularly training men and women also had a significantly improved lipid profile compared to inactive ones. It is concluded from this study that leisure-time physical activity and exercise are related to a positive health behaviour including diet, nonsmoking and efficient weight control. This may suggest that exercise should possibly be integrated into any population-wide attempts and efforts to promote health to enhance primary prevention.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

[Omega-3-fatty acids: their value in nutrition and prevention].

Based on epidemiological, experimental and physiological evidence, this review examines whether omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3-PUFA) are cardioprotective and whether they are therefore relevant to the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The high intake of omega-3-PUFA among Greenlandic Eskimos has been supposed to be a key factor for their low mortality rate of coronary heart disease (CHD). Other ecological studies from Norway and Japan suggest that higher fish consumption might be cardioprotective. Three cohort studies have shown an unequivocal inverse relation between fish-intake and CHD mortality, while two others--possibly for methodological reasons--have not shown clear overall associations. Several biological effects of omega-3-PUFA are known which may moderate and influence positively the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. However, double-blind trials with clinical endpoints are not yet available to confirm these effects. For the time being, fish oil capsules should not be recommended as cardioprotective dietary supplementation, because some uncertainty about their long-term safety and dosage remains. Fish consumption is safe and modifies the FA-pattern of the diet favourably. From the point of view of prevention, rising fish intake up to twice or three times weekly can therefore be recommended for people residing in Switzerland.

Coronary Disease↗