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PubMed1999

Effect of physical training on total and visceral fat in obese children.

PURPOSE: Children with high levels of total body fat mass (TFM) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) have elevated levels of certain risk factors for coronary artery disease and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. We tested the hypothesis that controlled physical training, without dietary intervention, would have a favorable impact on VAT and percent body fat (%BF) in obese children. METHODS: A volunteer sample of 74 obese children, 7-11 yr of age, accepted random assignment to physical training or control groups. Before and after 4 months of intervention, measurements were obtained for VAT, TFM, %BF, daily physical activity, and cardiovascular fitness. The intervention involved 4 months of controlled physical training 5 d x wk(-1), 40 min per session, at a mean heart rate (HR) of 157 beats x min(-1). The estimated energy expenditure (EE) per training session was 925+/-201 kJ. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the physical training group declined significantly in %BF (delta = -2.2%) (P < 0.01), TFM (delta = -3.1%) (P < 0.01), and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (delta = - 16.1%) (P < 0.05), and increased significantly in fat-free mass (delta = +6.1%) (P < 0.05) and moderate-to-very hard physical activity (delta = +14.1%) (P < 0.05). The increase in VAT was significantly less in the physical training group (delta = +0.5%) as compared with that in the control group (delta = +8.1%) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that during physical training obese children: 1) were capable of participating in a substantial amount of high intensity physical training over a 4-month period: 2) accumulated significantly less VAT as compared with nonexercising controls; and 3) experienced other beneficial changes in total and regional body composition.

Abdomen↗
PubMed2001

Physical activity and all-cause mortality: what is the dose-response relation?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this review is to assess the dose-response relation between physical activity and all-cause mortality. We examined these parameters of physical activity dose: volume, intensity, duration, and frequency. METHODS: We used a computer-assisted literature search to identify papers on this topic. After excluding papers examining only two levels of physical activity or fitness, papers investigating specific causes of mortality, reviews, and those not written in English, 44 papers satisfying all criteria were included in this review. RESULTS: There is clear evidence of an inverse linear dose-response relation between volume of physical activity and all-cause mortality rates in men and women, and in younger and older (> or = 60 yr) persons. Minimal adherence to current physical activity guidelines, which yield an energy expenditure of about 1000 kcal x wk(-1) (4200 kJ x wk(-1)), is associated with a significant 20--30% reduction in risk of all-cause mortality. Further reductions in risk are observed at higher volumes of energy expenditure. It is unclear whether a volume of <1000 kcal x wk(-1) also may be associated with lower risk; there are some data supporting this. Due to limited data, it is also unclear whether vigorous-intensity activity confers additional benefit beyond its contribution to volume of physical activity when compared with moderate-intensity activity. No data are available on duration and frequency of physical activity in relation to all-cause mortality rates after controlling for volume of physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: All studies in this review are observational studies, so conclusions are based on Evidence Category C. There is an inverse linear dose-response relation between volume of physical activity and all-cause mortality. Further research is needed to clarify the contributions of its components--intensity, duration, and frequency--to decreased all-cause mortality rates.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Physical activity patterns among walkers and compliance with public health recommendations.

PURPOSE: Walking is the most common leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) among U.S. adults. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of walking for physical activity and the proportion of walkers who met current public health physical activity recommendations. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 1998 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a collection of state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone surveys of adults. Physical activity measures included the type, frequency, and duration of the two LTPAs in which respondents engaged most often during the previous month. We calculated the prevalence of walking and the prevalence of three physical activity patterns defined by combinations of walking duration and frequency. We also examined the effect on these patterns of participating in a second LTPA. RESULTS: In 1998, an estimated 38.6% of U.S. adults walked for physical activity. Among walkers, 21.3% walked a minimum of 30 min five or more times per week. This approximates compliance with current physical activity recommendations. Compliance increased to 34.5% when the criteria were relaxed to include at least 150 min of walking per week accumulated over three or more occasions. Relaxing the criteria further to include a minimum of 150 min.wk(-1) regardless of frequency produced only a small increase in compliance (37.6%). However, compliance with each of these three activity patterns approximately doubled when a second LTPA was taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: Less than 40% of walkers complied through walking with even our most liberal physical activity pattern (> or =150 min.wk(-1) regardless of frequency). For walkers to meet current public health recommendations, many need to walk more frequently and/or to engage in additional physical activities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Older adults in cardiac rehabilitation: a new strategy for enhancing physical function.

PURPOSE: This study contrasted the effect of a group-mediated cognitive-behavioral intervention (GMCB) versus traditional cardiac rehabilitation (CRP) upon changes in objective and self-reported physical function of older adults [mean (SD) age of 64.7 (7.5) yr] after 3 months of exercise therapy. METHODS: This randomized clinical trial enrolled 147 participants who were eligible for inclusion into cardiac rehabilitation. Baseline to 3-month changes in self-reported and performance related measures of physical function were assessed using a physical functioning questionnaire, a 6-min walk test, and measured MET levels. RESULTS: Paired t-tests revealed that participants made improvements in all measures across the first 3 months of the study, irrespective of group treatment (P < 0.001). General linear models including effects for baseline levels of physical function, treatment, and gender revealed that lower functioning men in the GMCB treatment made greater improvements than any other subgroup on the two performance outcomes: 6-min walk and measured MET levels (P < 0.01). Gender did not moderate change in self-reported level of physical function (P > 0.05); however, the lower functioning participants in the GMCB intervention experienced greater improvements in self-reported physical function than those in CRP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Exercise therapy is a valuable intervention for improving physical function of older adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and those at increased risk for CVD. Baseline level of physical function and gender are important variables to consider when studying the relationship between exercise therapy and improvements in physical function.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

The association of pain with physical activities in chronic low back pain.

Most patients with chronic low back pain associate strenuous physical activities with increased pain. This association can cause avoidance of those activities believed to cause intolerable discomfort. This study explored the relationship of performance of physical activities with self-reported pain measures in 40 consecutive patients with disabling low back pain (mean duration 17 months) during a functional restoration rehabilitation program (mean treatment period 7 weeks). Evaluations were performed at initial presentation and at program completion. Measures included quantification of performance on eight physical tests assessing flexibility, lifting capacity and endurance. Before physical testing patients were asked to complete a pain analog scale, a quantified pain drawing, and a rating of the pain anticipated to result from the performance of each physical test. Results showed that pain measures did not generally correlate with measured physical performance. At completion of treatment, significant improvement in performance on all physical tests was found, but these were not associated with consistent changes in pain measures. These results demonstrate that subjects with chronic low back pain can increase their physical performance abilities within their same pain experiences. Medical recommendations for subjects' involvement in physical activities should not be based solely on the reported association of pain with those activities.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Validity of patient reporting and predictive value of industrial physical work demands.

STUDY DESIGN: This prospective study analyzed industrial physical work demands. The patients (n = 103), sick-listed 8 weeks because of low back pain, were industrial blue-collar workers in the car manufacturing industry. OBJECTIVES: This study described industrial physical work demands in a sample of patients with subacute low back pain (LBP), studied the agreement between reported and observed work postures, estimated compression load on the spine, and determined the predictive validity of industrial physical work demands and occupational LBP handicap. METHODS: The patients (n = 103), sick-listed 8 weeks because of low back pain, were industrial blue-collar workers in the car manufacturing industry. Industrial physical work demands were reported by the patients and also studied at the work place. The patients' work demands commonly included lifting, forward bending, standing and twisting, working with the hands above the shoulders, and a compression load on the spine of more than 2000 N, and more than 60% of the patients believed that work demands caused their LBP. RESULTS: Substantial or moderate agreement was found more often between the patients' reports and the physical therapists' observations of work postures. None of the studied industrial physical work demands predicted the rate of return to work or the sick-leave during the second follow-up year. CONCLUSION: The correlations between reported or observed physical work demands, individual physical capacity, individual psychological capacity, spare-time activities, other factors and LBP are not clear. A workplace visit made by a physical therapist may facilitate the rehabilitation process, especially since many patients believed that work factors caused their LBP.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2004

Physical activity and human energy expenditure.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This is a review on the measurement of physical activity under daily life conditions. The focus is on the doubly labelled water method and accelerometry. Doubly labelled water is a gold standard and the reference for the validation of field methods to assess physical activity. Accelerometry is the most objective and precise technique to assess activity patterns in terms of frequency, duration and intensity. Applications of the two techniques are illustrated with the limits of physical activity and energy expenditure and with activity intensity as a determinant of the physical activity level. RECENT FINDINGS: The upper limit of the physical activity index (total energy expenditure as a multiple of basal metabolic rate) of 2.5, as derived from cross-sectional data, is confirmed by training intervention studies. Exercise training, in which total energy expenditure was measured before and at the end of the training programme, showed no increase in physical activity index when training was combined with an energy restricted diet and in elderly subjects. In children, the distribution of time spent at activities with low and high intensity determines the physical activity index while in adults moderate-intensity activities are the main determinant. SUMMARY: In adults, within the normal physical activity index range, the distribution of time spent at activities with low and moderate intensity determines the physical activity level. High-intensity activity does not have much impact on daily energy expenditure. High-intensity activity is not required to increase the activity energy expenditure.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Association of chronic kidney disease and anemia with physical capacity: the heart and soul study.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and anemia are common conditions in the outpatient setting, but their independent and additive effects on physical capacity have not been well characterized. The association of CKD and anemia with self-reported physical function was evaluated and exercise capacity was measured in patients with coronary disease. A cross-sectional study of 954 outpatients enrolled in the Heart and Soul study was performed. CKD was defined as a measured creatinine clearance <60 ml/min, and anemia was defined as a hemoglobin level of <12g/dl. Physical function was self-assessed using the physical limitation subscale of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (0 to 100), and exercise capacity was defined as metabolic equivalent tasks achieved at peak exercise. In unadjusted analyses, CKD was associated with lower self-reported physical function (67.6 versus 74.9; P < 0.001) and lower exercise capacity (5.5 versus 7.9; P < 0.001). Similarly, anemia was associated with lower self-reported physical function (62.6 versus 74.3; P < 0.001) and exercise capacity (5.7 versus 7.5; P < 0.001). After multivariate adjustment, CKD (69.4 versus 74.2; P = 0.003) and anemia (67.5 versus 73.6; P = 0.009) each remained associated with lower mean self-reported physical function. In addition, patients with CKD (6.3 versus 7.7; P < 0.001) or anemia (6.5 versus 7.4; P = 0.004) had lower adjusted mean exercise capacities. Participants with both CKD and anemia had lower self-reported physical function and exercise capacity than those with either alone. CKD and anemia are independently associated with physical limitation and reduced exercise capacity in outpatients with coronary disease, and these effects are additive. The broad impact of these disease conditions merits further study.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Effects of physical therapy on functional status of nursing home residents.

Nursing home residents typically have decreased functional and physical status and high health care utilization and costs. This randomized trial evaluates whether physical therapy is beneficial for frail debilitated long-stay residents of nursing homes. Subjects are recruited from a cohort of academic and community nursing home residents who have resided in the nursing home for greater than 3 months and are over age 60 and dependent in at least two activities of daily living. Subjects randomized to the intervention group receive one-on-one physical therapy sessions three times weekly for 4 months, while control group subjects receive structured social visits three times weekly to control for potential Hawthorne effects. Physical therapy sessions generally last 30 minutes and consist of functional activity and general conditioning exercises; these exercises are individually tailored to the subject's level of physical and functional disability. Prime outcome variables are physical function assessed by an observer-administered, performance-based instrument and self-perceived health status assessed by the Sickness Impact Profile. Health care utilization and associated costs are calculated for the following areas: the nursing home, hospitalizations, outpatient visits and procedures, medications, and the intervention. A cost-effectiveness ratio dividing incremental health care utilization and physical therapy intervention costs by the observed improvement in physical function is calculated. It is expected that results of this study can be used to help determine whether long-stay nursing home residents should be eligible for physical therapy.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

A walking program for nursing home residents: effects on walk endurance, physical activity, mobility, and quality of life.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of a 12-week walking program on walk endurance capacity, physical activity level, mobility, and quality of life in ambulatory nursing home residents who had been identified as having low physical activity levels and low walk endurance capacities. To determine the effects of 12 versus 22 weeks of walk training on walk endurance capacity, physical activity level, mobility, and quality of life in ambulatory nursing home residents. DESIGN: Experiment 1: Residents of one nursing home campus were assigned to the walking program, and residents of a second campus were assigned to the social visit control group. Outcome measures were taken before and after 12 weeks. Experiment 2: Pretest/posttest with outcome measures taken before and, again, after 12 and 22 weeks of walking. SETTING: Two campuses of the Jewish Homes for the Aging in the Los Angeles area. PARTICIPANTS: Experiment 1: Nineteen of 22 residents in the walking group completed the walking program, and 12 of 15 residents in the control group completed the study. Experiment 2: Thirty of 41 residents (from the two nursing homes) completed the 22-week walking program. INTERVENTION: Experiment 1: The walking program involved each resident walking with research staff at his/her self-selected walking pace, 5 days per week for 12 weeks, for a maximum of 30 minutes per day; while the control group had weekly individual social visits, which lasted 30 minutes, from a research assistant. Experiment 2: All residents, those in both the walking and the control group, were offered the opportunity to complete 22 weeks of walking. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Maximal walk endurance capacity, the resident's maximum walk time performed in a single day of walking (distance and speed also were measured); physical activity level based on time-sampled observations and physical activity monitors; mobility as measured with the Timed-Up-and-Go test, left handgrip strength, and Tinetti's Mobility Assessment; and quality of life as assessed with the Geriatric Depression Scale (a bodily pain scale) and the Dartmouth Primary Care Cooperative Information Project (COOP) physical work chart. RESULTS: Experiment 1: The walking group significantly improved their maximal walk endurance time by 77% and distance by 92%, with no significant change in walk speed; however, the control group showed no significant changes in these variables. There were no significant group by time interactions on measures of physical activity, mobility, and quality of life. Experiment 2: No further significant changes were found from 12 to 22 weeks in walk endurance capacity, physical activity, mobility, or quality of life. CONCLUSION: Twelve weeks of daily walking at a self-selected walking pace by ambulatory nursing home residents produced significant improvements in walk endurance capacity. No other significant changes were noted in physical activity level, mobility, or quality of life in either group after the intervention. Also, there were no side effects, such as increases in falls or cardiovascular complications, due to the walking intervention. Lengthening the walking program to 22 weeks produced no further significant changes in any outcome measures.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

Patterns of intense physical activity among 15- to 30-year-old Finns. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

Previous studies have reported increasing trends in physical activity in the Finnish population. These reports have not, however, included the perspective of cardiorespiratory stress in adolescent and young adults. We examined the present patterns of physical activity among Finnish adolescents and young adults in 1992. We specifically assessed whether the young people experience the volume of physical activity that is believed to stress the cardiorespiratory system appropriately in order to increase the level of fitness. The subjects in the present study were participants of a large multicenter study of atherosclerosis precursors in children and young adults. Physical activity was measured with a self-administered questionnaire in 2255 adolescents and young adults (1015 males and 1240 females). The proportion of subjects undertaking the volume of physical activity believed to benefit the cardiorespiratory system appropriately was 19%. The proportion was higher in males than in females (26 vs 13%). The proportion of active subjects became smaller in older age groups in both sexes. Half the study population (51% of the males; 48% of the females) reported frequent leisure-time physical activity less than once a month. In conclusion, Finnish adolescents and young adults have low levels of physical activity on the average, and many young Finns seldom undertake the volume of physical activity believed to benefit the cardiopulmonary system. Young males seem to be physically more active than females.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Getting started--a review of physical activity adoption studies.

The aim of this paper has been to review methods that have been found to be effective in getting sedentary adults to adopt physical activity, to examine these methods within the multilevel framework conceptualised by Winett et al, and to provide recommendations for future research to test new methods and their effectiveness in leading to the adoption of physical activity in sedentary populations. Searches for relevant studies were conducted on the Medline computerised database. Additional studies were located in reference sections of these studies and other review papers. Surveys that specifically identified determinants of adoption of physical activity in adults were included. Reviewed articles were selected on the basis of quasi-experimental and experimental designs that specifically examined the question of how to get sedentary adults to adopt a programme of physical activity or exercise, had completely described methods, and evaluated the effectiveness of methods of increasing physical activity and/or exercise. While numerous reviews have been written on determinants on physical activity adoption and maintenance, only two prospective surveys have identified specifics of adoption of physical activity. Most of the evidence for techniques that help inactive people to adopt physical activity comes from quasi-experimental and experimental intervention studies examining various cognitive and behavioural strategies at the individual level. Fewer studies have examined techniques at the interpersonal, organisational, community, environmental, and policy level. More prospective observational studies aimed at homogeneous subgroups are needed to identify correlates of physical activity adoption to help tailor interventions. Continued clinical studies are needed to differentiate the necessary and sufficient strategies at the personal and interpersonal levels. Interventions aimed at environmental, institutional, and social levels remain largely unexplored and there is a need for more research that specifically targets inactive subgroups at these levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Physical activity and ischaemic heart disease in middle-aged British men.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relation between reported physical activity and the risk of heart attacks in middle aged British men. DESIGN: Prospective study of middle-aged men followed for a period of eight years (The British Regional Heart Study). SETTING: One general practice in each of 24 British towns. PARTICIPANTS: 7735 men aged 40-59 years at initial examination. END POINT: Heart attacks (non-fatal and fatal). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: During the follow up period of eight years 488 men suffered at least one major heart attack. A physical activity score used was developed and validated against heart rate and lung function (FEV1) in men without evidence of ischaemic heart disease. Risk of heart attack decreased significantly with increasing physical activity; the groups reporting moderate and moderately vigorous activity experienced less than half the rate seen in inactive men. The benefits of physical activity were seen most consistently in men without preexisting ischaemic heart disease and up to levels of moderately vigorous activity. Vigorously active men had higher rates of heart attack than men with moderate or moderately vigorous activity. The relation between physical activity and the risk of heart attack seemed to be independent of other cardiovascular risk factors. Men with symptomatic ischaemic heart disease showed a reduction in the rate of heart attack at light or moderate levels of physical activity, beyond which the risk of heart attack increased. Men with asymptomatic ischaemic heart disease showed an increasing risk of heart attack with increasing levels of physical activity, but with a progressive decrease in case fatality. Overall, men who engaged in vigorous (sporting) activity of any frequency had significantly lower rates of heart attack than men who reported no sporting activity. However, when all men reporting regular sporting activity at least once a month were excluded from analysis, there remained a strong inverse relation between physical activity and the risk of heart attack in men without pre-existing ischaemic heart disease. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the overall level of physical activity is an important independent protective factor in ischaemic heart disease and that vigorous (sporting) exercise, although beneficial in its own right, is not essential in order to obtain such an effect.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Physical activity, calcium intake, and bone mineral content in children in The Netherlands.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between physical activity, calcium intake, and bone mineral content in children. DESIGN: Population based, cross sectional study. SETTING: Primary schools in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Altogether 1359 Dutch boys and girls, aged 7 to 11 years (response rate 88%). MEASUREMENTS: Bone mineral content was measured by quantitative roentgen microdensitometry of the midphalanx of the second digit at the diaphyseal and metaphyseal site. Maximal exercise testing, according to the Bruce treadmill protocol, was used to assess physical fitness. Habitual physical activity was assessed by use of a questionnaire on physical activities. Daily calcium intake from dairy products was estimated by use of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. MAIN RESULTS: Bone mineral content in boys was not linearly associated with physical fitness after adjustments for differences in height, body weight, chronological age, and skeletal age. In girls a linear association was found at the metaphyseal site only. When extreme groups were compared, bone mineral content was found to be higher in "high fitness children" (upper decile) than "low fitness children" (lowest decile), with statistical significance reached in boys only. When analyses were performed in subgroups of skeletal age, a clear linear relation between physical fitness and bone mineral content was seen in the mature subgroup in both boys and girls. No linear association was found between habitual physical activity and bone mineral content, while the results in extreme groups (that is, upper versus lowest decile) and in subgroups of skeletal age were comparable to those on physical fitness in boys only. No association was found between daily calcium intake and bone mineral content in this age group. CONCLUSIONS: This cross sectional study in children aged 7 to 11 years suggests that an increased bone mineral content is found only in those with a high level of physical activity. This association is most pronounced in the more mature children. No evidence was found for an association between daily calcium intake and bone mineral content in childhood.

Age Determination by Skeleton↗
PubMed2006

Association of physical activity and the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents: CASPIAN Study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: To determine the association of physical activity and the metabolic syndrome in a large national-representative sample of children. METHODS: This study was performed in 2003-2004 on 4,811 school students aged 6-18 years, selected by multi-stage random cluster sampling from six provinces in Iran. We assessed the level of physical activity using a standardized questionnaire, and categorized it to the tertiles. The metabolic syndrome was defined based on criteria analogous to those of the Adult Treatment Panel III. RESULTS: The participants comprised 2,248 boys and 2,563 girls with a mean age of 12.07 +/- 3.2 years. In all age groups, boys were more physically active than girls. The metabolic syndrome was detected in 14.1% of participants, and its prevalence was higher in those subjects in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd tertiles of physical activity, respectively (15.1 vs.14.2 and 13.1%, respectively, p <0.05). This difference was seen in boys, while no difference was found between girls in the 2nd and 3rd tertiles of physical activity. Physical activity was linked to a cluster of factors consisting of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and waist circumference, followed by triglycerides in boys, and of triglycerides, waist circumference and blood pressure in girls. In both genders, before and after adjustment for age and body mass index, low levels of physical activity significantly increased the risk of having the metabolic syndrome [in boys: OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.1; and in girls, OR: 1.6 (1.1, 1.9)]. CONCLUSION: We found an association between physical activity and the metabolic syndrome, which was independent of body mass index and age. Children should be encouraged to have greater physical activity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Hemostatic, metabolic, and androgenic risk factors for coronary heart disease in physically active and less active postmenopausal women.

Physically active postmenopausal women have a lower incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) than their more sedentary peers, but little information is available concerning the responsible mechanisms. The primary aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that physically active post-menopausal women demonstrate more favorable levels of hemostatic, metabolic, and androgenic CHD risk factors than less active control subjects. If so, a secondary aim was to determine which of the characteristics associated with a physically active lifestyle, ie, low body fat, a high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet, high maximal aerobic capacity (aerobic fitness), and high levels of physical activity, are most closely related to this lower risk profile. To address these aims, we compared CHD risk factors in physically very active women (n = 14; age, 55 +/- 2 years) with those in healthy, nonobese sedentary control subjects (n = 17; age, 56 +/- 1 years). Maximal aerobic capacity (fitness) was 83% higher (P < .001) in the physically active women. Concentrations of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 activity and tissue plasminogen activator antigen were lower (more favorable) (P < .005) in the physically active women versus control subjects, whereas plasma fibrinogen levels did not differ. The physically active women had lower (P < .01) fasting plasma insulin and glucose concentrations as well as smaller responses to an oral glucose challenge. Both total-body and abdominal fat levels were lower (P < .001) and lipid and lipoprotein profiles were generally more favorable (P < .05) in the physically active women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Body Composition↗
PubMed1983

Habitual physical activity and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in men with primary hypercholesterolemia. The Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial.

The association of habitual physical activity with plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and total triglyceride (TG) was examined in 7106 asymptomatic 35-59-year-old white men with primary type II hyperlipoproteinemia who attended the second screening visit of the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial. Subjects were rated by usual level of physical activity at work and outside of work and the frequency of strenuous physical labor or exercise. By each of these three criteria, physical activity was monotonically related to HDL cholesterol and TG: the most physically active men had the highest HDL cholesterol and lowest TG levels. With respect to physical activity outside of work, for example, mean HDL cholesterol and TG were 46.4 and 152.1 mg/dl, respectively, in the most active group, and 41.4 and 186.7 mg/dl in the most sedentary group. Physical activity remained significantly predictive of HDL cholesterol and TG when other known correlates of these plasma constituents--age, Quetelet index, plasma total cholesterol, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, and clinic--were controlled individually by two-way analyses of variance or jointly by analysis of covariance. The association of physical activity with very low density lipoprotein cholesterol was parallel to but weaker than its association with TG. Low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol were not significantly related to physical activity.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Girls' experiences in physical education: competition, evaluation, & degradation.

School nurses are often asked to participate in the health component of many physical education (PE) programs in schools. With this opportunity comes an ability to invite a model of physical education that enables physical, mental, and relational health. A pilot study was initiated to explore why girls' enrollment in physical education was dwindling once the compulsory credits were achieved. What emerged was the reality that for many girls, physical education was a source of constant shaming regarding their athletic ability and eventually themselves. Forced competition, degrading evaluation, and sexuality- and size-related harassment by both peers and teachers led the participants in this study to opt out of any further physical education classes. Within school-based physical education exists an opportunity to promote the health of adolescent women. School nurses, in partnership with physical education teachers and girls, can construct a model of physical education that is neither based on competition nor athletic ability, but rather on building a positive self-esteem and a positive relationship with one's body. This model would be rooted in participation, fun, and female friendship.

Adolescent↗