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Background: Emerging adulthood is a stressful time fraught with new challenges while attending higher education. Identifying protective factors to help reduce the psychological burden that many will experience during this period is therefore important. This study aimed to identify whether emerging adults attending post-secondary education can be classified into distinct profiles based on their 24-h movement behaviors, evaluate correlates of profile membership, and examine relationships between profile membership and indicators of mental health.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from Cycle 1 of the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey. Emerging adults (N = 15,080; 67.6 % female; mean age = 20.78 ± 2.00) from 20 post-secondary institutions in Canada self-reported their movement behaviors - moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), recreational screen time (ST) and sleep - and completed measures of psychological distress and mental wellbeing. Latent profile analysis was employed.Results: Five profiles were identified: low ST with very high (12.6 %), high (24.4 %) and low MVPA (51.2 %) as well as high ST with high (2.3 %) and low MVPA (9.4 %). Profiles had similar sleep patterns and were thus characterized by differences in MVPA and ST. Several socio-demographic variables were associated with profile membership. Profiles characterized by healthier combinations of MVPA, ST and sleep generally reported more favorable scores for indicators of mental health.Limitations: Cross-sectional data limits causal inference, whereas self-reports may be biased.Conclusions: Campus-based interventions should focus on getting students to engage in a healthy balance of physical activity and recreational screen use as it has the potential to reduce the mental health burden on emerging adults attending post-secondary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents results from Canada’s 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. It mentions indicators on the basis of which grades are assigned including organized sport participation, active transportation, and sedentary behavior. The report card reveals that behavioral indicator grades are generally poor despite the presence of more favorable grades in the support and investment indicators.

Financial health incentives, such as paying people to exercise, remain controversial despite widespread implementation. This focus group study explored the acceptability of incentives among a sample of Canadian cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients (n?=?15). Focus groups were conducted between March and April 2013 until further sampling ceased to produce new analytical concepts. A thematic analysis approach was adopted in analysing the data. Three broad themes emerged from the focus groups. First,ethical concernswere prominent. Half of participants disagreed with the incentive approach believing that it was unfair, unnecessary or a waste of limited resources. Second, ethical concerns were mitigated in considering a range ofincentive featuresincluding type, size and source. Specifically, privately sponsored (not government funded) health-promoting voucher-based incentives (e.g. grocery or gym vouchers) were perceived to be highly acceptable. Third, if designed like this, then financial incentives were considered potentiallyeffectivein motivating behaviour change and in reducing economic barriers to exercise participation. Overall, the majority of participants welcomed incentives if ethical concerns were addressed through thoughtful incentive programme design. The results of this focus group study will inform the design of a financial health incentive feasibility RCT to promote post-CR programme exercise compliance in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Active transportation (AT; e.g., walking and cycling) is increasingly promoted to increase youth physical activity (PA). Most previous research focused solely on school trips, and associations among AT and cardiovascular risk factors have seldom been examined in adolescents. Purpose: To address these important research gaps using data from the nationally representative 2007–2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Methods: A total of 1,016 adolescents aged 12–19 years reported their weekly time spent utilitarian walking and cycling, and wore an Actical accelerometer for 7 days. They underwent a series of physical tests (measures of fitness, body composition, blood pressure, and blood sampling) following standardized protocols. In 2013, differences in PA and health-related outcomes across levels of walking and cycling were assessed with ANCOVA analyses adjusted for age, gender, parental education, and usual daily PA. Results: Greater walking and cycling time was associated with higher moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Compared to adolescents reporting walking 1–5 hours/week, those reporting <1 hour/week had lower waist circumference and total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio and higher glycohemoglobin; those reporting >5 hours/week had better grip strength, lower total cholesterol, and total cholesterol/HDL ratio. Compared to adolescents reporting no cycling, those reporting ≥1 hour/week accumulated more light PA, had greater aerobic fitness, and lower BMI, waist circumference, and total cholesterol/HDL ratio; those who reported cycling <1 hour/week had lower total cholesterol. Conclusions: Utilitarian walking and cycling were associated with higher daily MVPA in youth. Cycling was associated with a more consistent pattern of health benefits than walking. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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