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Cities, defined materially by concreted surfaces and geometrically shaped structures, have a novel ecology, a “grey space”. Grey spaces are criticized for their lack of salubrity in contrast to blue and green spaces enriched by natural biodiversity. How might cities become salubrious? We consider urban play as a source of surplus value both in the context of capitalist frames of labour vs. leisure and societal frames of obedience vs. deviance. We also discuss how some skate play is more ineffable, such as play that is for its own sake, deep play, edgework, and Promethean play. We explore these various facets of skate play in three spatial settings: (1) City-built skateparks, (2) DIY skateparks, and (3) Street spots. We then consider the more ineffable forms of skate play in the context of a Marxist framework of unalienated labour and argue that its unique reimaging of banal urban architecture: stairs, curbs, ledges, etc. creates a diversity of surplus value in the city. These more ineffable forms of play provide unique potential for human fulfilment and identity creation. Grey spaces can be enriched by social play diversity if cities open spaces for citizens to comfortably and naturally initiate diverse frames of play.

Pollution makes some leisure activities not only possible but pleasurable, an analysis known as "polluted leisure." In this paper, I extend this analysis with case examples of leisure participants adept use of polluted spaces. This adept use suggests that some leisure participants are "enskiled" at polluted leisure, possessing an embodied ecological familiarity with polluted spaces similar to a sailor who has a real knack for getting their sea legs. I present a case example of skateboarders building formal and informal skateparks on remediated Superfund sites and brownfields to further encourage this notion of polluted leisure enskilment. I then develop this notion of polluted leisure enskilment using Guattari's "ecosophy," a way of being most suitable for our Anthropocene age, claiming that skateboarding's esthetic enmeshed in polluted space offers a lived ecosophy. I conclude with potential extensions of this research in leisure studies, spatial justice, and skate studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities, defined materially by concreted surfaces and geometrically shaped structures, have a novel ecology, a "grey space". Grey spaces are criticized for their lack of salubrity in contrast to blue and green spaces enriched by natural biodiversity. How might cities become salubrious? We consider urban play as a source of surplus value both in the context of capitalist frames of labour vs. leisure and societal frames of obedience vs. deviance. We also discuss how some skate play is more ineffable, such as play that is for its own sake, deep play, edgework, and Promethean play. We explore these various facets of skate play in three spatial settings: (1) City-built skateparks, (2) DIY skateparks, and (3) Street spots. We then consider the more ineffable forms of skate play in the context of a Marxist framework of unalienated labour and argue that its unique reimaging of banal urban architecture: stairs, curbs, ledges, etc. creates a diversity of surplus value in the city. These more ineffable forms of play provide unique potential for human fulfilment and identity creation. Grey spaces can be enriched by social play diversity if cities open spaces for citizens to comfortably and naturally initiate diverse frames of play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We compared the health benefits of two different Tai Chi interventions tailored for improving blood pressure (BP) (PRESSURE) or balance (BALANCE). Design: randomized controlled trial. Setting: Community dwelling older adults (≥60yr) practiced Tai Chi at the fitness center of a continuous care community. Interventions: We tailored PRESSURE to emphasize breathing techniques and mental relaxation and BALANCE to emphasize movement principles that challenged balance. Subjects were randomized to PRESSURE (n = 12), BALANCE (n = 13), or CONTROL (n = 10). Tai Chi was practiced 3 sessions/wk, 60 min/session for 12 wk. CONTROL performed normal daily activities. Main outcome measures: We compared the change in cardiometabolic health, balance, and functional fitness between groups with ANCOVA using baseline values, age, and body mass index as covariates. Results: Subjects were physically active, Tai Chi naive (97.1 %), white, mostly female (82.9 %), and older (78.9 ± 5.7 yr) with resting systolic BP (SBP) of 126.5 ± 14.4 mmHg and diastolic BP of 69.3 ± 8.4 mmHg. PRESSURE significantly improved Chair Sit-to-Stand Test (CSTS) (1.0 ± 1.8 vs.−0.6 ± 0.8times/30s,p = 0.03) versus CONTROL, and gait speed (12.8±43.3 vs.−24.1±22.4cm/sec, p = 0.02) versus BALANCE. Meanwhile, BALANCE significantly improved Single Leg Stance Test (5.4±18.0 vs.−8.2±10.3 s, p = 0.049) and CSTS (1.0±1.7 vs.−0.6±0.8times/30s, p = 0.03), and tended to lower SBP (-4.2±16.0 vs. 3.5±8.3mmHg, p = 0.052) versus CONTROL. Conclusion: Within 3 months, Tai Chi improved several health outcomes independent of the type of practice among physically active, Tai Chi naive older adults. Therefore, healthcare and exercise professionals may recommend Tai Chi to physically active older adults without specifying the type of practice.

Background As the prevalence of obesity increases, the number of patients seeking body contouring procedures after bariatric surgery for massive weight loss is increasing. Although the positive impact of bariatric surgery on physical and emotional health is well-described, few studies have reported on the psychosocial well-being of patients undergoing body contouring procedures. Psychosocial well-being can impact patient satisfaction and maintenance of weight loss, and is an important area to study. Objective The aim of this study was to characterize social and psychiatric factors of patients undergoing body contouring surgery, and to evaluate their impact on maintenance of weight loss. Methods A retrospective review was performed of patients who presented to a single institution for body contouring procedures between 2002 and 2018. Demographic details, medical history, psychosocial support, and operative details were collected. Univariate analysis and multinomial logistic regressions were performed with R statistical software (version 1.3.1093). Results A total of 1187 patients underwent at least 1 body contouring procedure during the study time frame. Mean BMI at presentation was 31.21 ± 10.49 kg/m2. Patients diagnosed with obesity at age 18 or older had significantly greater odds of suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (odds ratio [OR] 1.08 [95% CI, 1.02-1.15], P =.008). Patients with spousal support had 1.93 times higher odds of having maintained postbariatric weight loss at their 6-month follow-up (OR 1.93 [95% CI, 1.84-2.01], P =.028). Conclusions Social support and age of obesity diagnosis impact psychological well-being and maintenance of weight loss following body contouring procedures. Level of Evidence: 3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sounds produced by skateboards, or skatesounds, are a common basis of complaint among the urban public and yet a source of inspiration and joy for skateboarding participants. These opposing responses to skatesound have escaped scholarly attention due to skateboarding's visuocentric culture, yet this disagreement is significant in planning for city-built skateparks, registering public complaints of skateboarders in city spaces, and adding hostile architecture like skate stoppers, which often pivot on this polarity of reactions to skatesounds. We present a spectrum of theoretical responses of skatesound to dispel these reactions, including subjectivism, semiotics, soundscapes, and texturology. We argue that for some people skatesounds may be merely subjective with either a positive or negative valence. For others, skatesound is associated with pro-social or anti-social behaviors. For some, skatesound is both associative and provides wayfinding information about a city. Lastly, we introduce a novel theory of texturology: that skateboarders possess a unique sensory knowledge of the surface materials and textures of the city through skatesound, a knowledge specific to skateboarding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a symbolic environmental schema of skateboarding through the concept of 'grey spaces'. We provide evidence of how skateboarding demonstrates a greyness – political and environmental ambiguities, contradictions, liminality, nuances and paradoxes – to outdoor urban leisure in the Anthropocene. We build on a chromatic turn in leisure studies which attends to blue and green spaces; however, we shift focus from the therapeutic discussion of nature that tends to underscore that turn to a contested realm of urban grey spaces. A concept of 'greyness' is adopted to connote not simply the urban but also the ambivalence of polluted leisure and the ambiguous position of skateboarding working as pollutant, and a form of alternative sustainability, while acting with complicity in neoliberal processes that contribute to escalating consumption and the proliferation of concrete spaces of play. In framing skateboarding in both the material and symbolic space of greyness, we seek to stimulate discussion about the greyness of leisure in the Anthropocene beyond skateboarding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]