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Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of gamified versus nongamified health promotion interventions on cardiometabolic health and fitness parameters in healthcare worker women., Design: Randomized parallel group trial., Setting: A public outpatient health center in Brazil., Subjects: Women employees (included: n = 29; lost to follow-up: n = 1; analyzed: n = 28)., Interventions: 8 weeks of gamified (n = 15) or nongamified (n = 13) interventions, consisting of health lectures, nutritional counseling, and supervised exercise training. The gamified group was divided into teams that received points based on completion of health goals/tasks., Measures: Anthropometric, cardiometabolic and physical fitness parameters., Analysis: Two-way ANOVA with repeated measures (group vs. time), and Bonferroni post hoc tests., Results: Body mass (-1.5 ± 1.5 kg), waist circumference (-1.6 ± 3.0 cm), HbA1C (-.2 ± .3%), triglycerides (-21.5 ± 48.2 mg/dl), systolic (-11.1 ± 7.9 mmHg) and diastolic (-7.1 ± 5.8 mmHg) blood pressure, as well as sit and reach (3.9 ± 3.0 cm) and six-minute walking (56 ± 37 m) performance improved ( P < .05) only after the gamified intervention. Sit-to-stand performance improved after both the gamified (-1.18 ± 1.24 s) and nongamified (-1.49 ± 1.87 s) interventions., Conclusion: The gamified intervention was more effective than the nongamified intervention for improving cardiometabolic and physical fitness parameters, suggesting that gamification may be an effective tool for promoting health in healthcare worker women., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: While research demonstrates low levels of physical activity (PA) among adults living with atrial fibrillation (AF), there is limited evidence investigating sex differences in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time in this population. The primary aim was to examine sex differences in MVPA levels and sitting time between women and men with AF. Secondary aims explored sex differences in sociodemographic factors, outcome expectations, and task self-efficacy toward PA levels., Methods: This was a subanalysis of the CHAMPLAIN-AF cohort study. Women and men with AF completed a survey, including the Short-Form International Physical Activity Questionnaire., Results: A total of 210 women (median = 66.0 yr: 95% CI, 63.5-68.0) and 409 men (median = 66.0 yr: 95% CI, 64.0-67.0) were included. No sex differences were observed in median weekly MVPA (60 min/wk: 95% CI, 0-120 in women vs 120 min/wk: 95% CI, 85-150 in men) and daily sitting time (5.5 hr/d: 95% CI, 5.0-6.0 in women vs 6.0 hr/d: 95% CI, 5.0-6.0 in men). Women engaged in significantly less vigorous-intensity PA than men ( P = .03) and demonstrated significantly lower task self-efficacy ( P < .01). Significant positive correlations in PA levels with outcome expectations (mostly weak) and task self-efficacy (mostly strong) were observed in both sexes., Conclusion: Most women and men with AF did not meet the global MVPA guidelines but met the sitting time recommendation. Women presented with lower vigorous-intensity physical activity levels and confidence than men. Strategies to increase physical activity behavior, considering sociodemographic factors and task self-efficacy, are needed and may differ between sexes., Competing Interests: All authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Diabetes is the second most prevalent non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is highly associated with increased incidence of disease severity and mortality. Individuals with diabetes and poor glycemic control have an even worse prognosis. Despite of the need/effectiveness of social distancing measures (i.e.: home confinement, quarantine and/or lockdown) during COVID-19 outbreak, preliminary findings showed an increase in negative behaviors during COVID-19 home confinement (i.e.: ~33.5% reduction in physical activity, ~28.6% (~3.10h) increase in sedentary behavior (i.e.: daily sitting, reclining and lying down time), and more unhealthy food consumption and meal pattern), which may have important clinical implications. For example, we estimated that this reduction in physical activity can increase the cases of type 2 diabetes (from ~7.2% to ~9.6%; ~11.1 million cases per year) and all-cause mortality (from ~9.4% to ~12.5%; ~1.7 million deaths per year) worldwide. Few weeks of reduction in physical activity levels result in deleterious effects on several cardiometabolic (i.e.: glycemic control, body composition, inflammatory cytokines, blood pressure, vascular function…) and functional parameters (i.e.: cardiorespiratory/muscle fitness, balance, agility…). In contrast, physical activity and exercise are important tools for preventing and treating diabetes and others NCDs. Home-based exercise programs are useful, safe and effective for the management of diabetes, and could be widely used during COVID-19 outbreak. In this context, there is an urgent need for recommending physical activity/exercise, during and beyond COVID-19 outbreak, for improving the management of diabetes, as well as to prevent the increase in global burden of COVID-19, diabetes and others NCDs., (Copyright © 2020 Marçal, Fernandes, Viana and Ciolac.)