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Background: To assess the validity of the single question to determine sedentary behavior (SB) by using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) in older adults. Methods: The sample included 163 participants (96 women) aged 65–92 years. Self-reported SB was obtained from the GPAQ. Objectively measured SB was assessed using the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity. Participants wore the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity continuously during 2 consecutive days while following their daily routine. The relative validity was assessed using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (ρ), and the agreement was examined using mean bias and 95% limit of agreement with the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity as reference. Results: The results showed small correlations (ρ =.291, P <.001) between the SB from the GPAQ and the objective measures, and ranged from ρ =.217 to ρ =.491 depending on the potential moderator. Similarly, the GPAQ underestimates the SB for approximately 2 hours per day in older adults (limit of agreement = −7.3 to 3.4 h/d). Conclusion: The GPAQ may not be the most suitable questionnaire for measuring SB in this population and should be used with caution because those studies that use this questionnaire in older adults may have an inaccurate measurement of SB levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interday reliability of the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity (IDEEA) has not been studied to date. The study purpose was to examine the interday variability and reliability on two consecutive days collected with the IDEEA, as well as to predict the number of days needed to provide a reliable estimate of several movement (walking and climbing stairs) and nonmovement (lying, reclining, and sitting) behaviors and standing in older adults. The sample included 126 older adults (74 women) who wore the IDEEA for 48 hr. Results showed low variability between the 2 days, and the reliability was from moderate (intraclass coefficient correlation =.34) to high (.80) in most of movement and nonmovement behaviors analyzed. The Bland–Altman plots showed high–moderate agreement between days, and the Spearman–Brown formula estimated that 1.2 and 9.1 days of monitoring with the IDEEA are needed to achieve intraclass coefficient correlations ≥.70 in older adults for sitting and climbing stairs, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Frailty is a geriatric syndrome that entails high risk of hospitalization, disability, and death. While adherence to Mediterranean diet has been associated with lower risk of frailty, the joint effect of diet and lifestyle is uncertain. This study examined the association between a Mediterranean lifestyle (diet, customs, and traditions) and frailty incidence in older adults.Methods: We analyzed data from 1 880 individuals aged ≥ 60 from the prospective Seniors-ENRICA-1 cohort. Adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle was assessed at baseline with the 27-item MEDLIFE index (higher scores representing better adherence), divided into 3 blocks: (1) "Mediterranean food consumption," (2) "Mediterranean dietary habits" (practices around meals)," and (3) "Physical activity, rest, social habits and conviviality." Frailty was ascertained as the presence of ≥ 3 of the 5 Fried criteria: (a) Exhaustion; (b) Muscle weakness; (c) Low physical activity; (d) Slow walking speed; and (e) Unintentional weight loss. Main statistical analyses were performed using logistic regression models, adjusting for the main confounders.Results: After a 3.3-year follow-up, 136 incident frailty cases were ascertained. Compared with participants in the lowest tertile of the MEDLIFE score, the OR (95% CI) for frailty was 0.88 (0.58-1.34) for the second tertile, and 0.38 (0.21-0.69) for the third tertile (p-trend = .003). Blocks 1 and 3 of the MEDLIFE score were independently associated with lower frailty risk. Most items within these blocks showed a tendency to reduced frailty.Conclusions: Higher adherence to a Mediterranean lifestyle was associated with lower risk of frailty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examined the associations of objectively measured physical activity in Physical Education and recess with academic performance in youth. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,780 participants aged 6 to 18 years (863 girls). Physical activity was objectively measured by accelerometry and was also classified according to sex- and agespecific quartiles of physical activity intensities. Academic performance was assessed through school records. Results: Physical activity in physical education (PE) and recess was not associated with academic performance (β ranging from -0.038 to -0.003; all P > .05). Youth in the lowest quartile of physical activity in PE engaged in an average of 1.40 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and those in the highest quartile engaged in 21.60 min (for recess: lowest quartile, 2.20 min; highest quartile, 11.15 min). There were no differences in academic performance between quartiles of physical activity in Physical Education and recess. Conclusions: Time spent at different physical activity intensities during PE and recess does not impair academic performance in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined the dose-response relationship between changes in physical activity (PA) and subsequent incidence or remission of overall and abdominal obesity.Methods: A total of 113,950 healthy individuals aged ≥ 18 years participating in the Taiwan MJ Cohort were included. Two-year changes in PA between the first and second examination were linked to subsequent development and remission of overall and abdominal obesity.Results: During a mean 5.6-year follow-up after the second examination, 9,991 and 11,488 individuals developed overall and abdominal obesity, respectively; also, 3,588 and 3,156 participants with obesity lost sufficient weight or reduced their waist circumference to be classified as nonobese. Compared with no changes in PA, the multivariable hazard ratio (95% CI) of overall obesity was 0.95 (0.90-1.00) for a PA increase of 0.01 to 3.74 metabolic equivalent hours (MET-h) per week and 0.86 (0.80-0.91) for a PA increase of ≥ 3.75 MET-h per week. Corresponding values for remission of obesity were 1.00 (0.91-1.09) and 1.16 (1.05-1.28). Similar results were observed for the development and remission of abdominal obesity. Any decrease in PA was not associated with the risk of obesity outcomes when compared with a stable pattern (0 MET-h/week).Conclusions: Increasing PA was consistently associated with a progressively lower incidence and higher remission of overall and abdominal obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We examined the associations of history and duration in high occupational physical activity (OPA) with long-term total and cause-specific mortality.Methods: The sample included 322 126 participants (135 254 women) from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, established in 1995-1996. History and duration in high OPA were reported by participants. All-cause, cardiovascular, cancer and other cause mortality records available through 31 December 2011.Results: The prevalence of high OPA was 52.1% in men and 16.1% in women. During 13.6 years (SD, 3.3) of follow-up, 73 563 participants (25 219 women) died. In age-adjusted models, the risk of death was higher among men (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.16) and women (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.26) with a history of high OPA. However, these associations were substantially attenuated in women (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.07, an 81.8% attenuation) and eliminated in men (HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.04, 85.7% attenuation) after multivariable adjustments. Similar important attenuation results were found when examining duration in high OPA, as well as using cause-specific deaths as the outcomes. Educational attainment and smoking patterns were the main contributors in the excess mortality among people working in highly physically active jobs in both men and women.Conclusion: Participating in high OPA was not consistently associated with a higher mortality risk, after adjustments for education and smoking factors. Workers in high OPA should be aware that they might not be getting all well-known health benefits of being physically active if they are only very active at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Excessive television (TV) viewing might play an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to examine the independent associations between TV viewing and CVD risk factors in adolescents. Methods A sample of 425 adolescents, aged 13- to 18.5-year-old, was included in this study. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein (apo) A-1, apo B-100, and lipoprotein(a) levels were determined. A composite CVD risk score was computed based on age-, sex-, sexual maturation- and race-standardized triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and glucose. TV viewing was self-reported. Results Two hundred and twenty-five adolescents (53%) who spent >3 hrs/day watching TV were considered as the "high TV viewing" group. Ninety-nine adolescents (23%) from the total sample were classified as overweight according to International age- and sex-specific BMI values. The high TV viewing group had significantly less favorable values of HDL-cholesterol, glucose, apo A1 and CVD score, independent of age, sex, sexual maturation, race and weight status. There was a significant interaction effect of TV viewing × weight status (P = 0.002) on WC, and the negative influence of TV viewing on WC persisted in the overweight group (P = 0.031) but was attenuated in non-overweight adolescents (P > 0.05). Conclusion Excessive TV viewing seems to be related to an unfavorable CVD risk factors profile in adolescence. Reducing TV viewing in overweight adolescents might be beneficial to decrease abdominal body fat.

Abstract Background The prevalence of overweight and obesity (OW/OB) among adolescents worldwide has increased since the 60 s. Spain has reached one of the highest OW/OB prevalence rates among adolescents from European countries. The aim of this methodological paper is to describe the design and evaluation in the EVASYON study (Development, implementation and evaluation of the efficacy of a therapeutic programme for adolescents with OW/OB: integral education on nutrition and physical activity). Methods/Design The EVASYON was planned by a multidisciplinary team to treat OW/OB in Spanish adolescents. The EVASYON is a multi-centre study conducted in 5 hospitals in 5 Spanish cities (Granada, Madrid, Pamplona, Santander and Zaragoza) and two hundred and four OW/OB Spanish adolescents were recruited for this intervention. The treatment was implemented for approximately one-year follow-up. The adolescents were treated in groups of a maximum of 10 subjects; each group had 20 visits during the treatment period in two phases: intensive during the first 2 months (1st to 9th visits), and extensive during the last 11 months (10th to 20th visits). In order to assess the efficacy of the treatment, 8 dimensions were measured: diet; physical activity and fitness; eating behaviour; body composition; haematological profile; metabolic profile; minerals and vitamins; immuno-inflammatory markers. Moreover, genetic polymorphisms were also determined. Discussion The treatment programme developed in the EVASYON study was designed as a national pilot study to be implemented as an effective treatment for adolescents with OW/OB into the Spanish Health Care Service.

Background: The morning recess period during school days represents a regular opportunity to accumulate physical activity (PA). However, little is known about the contribution of recess to PA guidelines (60 min/day in moderate-to-vigorous PA [MVPA]) in adolescents. Methods: This study comprised 1065 Spanish adolescents (52% girls), aged 13 to 16 years. Adolescents completed a validated Recess PA Recall in 2007-2008. Differences in levels of PA during the recess period were analyzed by gender, age group, type of school, school location, immigrant status, weight status, fitness levels and snack eating during recess. Results: Adolescent boys spent more time in MVPA (7.7 vs. 6.4 min in MVPA, P = .009) and were more active (29.6% vs. 24.5% in MVPA, P = .007) than girls during the recess period. Adolescent boys in the youngest age group and with the school located in cities were more active than their peers (all P < .05). There were no differences in levels of PA during recess by all the descriptive characteristics in adolescent girls (all P > .05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that recess in Spanish high schools may contribute to the daily recommended MVPA for adolescents, but greater efforts must be implemented to increase PA levels among adolescent girls during this school period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No studies have analyzed the longitudinal associations of change in physical fitness components and obesity with academic performance. The aim of the study was to examine longitudinal associations of changes in physical fitness components and body mass index with academic performance among youth, and whether the physical fitness components are moderators of the longitudinal association between obesity and academic performance in youth. Longitudinal analyses (2 years) included 1802 youths. Physical fitness components were assessed following the ALPHA health‐related fitness test battery. Academic performance was assessed via school records. Youth in the persistently high cardiorespiratory fitness and motor ability categories (ie, fit at baseline and at 2‐year follow‐up) had higher academic performance at follow‐up than those in the persistently low category. Further, youth with normal weight at baseline and overweight/obesity at follow‐up had lower academic performance scores at follow‐up compared to those with normal weight. Also, cardiorespiratory fitness may ameliorate the negative influence of excess body mass index on academic performance at follow‐up. Promoting physical activity programs at school that include both aerobic exercise and motor tasks to improve physical fitness and reduce body mass index may not only improve physical health, but also contribute toward successful academic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]