Moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) is important for childhood obesity prevention and treatment, yet declines with age. Timing and magnitude of the decline in MVPA in children and adolescents are unclear but important for informing effective obesity intervention development. This systematic review aimed to determine and compare the year-to-year changes in MVPA among children and adolescents. Longitudinal studies were identified by searching 10 relevant databases up to December 2018. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported accelerometer-assessed MVPA (min day −1 ) separately for boys and girls and had follow-up duration of at least 1 year. After screening 9,232 studies, 52 were included representing 22,091 aged 3 to 18 year olds (boys=8,857;girls=13,234). Pooled-analysis of the relative change in MVPA per year showed a decline of −3.4% (95% CI, −5.9 to −0.9) in boys and −5.3% (95% CI, −7.6 to −3.1) in girls, across all age groups. There were notable declines in MVPA at age 9 for both boys (−7.8%, 95% CI, −11.2 to −4.4) and girls (−10.2%, 95% CI, −14.2 to −6.3). The relative decline in MVPA affects both sexes from an early age; however, it is greater among girls. Interventions to promote MVPA should start before adolescence.

BackgroundLimited research has explored the links between sedentary behaviour, mental health and quality of life. This study examines objectively measured sedentary behaviour and perceived mental health and quality of life across week days and weekends.Methods42 adults (19M, 23F; mean age 38yrs (range 18–67) & BMI 24.8kg/m2 (range 18.7–33.8) wore an activPAL monitor 24h/day for one week and completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and SF12 Health Survey. Average weekday and weekend day sitting time was computed. Differences between sitting (Group 1 = <8hrs/day, Group 2 = 8–10 hrs/day, Group 3 = >10hrs/day) and components of the HADS and SF12 health survey were examined using an ANCOVA with a measure of physical activity (step count) included as a covariate.ResultsAverage sitting time on a weekday was 9hrs 29mins (range 5hrs 52mins to 12hrs 55mins) and 8hrs 59mins (range 4hrs, 07mins to 14hrs, 40mins) on a weekend day. There was a main effect (p<0.05) for weekday sitting time on total anxiety and depression (HADS) and mental health and vitality (SF12). Planned contrasts identified individuals in group 1 had lower anxiety and depression and higher mental health and vitality scores than individuals in groups 2 or 3 (p<0.05). No difference was found between individuals in group 2 and group 3 (p>0.05). No main effects were found for weekend sitting (p>0.05).ConclusionsWeekday sitting time below 8 hours/day is associated with better perceived mental health and quality of life.

IntroductionPrevention of childhood obesity is an important public health objective. Promoting healthful energy balance related behaviours (EBRBs) in the early years should be a key focus. In Scotland, one in five children are overweight or obese by age 5 years, with levels highest in deprived areas. This study protocol outlines the stages of a feasibility study to translate the highly promising North American Healthy Habits, Happy Homes (4H) a home based, preschool childhood obesity prevention intervention to Scotland (4H Scotland). First, elements of participatory and co-production approaches utilised to: (a) engage key stakeholders, (b) enable inclusive recruitment of participants and (c) adapt original study materials. Second, 4H Scotland intervention will be tested within a community experiencing health/social inequalities and high levels of deprivation in Dundee, Scotland.Methods and analysis4H Scotland aims to recruit up to 40 families. Anthropometry, objective and subjective measures of EBRBs will be collected at baseline and at 6 months. The intervention consists of monthly visits to family home, using motivational interviewing and SMS to support healthful EBRBs: sleep duration, physical activity (active play), screen time, family meals. The Control Group will receive standard healthy lifestyle information. Fidelity to intervention will be assessed using recordings of intervention visits. Feasibility and acceptability of study design components will be assessed through qualitative interviews and process evaluation of recruitment, retention rates; appropriateness, practicality of obtaining outcome measures; intervention duration, content, mode of delivery and associated costs. Adaptation through participatory and co-production will support development of 4H Scotland. Process evaluation offers two future directions; advancement towards a definitive, larger trial or routine practice.Ethics and disseminationThis study was granted ethical approval by the University of Strathclyde’s School of Psychological Sciences and Health Ethics Committee. Results will be disseminated through lay summaries workshops, peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.Trial registration numberISRCTN13385965; Pre-results.

The purpose of the study was to examine the health effects of eight weeks of recreational badminton in untrained women. Participants were matched for maximal oxygen uptake (V O 2max ) and body fat percentage and assigned to either a badminton (n = 14), running (n = 14) or control group (n = 8).Assessments were conducted pre and post intervention with physiological, anthropometric, motivation to exercise and physical self(esteem data collected. Post(intervention, V O 2max increased ( < 0.05) by 16% and 14% in the badminton and running groups respectively and time to exhaustion increased ( < 0.05) by 19% for both interventions. Maximal power output was increased ( < 0.05) by 13% in the badminton group only. Blood pressure, resting heart rate and heart rate during submaximal running was lower ( < 0.05) in both interventions. Perceptions of physical conditioning increased ( < 0.05) in both interventions. There were increases ( < 0.05) in enjoyment and ill health motives in the running group only, whilst affiliation motives were higher ( < 0.05) for the badminton group only. Findings suggest that badminton should be considered a strategy to improving the health and wellbeing of untrained females who are currently not meeting physical activity guidelines. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Physical inactivity increases the risk of many adverse health conditions and shortens life expectancy (Lee et al., 2012; Scholes et al., 2014). In 2012, 60% of the adult population in England self( reported that they met the government physical activity guidelines of 150 or 75 min of moderate or vigorous exercise per week, respectively (Health Survey for England 2012). However, when assessed via an objective measure of physical activity (i.e., accelerometer) this number decreased to 6 and 4% for men and women respectively (Health Survey for England 2008). Clearly problems exist with self(reporting of physical activity levels, but more importantly the large proportion of individuals not meeting the recommended levels of physical activity. Furthermore more focus should be placed on females due to the fact they are less physically active than males (Talbot, Metter, & Fleg, 2000). It has previously been reported that men have higher activity levels than women in terms of moderate(intensity, vigorous(intensity as well as total leisure(time (Azevedo et al., 2007; Martinez(Gonzalez et al., 2001) therefore effective strategies to target increased physical activity amongst females is warranted.Most training intervention studies have used endurance training, such as walking, jogging or cycling to improve health markers. A recent systemic review and meta(analysis demonstrated that systolic and diastolic blood pressure is reduced by 6.4 and 4.0 mmHg, respectively in interventions lasting between 4(10 weeks, with the largest reduction in blood pressure...

Background: It is reported that 81% of adolescents are insufficiently active. Schools play a pivotal role in promoting physical activity (PA) and reducing sedentary behavior (SB). The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate classroom-based PA and SB interventions in adolescents. Methods: A search strategy was developed using the Population Intervention Comparison Outcome Study (PICOS) design framework. Articles were screened using strict inclusion criteria. Study quality was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project quality assessment tool (http://www.ephpp.ca/tools.html). Outcome data for preintervention and postintervention were extracted, and effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d. Results: The strategy yielded 7574 potentially relevant articles. Nine studies were included for review. Study quality was rated as strong for 1 study, moderate for 5 studies, and weak for 3 studies. Five studies were included for meta-analyses, which suggested that the classroom-based interventions had a nonsignificant effect on PA (P = .55, d = 0.05) and a small, nonsignificant effect on SB (P = .16, d = −0.11). Conclusion: Only 9 relevant studies were found, and the effectiveness of the classroom-based PA and SB interventions varied. Based on limited empirical studies, there is not enough evidence to determine the most effective classroom-based methodology to increase PA and SB.

Sedentary behaviour is associated with poor health outcomes, and office-based workers are at significant health risk, as they accumulate large proportions of their overall sitting time at work. The aim of this integrated systematic review was to collate and synthesize published research on sedentary behaviour interventions in the workplace that have reported on at least one an aspect of the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Studies were included if they involved adult office workers, were conducted in an office setting, and changes in sedentary behaviour had been measured as a primary outcome. Five electronic databases were searched yielding 7234 articles, with 75 articles (61 individual interventions) meeting the inclusion criteria. Reach indicators were the most frequently reported RE-AIM dimensions, which were reported on average 59% of the time. Efficacy/effectiveness was the second most reported dimension at 49% reporting across all of the indicators. Implementation indicators were reported an average of 44% of the time, with indicators of adoption and maintenance reported as the lowest of all indicators at 13% and 8%, respectively. Recommendations are provided to improve reporting across all RE-AIM dimensions, which is an important first step to enable the effective translation of interventions into real world settings.

BackgroundNo studies have examined associations in objectively measured sedentary time between parents and young people using activPAL posture sensors, which provide a more accurate estimate of sedentary time compared to accelerometer-based devices. This study examines patterns and associations of activPAL measured sedentary time and number of sedentary breaks on weekdays and weekend days in preschool (2–4 yrs), primary (5–11 yrs) and secondary school aged children (12–17 yrs) and their parents.Methods51 parents (16 M, 35 F; mean age 39 (+/−8) yrs) and 51 children (28 M, 23 F; mean age 9 (+/−5) yrs) wore an activPAL monitor for 7 days to measure time spent sedentary and number of breaks in sedentary time. Data was assessed by Pearson's correlations and t-tests.ResultsSecondary school children spent a greater percentage of their day sedentary (64.5 (+/−8.5) %) than preschool (57.4 (+/−7.3) %) and primary school children (57.2 (+/−5) %). For the secondary school parent dyad, there were no significant positive associations for time sedentary (r = −0.167, p = 0.494) and percentage of day sedentary (r = −0.247, p = 0.308). For the primary school parent dyad, there were medium, but non-significant positive correlations for time sedentary (r = 0.38, p = 0.146) and percentage of day sedentary (r = 0.363, p = 0.167). For the preschool parent dyad, there were medium—large positive correlations for percentage of waking day sedentary at weekends (r = 0.479, p = 0.083) and number of sedentary breaks (r = 0.648, p = 0.012) at weekends.ConclusionsThere were positive associations in sedentary time between primary school children and their parents, and between preschool children and their parents at the weekend. Thus, interventions aimed at reducing sedentary time of parents and children together, particularly at the weekend for young children, may be effective in these age groups. Secondary school children were more sedentary and had fewer sedentary breaks than younger children, thus interventions should promote breaks in sedentary time as well as reducing total sedentary time in this age group.

Objective To examine the association between obesity and cognitive function in healthy premenopausal women. Methods From a cohort of 220 women, 98 were randomly selected that provided complete data. Body composition was examined by dual-energy X-ray scan. All participants completed the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to assess cognitive performance in three domains: attention, memory, and planning executive function. The Reaction Time (RTI) test was used to assess motor and mental response speeds; the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) test was used to assess planning executive function. For memory assessment, the Delayed Match to Sample (DMS), Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM), and Spatial Span (SSP) tests were used to assess forced choice recognition memory, visual pattern recognition memory, and working memory capacity, respectively. Results 36 (36.7%) were morbidly obese, 22 (22.4%) obese, and 23 (23.5%) overweight. Performance on RTI and SOC planning ability were not associated with body mass index (BMI). DMS mean time to correct response, when stimulus is visible or immediately hidden (0 ms delay), was higher by 785 ± 302 ms (milliseconds) (p=0.011) and 587 ± 259 ms (p=0.026) in morbidly obese women compared to normal weight women. Memory span length was significantly lower in overweight (5.5 ± 1.3, p=0.008) and obese women (5.6 ± 1.6, p=0.007) compared to normal weight (6.7 ± 0.9). DEXA-assessed body fat (%) showed similar associations as BMI, and latency to correct response on DMS and PRM was positively correlated with percentage of body fat, but not with VO2 max. Conclusion In otherwise healthy premenopausal women, obesity did not impact accuracy on cognitive tasks related to attention, memory, or planning executive function, but morbid obesity was associated with higher latency to correct response on memory-specific tasks and lower memory span length.