Background Aerobic training, resistance training, or combined training are interventions that can be modified to suit the needs of aged people. Objective This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the impact of exercise training on depression symptoms, quality of life, and muscle strength in healthy people aged 60 or more. Data Sources Searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases from inception to February 2022. Results Eighteen studies, totaling 1354 participants, were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, exercise training significantly declined depressive symptoms (standard mean difference (SMD): −.52, 95% confidence interval (CI): −.76 to −.28; p < .001). Moreover, there was a significant reduction in bodily pain ( p < .05) and body mass ( p < .01), and a significant increase in mental health ( p < .001), physical functioning ( p < .01), and general health ( p < .001) subscales of quality of life as well as upper- ( p < .001) and lower-limb strength ( p < .001). Subgroup analysis revealed that depression decreased significantly when aerobic training ( p = .000) and resistance training ( p = .003) were applied, and for studies including both genders ( p = .000) or men subjects ( p = .002). Moreover, subgroup analysis demonstrated that depression reduced following both medium- ( p = .006) and long-term ( p = .002) interventions. Conclusion These findings demonstrate that exercise interventions may produce improvements in depressive symptoms, some components of quality of life, muscle strength, and body mass. Additional research is required to define the optimal dose of exercise training interventions.

Effective public health interventions require an understanding of why people engage in or abstain from physical activity. This study aimed to design a model of physical activity for middle-aged Iranian women. The research was conducted using the systematic approach of grounded theory. Data analysis was performed through continuous „questioning” and „comparison.” Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 middle-aged women (aged 40 to 65) who regularly engaged in physical activity to achieve theoretical saturation. The coding process identified 128 final codes, 30 sub-themes, and nine main themes. After the open, axial, and selective-coding stages, a conceptual model was designed. In our model: „Advice and Encouragement,” „Knowledge and Awareness,” „Fear and Prevention,” and „Exercise Therapy” are the primary drivers that affect the motivation of middle-aged Iranian women to engage in physical activity. Motivated middle-aged Iranian women by comparison of perceived barriers, facilities, and benefits to engage in physical activity. Experiencing benefits leads to internalizing motivation and can lead to exercise addiction. The developed model suggests that the key measures for motivating middle-aged women to engage in regular physical activity are increasing primary drivers, lowering obstacles, and expanding facilities. Middle-aged women’s physical activity can be understood by employing the created model.

Today, elite athletes form an important social group, and the non-sport facets of their lives matter as much as their sports performances. However, there has been little empirical research on the lifestyles of elite athletes. Therefore, this study aimed to develop knowledge about the Iranian elite athletes’ lifestyle. The study was conducted with a qualitative approach in two phases. Glaserian grounded theory was used in the first phase, and thematic analysis was used in the second phase. Participants of the first phase included 19 sports experts, such as sports sociologists, sports psychologists, and sports coaches, who were selected by purposive and snowball sampling methods for holding unstructured in-depth interviews. The data were simultaneously analyzed using a set of open, theoretical, selective coding and memos. The codes were grouped into three different categories with different natures. The emerged theory advanced our understanding of the lifestyle shaping structures of elite athletes, lifestyle indicators, and even professionalization of their lifestyles. According to the results, the Iranian elite athletes’ lifestyles include indicators, such as professional mindset, competencies, life vision, financial literacy, responsibility, consumption, leisure, personal issues, and religious behavior. Subjects of the second phase were 44 Iranian athletes in the national levels who participated voluntarily in the study. The data were analyzed by thematic analysis method, and lifestyles typologies were identified. Based on results, five dominant lifestyles among the Iranian elite athletes were identified: consumerist, easy going, socially useful, profit-oriented, and professional. Finally, the features of each lifestyle were discussed.

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las intenciones de comportamiento, la satisfacción y la calidad percibida de los espectadores del Campeonato Asiático de Voleibol Masculino Sub-23 de 2017. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 351 espectadores del evento. El instrumento utilizado fue un cuestionario fiable formado por cinco sub-cuestionarios sobre calidad del servicio, calidad del producto principal, satisfacción con el servicio, satisfacción con el juego e intenciones de comportamiento. El análisis estadístico se basó en ecuaciones estructurales y se realizó con el software WarpPLS versión 6. La calidad de los servicios tuvo un efecto significativo en la satisfacción con el servicio (β = 0,504; P <0,001). La calidad del producto principal tuvo un efecto significativo en la satisfacción con el juego (β = 0,658; P <0,001). Además, la satisfacción con el juego tuvo un efecto significativo sobre las intenciones de comportamiento (β = 0,514; P <0,001). Sin embargo, el efecto de la satisfacción con el servicio sobre las intenciones de comportamiento no fue significativo. Por ello, es recomendable que los organizadores de megaeventos deportivos consideren estos resultados con el fin de mejorar las intenciones de comportamiento, la satisfacción y la calidad percibida de los espectadores. The aim of this study was to analyze behavioral intentions, satisfaction and perceived quality of the spectators of the 2017 Asian Men's U23 Volleyball Championship. The sample was composed of 351 spectators of the event. The instrument used was a reliable questionnaire with five sub-questionnaires about service quality, main product quality, service satisfaction, game satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. The statistical analysis was based on structural equations and it was carried out with the software WarpPLS version 6. The quality of services had a significant effect on service satisfaction (β=0.504, P<0.001). The core product quality had a significant effect on game satisfaction (β=0.658, P<0.001). Also, the game satisfaction had a significant effect on behavioral intentions (β=0.514, P<0.001). However, the effect of service satisfaction on behavioral intentions was not significant. Therefore, it is recommendable that the organizers of mega sport events consider these results in order to improve the behavioral intentions, satisfaction and perceived quality of the spectators.

This paper presents a qualitative study conducted using the Glaserian grounded theory (GT) method. Glaser’s approach to GT differs from Strauss and Corbin’s method, which is more widespread. There are some differences in the focus on participants’ concerns, staying in the research environment for an extended period to discover participants’ main concerns and the emergence of a basic social process around the core category. The Glaserian GT method was used to understand elite athletes’ lifestyles. Two groups of athletes and non-athletes were recruited for the interview as the sample. The core category was determined through iterative coding, memoing, theoretical sampling, and theoretical sorting. There were overlaps in these phases; they fluctuated back and forth and were not as clear-cut as they could be. Results showed the lifestyle components of elite athletes. Besides identifying participants’ main concerns, the results also demonstrated how to address them over time. It is a category of a basic social process named “professionalizing.” Lastly, the steps of creating a concept map are explained practically, which in addition to sports science scholars, can be considered by researchers in other fields.