IntroductionEpidemiological studies suggest that exercise has a tremendous preventative effect on morbidity and premature death, but these findings need to be confirmed by randomised trials. Generation 100 is a randomised, controlled study where the primary aim is to evaluate the effects of 5 years of exercise training on mortality in an elderly population.Methods and analysisAll men and women born in the years 1936–1942 (n=6966), who were residents of Trondheim, Norway, were invited to participate. Between August 2012 and June 2013, a total of 1567 individuals (790 women) were included and randomised to either 5 years of two weekly sessions of high-intensity training (10 min warm-up followed by 4×4 min intervals at ∼90% of peak heart rate) or, moderate-intensity training (50 min of continuous work at ∼70% of peak heart rate), or to a control group that followed physical activity advice according to national recommendations. Clinical examinations, physical tests and questionnaires will be administered to all participants at baseline, and after 1, 3 and 5 years. Participants will also be followed up by linking to health registries until year 2035.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been conducted according to the SPIRIT statement. All participants signed a written consent form, and the study has been approved by the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics, Norway. Projects such as this are warranted in the literature, and we expect that data from this study will result in numerous papers published in world-leading clinical journals; we will also present the results at international and national conferences.Trial registration numberClinical trial gov NCT01666340.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of five years of supervised exercise training compared with recommendations for physical activity on mortality in older adults (70-77 years).DesignRandomised controlled trial.SettingGeneral population of older adults in Trondheim, Norway.Participants1567 of 6966 individuals born between 1936 and 1942.InterventionParticipants were randomised to two sessions weekly of high intensity interval training at about 90% of peak heart rate (HIIT, n=400), moderate intensity continuous training at about 70% of peak heart rate (MICT, n=387), or to follow the national guidelines for physical activity (n=780; control group); all for five years.Main outcome measureAll cause mortality. An exploratory hypothesis was that HIIT lowers mortality more than MICT.ResultsMean age of the 1567 participants (790 women) was 72.8 (SD 2.1) years. Overall, 87.5% of participants reported to have overall good health, with 80% reporting medium or high physical activity levels at baseline. All cause mortality did not differ between the control group and combined MICT and HIIT group. When MICT and HIIT were analysed separately, with the control group as reference (observed mortality of 4.7%), an absolute risk reduction of 1.7 percentage points was observed after HIIT (hazard ratio 0.63, 95% confidence interval 0.33 to 1.20) and an absolute increased risk of 1.2 percentage points after MICT (1.24, 0.73 to 2.10). When HIIT was compared with MICT as reference group an absolute risk reduction of 2.9 percentage points was observed (0.51, 0.25 to 1.02) for all cause mortality. Control participants chose to perform more of their physical activity as HIIT than the physical activity undertaken by participants in the MICT group. This meant that the controls achieved an exercise dose at an intensity between the MICT and HIIT groups.ConclusionThis study suggests that combined MICT and HIIT has no effect on all cause mortality compared with recommended physical activity levels. However, we observed a lower all cause mortality trend after HIIT compared with controls and MICT.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01666340.

The paper studies young people's reported drinking behaviors and their views on various social aspects of alcohol, utilizing a sample of over 4000 rural adolescents aged 11.8-16.5 years in Norway, Scotland and Sweden. The methodology employed includes a common questionnaire and a range of varying qualitative approaches (essays and focus group interviews). The various venues and drinking contexts used by young people, their motives for drinking, and their 'learning' experiences with alcohol are described. Beyond nationality, the most powerful predictors of 'high' drinking are 'involvement with friends' and 'participation in commercial leisure'. The predictors for 'low' drinking are 'involvement in activities with parents' and 'parental concerns about drinking'. Results show that Scottish teenagers drink most, Norwegians least and no differences in the predictor variables are found that can explain this. Results are discussed in relation to social and cultural differences, and illustrated by quotations from rural young people in Scotland and Sweden.

IntroductionUnderstanding how individual and environmental factors impact physical activity (PA) level is important when building strategies to improve PA of older adults. No studies have examined how hour-to-hour weather changes influence PA in older adults or how the association between weather and PA eventually is related to cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) measured as peak oxygen uptake. The aim of this study was therefore to examine how hour-to-hour changes in weather effects hour-to-hour PA in a cohort of Norwegian older adults across CRF levels, gender and seasons.MethodsPA was assessed objectively in 1219 older adults (70–77 years, 51% females) using the Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer, and quantified as counts·min-1 (CPM). Weather (Norwegian meteorological Institute) and CRF (MetaMax II) were measured objectively. Panel data analysis added a longitudinal dimension when 110.888 hours of weather- and PA data were analyzed.ResultsOlder adults had a higher PA level in warmer (597 CPM) than colder months (556 CPM) (p<0.01). Fixed effects regression-models revealed that increasing temperatures (per hour) influenced PA positively in both colder and warmer months (all, p<0.01), with greater influence in fitter vs. less fit participants (p<0.01). In warmer months, increasing precipitation negatively influenced PA in both unfit females and unfit males (p<0.01). In colder months, increasing precipitation positively influenced PA for moderately fit to fit males (p<0.01), but not for females and unfit males.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the association between weather conditions and objectively-measured-PA among Norwegian older adults. Our findings demonstrates that unfit older adults will be less likely to participate in PA when the weather is unpleasant, compared to those highly fit. The data suggests that the impact of weather should not be ignored when planning public health strategies for increasing PA among older adults.

The aim of this study was to compare how the organization of a movement session as partly structured play or free play influenced the physical activity engagement in 4–5 years old pre-schoolers. The partly structured playgroup consisted of 46 children and the free playgroup consisted of 33 children. The playground activities consisted of 10 sessions each lasting 1 h, executed once per week in the period Mars to May 2017 at a specific playground setting. The partly structured playgroup conducted a movement activity session that included a combination of both structured- and free play activities. The free playgroup engaged in unstructured play, only. To detect the intensity of the physical activity each child carried an accelerometer 1 h the first week and last week of the intervention. Results indicate a significant difference in physical activity level between the two groups for the 5-year-old in the favor of the partly structured playgroup. There was a significant difference between the four-and 5-year-old in relation to physical activity level. No significant difference between the activity in March and May for the whole group was found.

BackgroundPublic health initiatives world-wide recommend increasing physical activity (PA) to improve health. However, the dose and the intensity of PA producing the most benefit are still debated. Accurate assessment of PA is necessary in order to 1) investigate the dose–response relationship between PA and health, 2) shape the most beneficial public health initiatives and 3) test the effectiveness of such initiatives. Actigraph accelerometer is widely used to objectively assess PA, and the raw data is given in counts per unit time. Count-thresholds for low, moderate and vigorous PA are mostly based on absolute intensity. This leads to largely inadequate PA intensity assessment in a large proportion of the elderly, who due to their declining maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) cannot reach the moderate/vigorous intensity as defined in absolute terms. To resolve this issue, here we report relative Actigraph intensity-thresholds for the elderly.MethodsSubmaximal-oxygen-uptake, VO2max and maximal heart rate (HRmax) were measured in 111 70–77 year olds, while wearing an Actigraph-GT3X+. Relationship between VO2max percentage (%), counts-per-minute (CPM) and gender (for both the vertical-axis (VA) and vector-magnitude (VM)) and VO2max% and HRmax% was established using a mixed-regression-model. VM-and VA-models were tested against each other to see which model predicts intensity of PA better.ResultsVO2max and gender significantly affected number of CPM at different PA intensities (p < 0.05). Therefore, intensity-thresholds were created for both men and women of ranging VO2max values (low, medium, high). VM-model was found to be a better predictor of PA-intensity than VA-model (p < 0.05). Established thresholds for moderate intensity (46−63 % of VO2max) ranged from 669–3367 and 834–4048 CPM and vigorous intensity (64−90 % of VO2max) from 1625–4868 and 2012-5423CPM, for women and men, respectively. Lastly, we used this evidence to derive a formula that predicts customized relative intensity of PA (either VO2max% or HRmax%) using counts-per-minute values as input.ConclusionIntensity-thresholds depend on VO2max, gender and Actigraph-axis. PA intensity-thresholds that take all these factors into account allow for more accurate relative intensity PA assessment in the elderly and will be useful in future PA research.Trial registration(ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02017847, registered 17. December 2013)

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IntroductionPhysical activity (PA) is beneficial for general health. As a result, adults around the world are recommended to undertake regular PA of either absolute or relative intensity. Traditionally, adherence to PA recommendation is assessed by accelerometers that record absolute intensity thresholds. Since ageing often results in a decrease in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), older adults (aged > 65 years) might be more susceptible to not meeting the PA recommendation when measured in absolute terms. The aim of the present study was to compare the adherence to the PA recommendation using both absolute and relative thresholds. Additionally, we aimed to report the reference values for overall PA in a large sample of Norwegian older adults.MethodsPA was assessed for 7 days using the Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer in 1219 older adults (624 females) aged 70–77 years. Overall PA was measured as counts per minute (CPM) and steps. Absolute and relative moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) thresholds were applied to quantify adherence to PA recommendation. The relative MVPA thresholds were developed specifically for the Generation 100 population sample. CRF was directly measured as peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak).ResultsProportions meeting PA recommendation were 29% and 71% when utilizing absolute and relative MVPA, respectively. More females met the relative PA recommendation compared to males. Overall PA was higher among the youngest age group. Older adults with medium- and high levels of CRF were more physically active, compared to those with the lowest levels of CRF.ConclusionThis is the first study to compare adherence to PA recommendation, using absolute and relative intensity thresholds among older adults. The present study clearly illustrates the consequences of using different methodological approaches to surveillance of PA across age, gender and CRF in a population of older adults.