The National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese general population aimed to collect nationwide and regional data on dietary intake and physical activity, and their relation with health determinants, namely socioeconomic factors. Results from this project were obtained from a representative sample of the Portuguese population, aged between three months to 84 years of age, selected from the National Heath Registry, by multistage sampling (a sample size of 5068 individuals was estimated and 5811 participants with two dietary assessments were achieved). To accomplish the EFSA requirements, a minimum, of 260 individuals in each age group (130 by sex) was planned. Two face-to-face interviews were conducted at a health care centre or participant's home. Dietary intake was obtained by two non-consecutive days of food diaries for children (<10 years old) and two nonconsecutive 24-hours recalls for the older age groups, with a time interval between 8 and 15 days, complemented with a Food Propensity Questionnaire. An electronic platform based on a client-server architecture was used to manage the field work and to assist the data collection. The Electronic Assessment Tool for 24-hours recall (eAT24) allowed the collection of dietary data by an Automated Multiple-Pass Method for 24-hours. This interview-based dietary assessment instrument allowed obtaining a very detailed description and quantification of foods, recipes, and food supplements consumed in the course of the preceding day, and it had several adaptations, described in detail in this report. The survey outcomes support solid evidence-based information covering all age groups of the population, using harmonized methodologies at the European level, and will contribute to develop a national infrastructure for monitoring progress of specific targets supporting national and European policies and future interventions on diet, physical activity and food safety.

Estudo descritivo-exploratório com objetivo de apresentar e discutir programas de atividade física para idosos em diferentes contextos. Focaliza 8 programas de atividade física para idosos: Florianópolis - Brasil; Porto e Coimbra - Portugal; Oleiros e região da Galícia - Espanha; Terranuova Bracciolini - Itália e Maisach - Alemanha. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevista, observação de campo e material de divulgação de cada programa. À exceção do Brasil, os programas são mantidos pelas prefeituras municipais. Os idosos que os freqüentam enfatizaram na entrevista: melhora da saúde, aumento do círculo de amigos e oportunidade de lazer. Com base nos dados observados, construímos uma proposta diretiva de programas e ações no âmbito das políticas públicas para o município de Florianópolis, na forma de rede articulada entre os diferentes setores da administração pública, para o desenvolvimento das atividades físicas coordenadas com vistas à promoção do envelhecimento saudável.

Organized sport appears to be a relevant component of daily activity energy expenditure to promote healthy lifestyles among male adolescents.

Sex differences in physical activity (PA) through pubertal maturation and the growth spurt are often attributed to changing interests. The contribution of sex differences in biological maturation to the adolescent decline has received limited attention. This study examined the contribution of somatic maturation to sex differences in objective assessments of sedentary behavior and PA in Portuguese adolescents (N = 302, aged 13-16 years). Maturation was estimated from the percentage of predicted mature stature and physically active and inactive behaviors assessed with Actigraph GT1M accelerometers. The influence of age, sex and their interaction on body size, maturation and physical behaviors were examined using factorial ANOVA and, subsequently, ANCOVA (controlling for maturation) tested the effect of sex. Males spent more time in MVPA and less time in sedentary behavior than females. However, sex differences were attenuated when maturation was controlled; thus suggesting that maturity may play an important role in adolescent behaviors.

This cross-sectional study investigated the association of physical fitness with cognitive function, functional capacity and quality of life among institutionalized older adults with dementia. One hundred and two older adults aged 78.0 ± 8.4 years, predominantly female (67.6%), with neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) (49.2%), vascular dementia (14.7%), Parkinson's disease (2%), dementia with Lewy bodies (2%) or unspecified dementia (32.1%) participated in the present study. Regression analyses were used to examine associations between physical fitness components (Senior Fitness Test) and cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination), functional capacity (Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living) and Quality of Life (QoL)-Alzheimer's Disease scale. Univariate regression indicates that strength, flexibility, agility/dynamic balance and aerobic endurance are relevant for cognitive function, physical capacity and perceived QoL in institutionalized older people with dementia. After multiple regression analyses, adjusted for body mass index (BMI), results showed that aerobic endurance had a significant positive association with Total Katz Index. For both, caregiver perception of QoL-AD and global QoL-AD, BMI remained significantly and positively associated. Agility-dynamic balance presented a significant negative relation with global QoL-AD. Overall, our findings suggest that better physical fitness is important for cognition and autonomous functional capacity and that it has positive repercussions on the QoL in institutionalized older adults with dementia. Consequently, exercise-based therapeutic strategies aiming to improve physical fitness should be implemented.