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ObjectivesTo observe the weight change in Chinese youth during a 4-month COVID-19 lockdown, and the association between weight change and mental health, physical activity and sedentary time changes, and dietary habits.DesignA retrospective observational study.SettingsTwo universities located in Zhejiang and Hunan provinces, China.ParticipantsThis study enrolled 12 889 college students whose body weight was measured before the lockdown (1 December 2019–20 January 2020) at the two universities, and reported their weight measured at home or community after the end of the lockdown (1–23 May 2020) via an online follow-up questionnaire.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the weight change in Chinese youth during a 4-month lockdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary outcomes were the relationships of weight change to COVID-19-related stress, depression, anxiety, physical activity and sedentary time changes, and dietary habits.ResultsParticipants’ ages ranged from 17 to 27 years (M=19, SD=1) with 80.2% identified as female. The average absolute and relative changes in body weight were 2.6 (95% CI 2.0 to 3.2)) kg and 4.2% (95% CI 4.0% to 4.3%) for men, and 2.1 (1.9 to 2.4) kg and 4.2% (95% CI 3.9% to 4.4%) for women. An increase in overweight and obese individuals according to Asian cut-off points as a demographic percentage by 4.5% and 2.7% and 4.8% and 3.4% in men and women, respectively (P<0.001), was observed. Weight gain was significantly associated with increased sedentary time and an increase in COVID-19-related stress and depression score.ConclusionThe present study’s results suggest that the risk of weight gain in Chinese youth during the lockdown increased and that strategies to decrease sedentary time and improve mental health may be warranted to mitigate weight gain during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mounting evidence has firmly established that increased exercise capacity (EC) is associated with considerable improvements in the survival of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and that antistress capacity is a prognostic predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with CVD. Previous studies have indicated that aerobic exercise (AE) and supplementation with Rhodiola sacra (RS), a natural plant pharmaceutical, improve EC and enable resistance to stress; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study explored the ability of AE and RS, alone or combined, to improve EC and ameliorate exhaustive exercise- (EE-) induced stress and elucidate the mechanism involved. We found that AE and RS significantly increased EC in mice and ameliorated EE-induced stress damage in skeletal and cardiac muscles (SCM); furthermore, a synergistic effect was detected for the first time. To our knowledge, the present work is the first to report that AE and RS activate mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics, and biogenesis in SCM, both in the resting state and after EE. These data indicate that AE and RS synergistically improve EC in mice and protect SCM from EE-induced stress by enhancing mitochondrial quality control, including the activation of mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics, and biogenesis, both at rest and after EE.

Background To examine the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on metabolic syndrome (MetS) and body composition in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients with myocardial infarction (MI). Methods We retrospectively screened 174 consecutive patients with MetS enrolled in CR following MI between 2015 and 2018. We included 56 patients who completed 36 CR sessions and pre-post dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Of these patients, 42 engaged in HIIT and 14 in moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT). HIIT included 4–8 intervals of high-intensity (30–60 s at RPE 15–17 [Borg 6–20]) and low-intensity (1–5 min at RPE < 14), and MICT included 20–45 min of exercise at RPE 12–14. MetS and body composition variables were compared between MICT and HIIT groups. Results Compared to MICT, HIIT demonstrated greater reductions in MetS (relative risk = 0.5, 95% CI 0.33–0.75, P < .001), MetS z-score (− 3.6 ± 2.9 vs. − 0.8 ± 3.8, P < .001) and improved MetS components: waist circumference (− 3 ± 5 vs. 1 ± 5 cm, P = .01), fasting blood glucose (− 25.8 ± 34.8 vs. − 3.9 ± 25.8 mg/dl, P < .001), triglycerides (− 67.8 ± 86.7 vs. − 10.4 ± 105.3 mg/dl, P < .001), and diastolic blood pressure (− 7 ± 11 vs. 0 ± 13 mmHg, P = .001). HIIT group demonstrated greater reductions in body fat mass (− 2.1 ± 2.1 vs. 0 ± 2.2 kg, P = .002), with increased body lean mass (0.9 ± 1.9 vs. − 0.9 ± 3.2 kg, P = .01) than the MICT. After matching for exercise energy expenditure, HIIT-induced improvements persisted for MetS z-score ( P < .001), MetS components ( P < .05), body fat mass ( P = .002), body fat ( P = .01), and lean mass ( P = .03). Conclusions Our data suggest that, compared to MICT, supervised HIIT results in greater improvements in MetS and body composition in MI patients with MetS undergoing CR.

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a spike in deleterious mental health. This dual-center retrospective cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of depression in young adults during this pandemic and explored its association with various physical fitness measures. Methods This study enrolled 12,889 (80% female) young adults (mean age 20 ± 1) who performed a National Student Physical Fitness battery from December 1st, 2019, to January 20th, 2020, and completed a questionnaire including Beck’s Depression Inventory in May 2020. Independent associations between prior physical fitness and depression during the pandemic were assessed using multivariable linear and binary logistic regressions accordingly, covariates including age, dwelling location, economic level, smoking, alcohol, living status, weight change, and exercise volume during the pandemic. Sex- and baseline stress-stratified analyses were performed. Results Of the study population 13.9% of men and 15.0% of women sampled qualified for a diagnosis of depression. After multivariable adjustment, anaerobic (mean change 95% CI −3.3 [−4.8 to 1.8]) aerobic (−1.5 [−2.64 to −0.5]), explosive (−1.64 [−2.7 to −0.6]) and muscular (−1.7 [−3.0 to −0.5]) fitness were independently and inversely associated with depression for the overall population. These remained consistent after sex- and baseline stress-stratification. In binary logistic regression, the combined participants with moderate, high or excellent fitness also showed a much lower risk compared to those least fit in anaerobic (odd ratio (OR) 95% CI 0.68 [0.55–0.82]), aerobic (0.80 [0.68–0.91]), explosive (0.72 [0.61–0.82]), and muscular (0.66 [0.57–0.75]) fitness. Conclusions These findings suggest that prior physical fitness may be inversely associated with depression in young adults during a pandemic.

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