Habitual Daily Physical Activity Research Articles

Association between Daily Physical Activity and Locomotive Syndrome in Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between locomotive syndrome (LS) and daily physical activity (PA) in community-dwelling older adults. This cross-sectional study included 80 healthy Japanese older adults (40 men and 40 women; age: 60–79 years). Habitual daily PA was evaluated using a triaxial wrist accelerometer. Participants were divided into two groups based on the results of the two-step test, stand-up test, and 25-question geriatric locomotive function scale. Binomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the statistical relationships between daily PA and category of LS, adjusting for age from adjusted odds ratio (adjusted OR) with the 95 percent confidence intervals (95%CI) and bootstrap 95%CI. The mean step count and time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were significantly higher among non-LS participants than among LS participants in women, but not in men. Logistic regression analyses indicated that spending longer than 28 min/day on MVPA was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of LS relative to short time category under 28 min/day in women (adjusted OR = 0.12, 95%CI = 0.02–0.59, bootstrap 95%CI = 0.01–0.43), but not in men. This study suggests that in community-dwelling older women, those with higher MVPA had lower odds of LS, and daily MVPA was associated with LS, but not in men. Therefore, the associations between LS and daily physical activity were partly dependent on sex differences.

The COVID-19 pandemic as a fortuitous disruptor in physical education: the case of active homework.

Measures devised to contain the COVID-19, including isolation, social distancing, and quarantine, have profoundly affected people's lives around the world. One of the consequences of these actions has been a general reduction in the habitual daily physical activity among children and young people for whom schools represent the major setting for the promotion of sports, physically active play, movement skills learning, and other activity supportive of healthy, active lifestyles. Whilst acknowledging the seriousness of these changes, and their concomitant health risks, we suggest that COVID-19 offers an opportunity to think again about important features of school-based activity promotion in light of new lessons learnt during lockdown, emerging technologies, and adapted pedagogies. In these specific cases, COVID-19 could be judged a “fortuitous disruptor” to the extent that it has opened a window of opportunity to schools and teachers to reflect on their assumptions about the scope, content, and delivery of their curricula, and on the new professional knowledge that has emerged. Active Homework, or physical activity-related tasks assigned to students by teachers that are meant to be carried out before, after and away from school, that students can do on their own or with family members, is not a new idea, but the enforced changes to school provision have made it considerably more common since the pandemic. Perhaps Active Homework is a concept worth retaining as schools start to return to “normal”? We offer a typology of Active Homework, and examine opportunities to expand, extend, and enhance physical education and physical activity opportunities by breaking down the presumed boundary between school and home. In conclusion, we suggest that Active Homework is worth exploring as a potentially valuable approach to enhancing the quantity and quality of students' school-based health-related physical activity. If so, considerably more research and curriculum development is needed.

Independent and Interactive Effects of Habitually Ingesting Fermented Milk Products Containing Lactobacillus casei Strain Shirota and of Engaging in Moderate Habitual Daily Physical Activity on the Intestinal Health of Older People.

Infrequent bowel movements decrease the number of beneficial bacteria in the human intestines, thereby potentially increasing the individual’s risk of colorectal cancer. The correction of such bowel problems could therefore make an important contribution to improving population health and quality-adjusted lifespan. We examined independent and interactive effects upon the fecal microbiota of two potentially favorable determinants of intestinal motility: the intake frequency of a fermented milk product containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) and the quantity/quality of habitual physical activity in 338 community-living Japanese aged 65–92 years. Subjects were arbitrarily grouped on the basis of questionnaire estimates of LcS intake (0–2, 3–5, and 6–7 days/week) and pedometer/accelerometer-determined patterns of physical activity [<7000 and ≥7000 steps/day, or <15 and ≥15 min/day of activity at an intensity >3 metabolic equivalents (METs)]. After adjustment for potential confounders, the respective numbers of various beneficial fecal bacteria tended to be larger in more frequent consumers of LcS-containing products, this trend being statistically significant (mostly P < 0.001) for total Lactobacillus, the Lactobacillus casei subgroup, and the Atopobium cluster; in contrast, there were no statistically significant differences in fecal bacterial counts between the physical activity groups. A multivariate-adjusted logistic regression analysis estimated that the risk of infrequent bowel movements (arbitrarily defined as defecating ≤3 days/week) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in subjects who ingested LcS-containing products 6–7 rather than 0–2 days/week [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 0.382 (0.149–0.974)] and was also lower in those who took ≥7000 rather than <7000 steps/day [0.441 (0.201–0.971)] or spent ≥15 rather than <15 min/day of physical activity at an intensity >3 METs [0.412 (0.183–0.929)]. The risk of infrequent bowel movements in subjects who combined 6–7 days/week of LcS with ≥7000 steps/day or ≥15 min/day of activity at >3 METs was only a tenth of that for individuals who combined 0–2 days/week of LcS with <7000 steps/day or <15 min/day at >3 METs. These results suggest that elderly individuals can usefully ingest LcS-containing supplements regularly (≥6 days/week) and also engage in moderate habitual physical activity (≥7000 steps/day and/or ≥15 min/day at >3 METs) in order to enhance their gastrointestinal health.

Association of Habitual Daily Physical Activity With Glucose Tolerance and β-Cell Function in Adults With Impaired Glucose Tolerance or Recently Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes From the Restoring Insulin Secretion (RISE) Study.

We examined the relationship between habitual daily physical activity and measures of glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and β-cell responses in adults with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or drug-naive, recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Participants included 230 adults (mean ± SD age 54.5 ± 8.5 years, BMI 35 ± 5.5 kg/m2; 42.6% women) who underwent a 3-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and hyperglycemic clamp. Wrist accelerometers worn for 7 consecutive days measured total physical activity counts (TAC) (daily mean 233,460 [∼50th percentile for age]). We evaluated whether TAC was associated with fasting plasma glucose, OGTT 2-h plasma glucose or glucose incremental area under the curve (G-iAUC), hyperglycemic clamp measures of insulin sensitivity (steady-state glucose infusion rate/insulin [M/I]) and β-cell responses (acute C-peptide response to glucose, steady-state C-peptide, and maximal β-cell response), and OGTT C-peptide index (ΔC-peptide0-30/Δglucose0-30). After adjustments for confounders, there was no association of TAC with fasting plasma glucose, 2-h glucose, or G-iAUC. Higher TAC was associated with higher insulin sensitivity (M/I). After adjusting for M/I, higher TAC was not associated with measures of β-cell response. In adults with IGT or drug-naive, recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes, higher levels of habitual physical activity are associated with higher insulin sensitivity. Further studies are needed to understand why higher levels of physical activity are not associated with better β-cell response.

Physical Activity and Physical Fitness of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities in Group Homes in Hong Kong.

Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically have a sedentary lifestyle and higher rates of overweight and obesity. This study describes the habitual daily physical activity (PA) and the health-related physical fitness (PF) of adults with mild and moderate ID who resided in four group homes and worked in sheltered workshops. We also assessed the contribution of PF variables towards PA levels and sedentary behavior of this population subgroup. Adults with mild and moderate ID (N = 114) were assessed on PF tests (percent body fat, waist and hip circumferences, 6-min walk (6MWT), arm curl, and sit and reach). PA and sedentary behavior on weekdays were determined using Actigraph accelerometers. Results showed these adults averaged 2% of their daily time (or 10 min) engaged in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and 67% of the time (495 min) being sedentary. No significant differences between mild and moderate ID were found for any PA or PF variable. Linear multiple regression analyses showed 6MWT to be the only significant PF variable contributing to the variance of PA and sedentary behavior. In conclusion, adults with ID reside in group home have low PA and low fitness levels. Among fitness variables, the walking test (i.e., cardiovascular fitness) had the highest positive association with participants’ daily PA, MVPA, and negative association with sedentary behavior. Future intervention studies in promoting PA and fitness for adults with ID are warranted.

201. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS IN FEMALE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS ON LONG TERM ANTI-TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR THERAPY COMPARED TO PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE RHEUMATOID DISEASE AND HEALTHY CONTROLS

Background: Anti-TNF therapy has revolutionised the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with rapid and sustained improvements in pain, function and quality of life. However, we do not know how this impacts upon habitual daily physical activity and whether treated patients attain activity levels seen in healthy controls. This study aimed to compare the physical activity levels of patients whose RA was well controlled on long-term anti-TNF therapy to RA patients with active arthritis and non-RA controls. Methods: Participants were patients on anti-TNF for more than two years (tRA) with DAS 3.2 (aRA) and healthy controls (C), matched for age and BMI. Physical activity was assessed using the Actigraph GT3x+ accelerometer, worn throughout waking hours for seven days to determine time spent in light activity, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was also completed. Groups were compared using analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc tests; Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney U- test as appropriate. Results: RA disease duration was significantly greater in tRA than aRA. Groups did not differ significantly in age, height, weight or body mass index (Table). Daily step count was significantly lower in aRA than tRA and C. Sedentary time (as a proportion of wear time) was significantly greater in aRA than tRA, whilst the reverse was true for light activity time. MVPA time was significantly lower in both RA groups than in controls. IPAQ questionnaires demonstrated significant differences between groups, with substantially higher values in C than RA groups in total METs and MET-minutes per week in domestic and garden, leisure, walking activities as well as total moderate and vigorous activities. RA patients had lower moderate to vigorous activity time than controls, regardless of treatment. aRA had lower light activity time, and more sedentary time, than tRA Conclusion: Moderate to vigorous physical activity should be promoted in all RA patients as even those with well controlled disease exhibit a deficit in comparison to controls

Have people always been fat? An historical enquiry.

Objective. Some investigators claim that obesity has always been a feature of human society, but others maintain that obesity was absent from traditional hunter-gatherer communities. Resolution of this issue is important to prevention and treatment. Can obesity be avoided by the rigorous daily activity and limited availability of food found in many hunter-gatherer groups, or is the accumulation of body fatan inevitable consequence of the human genome ? Methods. A narrative review has gathered available information on eating habits, habitual daily physical activity and body fat accumulation over various historical eras, ranging from the earliest Paleolithic and Neolithic communities to Victorian society. Results. The success of Paleolithic and Neolithic communities generally depended upon high levels of daily energy expenditure, and despite the discovery of some obese Mother Goddess figurines, studies of small communities that have maintained a Neolithic lifestyle still show very low levels of body fat. With the development of settled societies based upon an agricultural economy, an economic surplus and social stratification allowed the emergence of a growing upper echelon of society that could over-eat and engaged in too little physical activity. However, the widespread prevalence of obesity across developed societies is a late 20th century phenomenon, associated with ever-decreasing needs for energy expenditure in daily life, reduced opportunities for deliberate leisure activity in mega-cities, the promotion of over-eating and unhealthy diets by commercial interests, and possibly a greater public acceptance of obesity. Conclusions. Obesity is typically an expression of over-eating and inadequate habitual physical activity. Although there are occasional pathological causes, an excess of body fat is a health problem that could be resolved quite readily for most people by a disciplined return to the dietary and physical activity patterns of earlier generations.

Benefits of regular walking exercise in advanced pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease

There is increasing evidence of the benefit of regular physical exercise in a number of long-term conditions including chronic kidney disease (CKD). In CKD, this evidence has mostly come from studies in end stage patients receiving regular dialysis. There is little evidence in pre-dialysis patients with CKD Stages 4 and 5. A prospective study compared the benefits of 6 months regular walking in 40 pre-dialysis patients with CKD Stages 4 and 5. Twenty of them were the exercising group and were compared to 20 patients who were continuing with usual physical activity. In addition, the 40 patients were randomized to receive additional oral sodium bicarbonate (target venous bicarbonate 29 mmol/L) or continue with previous sodium bicarbonate treatment (target 24 mmol/L). Improvements noted after 1 month were sustained to 6 months in the 18 of 20 who completed the exercise study. These included improvements in exercise tolerance (reduced exertion to achieve the same activity), weight loss, improved cardiovascular reactivity, avoiding an increase in blood pressure medication and improvements in quality of health and life and uraemic symptom scores assessed by questionnaire. Sodium bicarbonate supplementation did not produce any significant alterations. This study provides further support for the broad benefits of aerobic physical exercise in CKD. More studies are needed to understand the mechanisms of these benefits, to study whether resistance exercise will add to the benefit and to evaluate strategies to promote sustained lifestyle changes, that could ensure continued increase in habitual daily physical activity levels.

Maternal heart rate changes during labour

Objectives Labour and delivery represent a considerable effort for pregnant women. Lack of aerobic fitness may limit pushing efforts during childbirth and represents increased cardiovascular strain and risk. Increasing prevalence of sedentary behaviour and lack of aerobic fitness may reduce heart rate reserve during labour. Study design We quantified maternal heart rate reserve (maximum heart rate minus resting heart rate) of 30 healthy pregnant women during labour and delivery and related it to habitual daily physical activity levels quantified during the third pregnancy trimester by the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results Heart rates during labour reached values similar to those observed during moderate to heavy physical exercise. During active pushing one out of five women reached heart rates more than 90% of their heart rate reserve (188 ± 7 beats per min). Half of the women reached more than 70% of heart rate reserve (172 ± 14 beats per min). Physically inactive women used more of their heart rate reserve as physically more active women (87 ± 20% vs. 65 ± 12%, upper and lower tertile respectively, p < 0.05). Conclusions Use of heart rate reserve for the effort of labour is increased in physically inactive women and may potentially limit the intensity and duration of pushing efforts. Such higher cardiovascular strain in physically less active women may represent increased cardiovascular risk during labour.

Maturity‐related differences in physical activity among 10‐ to 12‐year‐old girls

Besides environmental and psycho-social factors explaining the variation in physical activity levels during adolescence, some evidence suggests that biological processes are involved in regulating habitual daily physical activity and energy expenditure. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of biological maturity status on physical activity. Chronological age, standing height, sitting height, and body mass were measured cross-sectionally in 268 girls, aged 9.5 to 11.5 years. Biological maturity groups (Early, Average, Late) were created according to estimated age at peak-height-velocity (estAPHV). Habitual physical activity was determined with a pedometer (Yamax Digiwalker SW-200) over a 7-day period. Differences in steps/day across maturity groups were examined by ANCOVA, controlling separately for time the pedometer was worn, leg length, and body mass. Mean pedometer steps/day was 10,822 +/- 2,639. As expected, body size varied by maturity status (e.g., early > average > late). Significant maturity group differences were found with early maturing girls showing lower activity levels compared to average or late maturers. These differences remained after controlling for time the pedometer was worn and leg length; however, the differences were no longer significant when controlling for body mass. The results suggest that biological maturity status influences physical activity levels in girls between 10 and 12 years of age but the relationship is not independent of body mass. Further research is needed to establish the complex inter-relationships among adiposity, biological maturation, and energy expenditure during puberty.

Health‐related aspects of objectively measured daily physical activity in children

It is well established that physical inactivity in adults is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Whether daily physical activity level is related to risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in children has been debated. Furthermore, objective data on the habitual daily physical activity in children have at large been scarce in the literature. The main reason for this is the fact that daily physical activity is very difficult to measure in children. In recent years, a new device, the accelerometer, has emerged as a frequently used instrument for the measurement of daily physical activity. This review summarizes recently published studies that have used accelerometers to measure daily physical activity in children and related activity data to known risk factors for CVD.

Peripheral Bone Mineral Density and Different Intensities of Physical Activity in Children 6–8 Years Old: The Copenhagen School Child Intervention Study

This study aimed to evaluate the association between objectively measured habitual physical activity and calcaneal and forearm bone mineral density (BMD, g/cm(2)), one mechanically more loaded and one less loaded skeletal region, in children aged 6-8 years. BMD was measured in 297 boys and 265 girls by peripheral dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in the forearm and calcaneus. An accelerometer registered the level of physical activity during 4 days (2 weekdays and the weekend). Weight, height, and skinfold thickness were measured. In order to establish thresholds (count . min(-1)) for bone-stimulating physical activity, we evaluated different definitions of vigorous physical activity. The boys had 3.2% higher distal forearm bone mineral content (BMC, P < 0.001) and 4.5% higher distal forearm BMD (P < 0.001) than the girls. They also carried out 9.7% more daily physical activity and spent 14.6-19.0% more time in vigorous physical activity (all P < 0.05) compared to the girls. In contrast, the girls had 3.8% higher calcaneal BMC (P < 0.01) and 2.5% higher calcaneal BMD (P < 0.05) than the boys. Both calcaneal and forearm BMD were significantly related to total time of daily physical activity as well as with intense physical activity above all the chosen cut-off points (all P < 0.05). The beta value for mean count . min(-1) physical activity was significantly lower than that for all the chosen cut-off points of vigorous activity both for calcaneal and distal forearm BMD. This study suggests that both habitual daily physical activity and amount of vigorous physical activity in children aged 6-8 years are associated with appendicular BMD.

Ten-year longitudinal relationship between physical activity and lumbar bone mass in (young) adults.

Little is known about the influence of long-term daily physical activity (PA) on lumbar bone mass after peak bone mass has been reached, that is, during [young] adulthood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal relationship between PA and lumbar bone mineral density (LBMD) in healthy subjects over a 10-year period. The data reported here relate to 225 male and 241 female participants in the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study, who were measured at the mean ages of 27, 32, and/or 36. LBMD, habitual daily PA, total body weight, and calcium intake were assessed at each measurement point. The effects of two aspects of PA were analyzed: the mechanical (MECHPA; sum of all ground reaction forces) and metabolic (METPA; weighted metabolic score of intensity, frequency, and duration) components, each within a separate model. Multilevel analysis was used to investigate the relationship between PA and LBMD over the 10-year period. Gender, total body weight, and calcium intake were included in the analysis as covariates. The results indicated that MECHPA was a significant positive linear predictor of LBMD for males (r = 0.09; p < 0.001) but not for females. For the METPA, no linear longitudinal relationship with LBMD was found. The results suggest that there is a metabolic threshold at which extra PA becomes "deleterious" and METPA in its totality becomes ineffective for LBMD. It is concluded that during the (young) adult period, between 27 and 36 years of age, PA causing mechanical loading on the skeleton has a small positive influence on LBMD in males.

Muscle fatty acid oxidative capacity is a determinant of whole body fat oxidation in elderly people.

In sedentary elderly people, a reduced muscle fatty acid oxidative capacity (MFOC) may explain a decrease in whole body fat oxidation. Eleven sedentary and seven regularly exercising subjects (65.6 +/- 4. 5 yr) were characterized for their aerobic fitness [maximal O(2) uptake (VO(2 max))/kg fat free mass (FFM)] and their habitual daily physical activity level [free-living daily energy expenditure divided by sleeping metabolic rate (DEE(FLC)/SMR)]. MFOC was determined by incubating homogenates of vastus lateralis muscle with [1-(14)C]palmitate. Whole body fat oxidation was measured by indirect calorimetry over 24 h. MFOC was 40.4 +/- 14.7 and 44.3 +/- 16.3 nmol palmitate. g wet tissue(-1). min(-1) in the sedentary and regularly exercising individuals, respectively (P = nonsignificant). MFOC was positively correlated with DEE(FLC)/SMR (r = 0.58, P < 0. 05) but not with VO(2 max)/kg FFM (r = 0.35, P = nonsignificant). MFOC was the main determinant of fat oxidation during all time periods including physical activity. Indeed, MFOC explained 19.7 and 30.5% of the variance in fat oxidation during walking and during the alert period, respectively (P < 0.05). Furthermore, MFOC explained 23.0% of the variance in fat oxidation over 24 h (P < 0.05). It was concluded that, in elderly people, MFOC may be influenced more by overall daily physical activity than by regular exercising. MFOC is a major determinant of whole body fat oxidation during physical activities and, consequently, over 24 h.

Ability of the Caltrac accelerometer to assess daily physical activity levels.

The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of the Caltrac accelerometer to assess habitual daily physical activity levels. The ability of the Caltrac accelerometer to assess 24-hour physical activity (PA) levels was studied in 28 men and 50 women, age 20 to 59 years, with varying levels of self-reported PA. Twelve days of Caltrac readings obtained over 1 year's duration were compared to simultaneously recorded 48-hour PA records. Additionally, 28 days of Caltrac readings obtained over 1 year's duration were compared to mean values of the following validation measures assessed repeatedly over a 1-year period: a 4-week version of the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire (FWH); VO2peak; and percent body fat. The Caltrac measurements of movement (in MET minutes per day-1) were significantly associated with the following: PA record indices of total (r = .51) and heavy (r = .34) and PA; FWH indices of total (r = .30), heavy R = .36) and moderate (r = .23) PA;, and VO2peak (r = .24). However, the Caltrac measurements of caloric PA record and FWH indices of PA, although there were directly associated with percent body fat (r = .50) and inversely associated with VO2peak (r = -.26). Caltrac measurements of movement exhibited a moderate associated with several criterion measures related to habitual PA, whereas Caltrac measurements of total energy expenditure, were not reflective of varying levels of PA.