Authors' reply to Colquhoun and Buchinsky

No abstract available

Effects of exercise modalities on arterial stiffness and wave reflection: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background and Objectives: Physical activity is associated with lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. However, the effects of different exercise modalities on arterial stiffness are currently unclear. Our objectives were to investigate the effects of exercise modalities (aerobic, resistance or combined) on pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx), and to determine whether the effects on these indices differed according to the participants' or exercise characteristics. Methods: We searched the Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases from inception until April 2014 for randomized controlled trials lasting ≥4 weeks investigating the effects of exercise modalities on PWV and AIx in adults aged ≥18 years. Results: Forty-two studies (1627 participants) were included in this analysis. Aerobic exercise improved both PWV (WMD: −0.63 m/s, 95% CI: −0.90, −0.35) and AIx (WMD:−2.63%, 95% CI: −5.25 to −0.02) significantly. Aerobic exercise training showed significantly greater reduction in brachial-ankle (WMD: −1.01 m/s, 95% CI: −1.57, −0.44) than in carotid-femoral (WMD: -0.39 m/s, 95% CI: −0.52, −0.27) PWV. Higher aerobic exercise intensity was associated with larger reductions in AIx (β: −1.55%, CI −3.09, 0.0001). In addition, aerobic exercise had a significantly larger effect in reducing PWV (WMD:−1.0 m/s, 95% CI: −1.43, −0.57) in participants with stiffer arteries (PWV ≥8 m/s). Resistance exercise had no effect on PWV and AIx. There was no significant effect of combined exercise on PWV and AIx. Conclusions: We conclude that aerobic exercise improved arterial stiffness significantly and that the effect was enhanced with higher aerobic exercise intensity and in participants with greater arterial stiffness at baseline. Trial Registration PROSPERO: Database registration: CRD42014009744,

The effects of genes, environment and ethnicity on insulin resistance and obesity in aboriginal and non-aboriginal South American populations

Abstract available: p. 2-

Parental support for physical activity in schoolchildren and its influence on nutritional status and fitness = Apoyo parental para realizar actividad física en escolares de 6 años de edad: influencia sobre el estado nutricional y fitness

Introduction: Parents are key models for transmitting and teaching healthy lifestyle habits to their children. Our objective was to determine the influence of the economic and motivational support, and parental involvement in their children physical activity (PA) and its relationship with nutritio nal status and cardiorespiratory fitness. Subjects and Method: Cross-sectional study which included 70 six-year-old schoolchildren. Parents completed the “The Parental Influence on Physical Activity Scale” questionnaire. Anthropometric variables were measured according to the Chilean Ministerial Technical Standard for the supervision of children from 0 to 9 years old; PA intensity was measured with triaxial accelerometers GT3X and the VO2max estimation was performed using the Navette Course test. Results: The average body mass index was 17.9 ± 2.9 kg/m2, the obesity prevalence and VO2max were 57.1%, and 38.05 ± 16.9 ml/kg/min, respectively. Moderate PA during the physical education (PE) class was significantly higher in boys compared to girls (p < 0.006). The economic and motivational support of the parents did not significantly influence the body weight of the children, BMI, waist circumference, PA intensity, and VO2max. Children supported by their parent showed significant differences with moderate PA performed in PE compared to those who were not suppor ted by parents (p = 0.023). Conclusions: Parental support of their children in performing physical activity influences the levels of moderate PA that they do during PE classes. This type of study should be continued and the PA should be measured daily

Plasma cholesteryl ester fatty acids do not mediate the association of ethnicity with type 2 diabetes: results from the HELIUS study

Scope: Ethnic minority groups have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) than the host population. Our aim was to identify whether plasma cholesteryl ester fatty acids (CEFA) mediate the ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes. Methods and results: We included 202 Dutch, 206 South-Asian Surinamese, 205 African Surinamese, 215 Turkish and 213 Moroccan origin participants of the HELIUS study (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Logistic regression was used to determine the associations between plasma CEFA and T2D. Mediation analysis was used to identify whether CEFA contributed to the association between ethnicity and T2D. We adjusted for ethnicity, age, sex, smoking, physical activity and BMI. Associations between plasma CEFA and T2D were similar across all ethnic groups. Although differences in plasma CEFA across ethnic groups were observed, CEFA did not mediate the differences in T2D prevalence between ethnic groups. Conclusion: Although ethnic differences in plasma CEFA were found and CEFA were associated with T2D, CEFA did not contribute to the difference in T2D prevalence between ethnic groups. If confirmed, this implies that maintenance of the more beneficial CEFA profiles in the non-Dutch ethnic groups may be encouraged to prevent an even higher prevalence of T2D in these groups

Editorial: highlights in physical activity in the prevention and management of disease 2021/22

No abstract available

Effecto of a healthy eating and physical activity intervention program on childhood obesity

Introducción: las intervenciones orientadas a la formación de estilos de vida saludable en edades tempranas podría ser una herramienta eficaz para reducir los niveles de obesidad en escolares. Objetivo: evaluar el efecto de una intervención en alimentación y actividad física (AF) en la reducción de la obesidad en escolares. Métodos: un total de 312 escolares participaron en esta intervención, la cual se aplicó durante cinco meses. Se desarrollaron talleres para la familia y los niños con material educativo basado en guías alimentarias chilenas, en conjunto con 45 minutos diarios de AF. El estado nutricional fue evaluado con el International Obesity Task Force. Los cambios en los hábitos alimentarios y de actividad física fueron evaluados mediante la aplicación de cuestionarios. Resultados: el Índice de Masa Corporal (IMC) disminuyó significativamente post intervención (-0,2 kg.m-2); al analizar estos resultados por sexo, solo los varones presentaron una reducción significativa (-0,3 kg.m-2). Resultados similares fueron observados para el perímetro de la cintura en varones (-0,4 cm). No obstante, al analizar el efecto de la intervención en aquellos escolares con sobrepeso u obesidad preintervención se observaron cambios significativos en el IMC, los cuales fueron asociados a cambios en la alimentación y los niveles de actividad física. Conclusiones: las intervenciones multidisciplinarias aplicadas a escolares del primer ciclo de enseñanza básica son efectivas a la hora de reducir los niveles de IMC e incrementar los niveles de actividad física y la calidad de la alimentación en escolares con sobrepeso u obesidad.Background: interventions aiming to develop healthy lifestyle behaviours at early age could be an effective way of reducing childhood obesity. Aims: to evaluate the effect of a dietary and physical activity intervention on reducing childhood obesity. Methods: 312 students took part on this 5 month intervention study. The intervention included dietary talk delivered to children and their parents in addition to 45 minutes of daily physical activity modules. Nutritional status was assessed using the Obesity Task Force criteria. Changes in dietary behaviours and physical activity were assessed using questionnaires administrated to the parents. Results: body mass index decreased significantly post intervention (-0.2 kg.m-2), however, this reduction was driven by boys (-0.3 kg.m-2). Similarly, waist circumference shows a significant reduction in boys (-0.4 cm) but not girls. Children with overweight or obesity shows greater reductions in obesity-related traits, which were related to changes in dietary and physical activity post interventions. Conclusions: multidisciplinary interventions applied to children between 5 and 7 years old are effective on reducing body mass index and improving dietary and physical activity behaviours in overweight and obese children.ación de la Universidad del Bío-Bío a través de la Dirección de Investigación Proyecto 0749222 /R

Efecto de una consulta nutricional protocolizada sobre el estado nutricional y hábitos alimentarios de adultos con sobrepeso y obesidad = Effect of a structured nutritional consultation on weight loss and eating habits in overweight and obese adults

Overweight and obesity affect 67% of population in Chile. Different strategies have been developed to reverse and improve this situation, nutritional consultation is one such strategy. However, consultation has not been structured and it is unknown whether this procedure has a positive effect for weight loss. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a structured nutritional consultation on weight loss and eating habits in overweight and obese adults in a family health center. A pre-post intervention study was performed with 30 participants over 3 months. Anthropometric measures (weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) and % body fat), dietary intake and eating habits were the main outcomes of the study. A structured nutritional consultation was significantly associated with decreased weight, BMI, WC and % body fat. There were improvements in dietary intake habits. A 92% of the participants incorporated a snack mid-morning and a daily serving of low-fat dairy. Despite benefits observed after a structured nutritional consultation, larger studies with longer duration are warranted

Social engagement after stroke – is it relevant to cognitive function? A cross-sectional analysis of UK Biobank data

Background: Findings from studies in older adult populations suggest that measures of social engagement may be associated with health outcomes, including cognitive function. Plausibly the magnitude and direction of this association may differ in stroke. The disabling nature of stroke increases the likelihood of social isolation and stroke survivors are at high risk of cognitive decline. We assessed the association between social engagement and cognitive function in a sample of stroke survivors. Methods: We included available data from stroke survivors in the UK Biobank (N=8776; age range: 40-72; 57.4% male). In a series of regression models, we assessed cross-sectional associations between proxies of social engagement (frequency of family/friend visits, satisfaction with relationships, loneliness, opportunities to confide in someone, participation in social activities) and performance on domain specific cognitive tasks: reaction time, verbal-numerical reasoning, visual memory and prospective memory. We adjusted for demographics, health-, lifestyle-, and stroke-related factors. Accounting for multiple testing, we set our significance threshold at p<0.003. Results: After adjusting for covariates, we found independent associations between faster reaction times and monthly family visits as compared to no visit (standardised beta=-0.32, 99.7% CI: -0.61 to -0.03, N=4,930); slower reaction times and religious group participation (standardised beta=0.25, 99.7% CI 0.07 to 0.44, N=4,938); and poorer performance on both verbal-numerical reasoning and prospective memory tasks with loneliness (standardised beta=-0.19, 99.7% CI: -0.34 to -0.03, N=2,074; odds ratio=0.66, 99.7% CI: 0.46 to 0.94, N=2,188; respectively). In models where all proxies of social engagement were combined, no associations remained significant. Conclusions: We found limited task-specific associations between cognitive performance and proxies of social engagement, with only loneliness related to two tasks. Further studies are necessary to confirm and improve our understanding of these relationships and investigate the potential to target psychosocial factors to support cognitive function in stroke survivors

Consumo de bebidas azúcaradas ayer y hoy: ¿cuál es el escenario para la población chilena? = Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, what is the scenario for Chile?

No abstract available