Physical capacity in physically active and non-active adolescents

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate differences in physical capacity between physically active and non-active men and women among graduates from upper secondary school. Subject and methods: Research participants were graduates (38 women and 61 men) from upper secondary school. Physical activity was determined using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and participants were dichotomously characterized as being physically active or physically non-active according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). Aerobic capacity was measured using the Åstrand cycle ergometer test. Participants also underwent tests of muscular strength and balance. Results: Maximum oxygen uptake differed significantly between physically active and non-active men (mean ± SD 3.6 ± 0.7 vs 3.0 ± 0.6 l/kg, p = 0.002) and women (3.0 ± 0.6 vs 2.5 ± 0.3 l/kg, p = 0.016). There was a difference among physically active and non-active men regarding push-ups (37.1 ± 9.0 vs 28.5 ± 7.0, p < 0.001) and sit-ups (59.2 ± 30.2 vs 39.6 ± 19.4, p = 0.010). No significant differences were found regarding vertical jump or grip strength among men, any of the muscle strength measurements among women, and balance (in any sex). Conclusion: Activity levels had impact on aerobic capacity in both sexes, but did not seem to have the same impact on muscular strength and balance, especially in women

Fysisk aktivitet, inaktivitet och kapacitet hos gymnasieungdomar

A change in behaviour with reduced physical activity and an increased sedentary behaviour among children and adolescents may be a threat to their future health. The literature shows that physical activity decreases through adolescence and the habits from childhood and adolescence have a tendency to become manifest. It is therefore particularly important to investigate the physical activity of adolescents and its effect on physical capacity, in conjunction with underlying factors that might have an impact on how active adolescents are. The overall aim of this thesis was to describe physical activity and its relation to physical capacity of adolescents from upper secondary schools and to highlight the reasoning about physical activity and health among physically inactive adolescents’.Paper I was a survey in which 884 adolescents from Northern Sweden participated. The adolescents were asked questions about their physical activity together with questions with a relation to physical activity. To put the physical activity in relation to physical capacity the adolescents were at the same time asked if they could participate in future studies concerning physical capacity (Paper II and III) and participation in an interview study (Paper IV). In paper IIIII physical capacity was assessed by aerobic capacity, muscle strength and balance (n = 99). In Paper II physical capacity was compared between physically active and physically inactive men and women. In paper III, the relation between physical capacity and self-rated physical activity and time spent sitting were investigated. In paper IV adolescents who did not meet the WHO recommendation of physical activity were interviewed and asked to describe their experience about physical activity and health.The results from paper I - III show that there was a group of adolescents who did not meet the recommendations for physical activity and that it affected their physical capacity. There was a clear gender difference; the men were physically active at higher intensity levels than the women. The men and women who estimated themselves to be physically active had significantly greater aerobic capacity, muscle strength (men) as compared to those who estimated themselves as physically inactive (according to WHO recommendations). The correlation between time spent sitting and physical activity was weak but still statistically significant for both sexes, and time spent sitting time did not appear to affect physical capacity. The results of the interviews in paper IV showed that physical inactive adolescents are aware of the health benefits of physical activity, yet they priorities performing other interests in leisure time. They described how both external and internal factors motivated them to be physically active. Further, the importance of the social context and that the activity had to be fun was considered reinforcing factor for performing physical activity. In summary, the results of the thesis show that there is a wide spread among adolescents in the level of physical activity and that there is a group of adolescents who do not meet the recommended levels. Also, there is a gender difference, where women are physically active at a lower intensity level. There was a weak correlation between sitting time and physical activity or physical capacity. Therefore it is important to both increase physical activity and reducing sitting time to prevent health related diseases. Factors that is important for influencing physical activity is the social context as parents, friends and environment.Ett förändrat beteende med minskad fysisk aktivitet och ett ökat stillasittande bland barn och ungdomar kan utgöra ett hot mot deras framtida hälsa. Litteraturen visar att fysisk aktivitet minskar genom ungdomsåren och de vanor man har som barn och ungdom har en tendens att bli manifesta. Därför är det extra viktigt att undersöka ungdomars fysiska aktivitet och dess påverkan på fysiska kapacitet samt andra bakomliggande faktorer som har betydelse för hur aktiva ungdomar är. Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att beskriva gymnasieungdomars fysiska aktivitet och sätta den i relation till deras fysiska kapacitet samt belysa fysiskt inaktiva ungdomars resonemang om fysisk aktivitet och hälsa.I delarbete I gjordes en enkätundersökning där 884 ungdomar från Norra Sverige deltog. Ungdomarna fick besvara frågor om sin fysiska aktivitet och faktorer som hade kunnat påverka denna. För att sätta den fysiska aktiviteten i relation till kapacitet tillfrågades samtidigt ungdomarna om de kunde medverka i kommande studier gällande mätning av fysisk kapacitet (delarbete II och III) och deltagande i en intervjustudie (delarbete IV). För delarbete II-III testades den fysiska kapaciteten på aerob kapacitet och muskulär styrka samt balans (n=99). I delarbete II jämfördes den fysiska kapaciteten mellan fysiskt aktiva och fysiskt inaktiva män och kvinnor. I delarbete III undersöktes relationen mellan den fysik kapaciteten och självskattad aktivitetsnivå och tid spenderad sittande. I delarbete IV intervjuades ungdomar som genom sin skattning inte uppnådde WHOs rekommendationer om fysisk aktivitet för att beskriva deras resonemang om fysisk aktivitet och hälsa.Resultatet från delarbete I - III visar att det fanns en grupp ungdomar som inte uppnådde rekommendationerna för fysisk aktivitet och att det påverkade deras fysiska kapacitet. Tydligt var också att det fanns en könsskillnad, männen var fysik aktiva på högre intensitetsnivåer än kvinnorna. De män och kvinnor som skattat sig fysiskt aktiva hade signifikant bättre aerob kapacitet, ökad muskelstyrka (männen) jämfört med de som skattat sig som fysiskt inaktiva (enligt WHO:s rekommendationer). Korrelationen mellan stillasittande och fysisk aktivitet var svag men ändå statistiskt signifikant för båda könen, och stillasittande tid verkade inte påverka den fysiska kapaciteten. Resultatet från intervjuerna i delarbete IV visade att fysisk inaktiva ungdomar har kännedom om de positiva hälsoeffekterna av fysisk aktivitet, vilket dock inte resulterar i att det prioriteras i jämförelse med andra intressen. De beskriver både yttre och inre hinder för att vara fysisk aktiva. Viktiga faktorer för att vara fysisk aktiv var det sociala sammanhanget och att det skulle vara roligt.Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten i avhandlingen att det finns en stor spridning bland ungdomarnas fysiska aktivitetsnivå och att det finns en grupp ungdomar som inte når upp till rekommenderade nivåer. Dessutom finns det en könsskillnad, där kvinnorna är fysiskt aktiva på lägre intensitetsnivå. Det var en svag korrelation mellan sittande tid och fysisk aktivitet eller fysisk kapacitet. Därför är det viktigt att både öka den fysiska aktiviteten och att minska sittande tid för att förbygga ohälsa. Faktorer som är viktiga för att påverka fysiska aktiviteten är det sociala sammanhanget som föräldrar, vänner samt miljön.Godkänd; 2012; 20120328 (katmik); DISPUTATION Ämnesområde: Sjukgymnastik Opponent: Professor Margareta Möller, Örebro läns landsting Ordförande: Biträdande professor Lisa Skär, Institutionen för Hälsovetenskap Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Fredag den 4 maj, 2012, kl. 13.00 Plats: D770 (Deltasalen), Luleå tekniska universitet</p

Aktivitet: Fysisk aktivitet och sittande hos gymnasieungdomar i Norrbotten

Startdatum: 16/10/2012; Slutdatum: 16/10/2012; Roll: Föreläsare; Typ: Föreläsning / muntligt bidrag</p

Betydelsen av verbal uppmuntran vid utförande av handstyrketest

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if verbal encouragement had any influence on hand strength measurements. Twenty subjects participated in the study, all women aged between 20 and 62 years. A standardization of testing conditions and verbal encouragement was designed. Three measurements were conducted during 2 days using T.K.K 5401 Grip D. First there was a trial set, and then Test 1 (without verbal encouragement) and Test 2 (with verbal encouragement) were con-ducted. The results showed a significant improvement regarding the test results from Test 1 to Test 2. The subjects also answered a questionnaire about their feelings towards the two test occasions. A majority of the subjects felt that verbal encouragement had an influence on their performance. In conclusion, it could be said that verbal encouragement both had a subjective and objective influence on a subject's performance. In earlier studies, verbal encouragement has shown to influence different personalities in different ways. Thus, this would be an interesting field of study for future researchGodkänd; 2004; 20061201 (andbra

It’s about being the good parent : exploring attitudes and beliefs towards active school transportation

In recent decades, there has been a decline in active school transportation (AST). Parents play an important role as the key decision-makers of children’s AST, and there is a need of more knowledge about the decision-making process and parents’ beliefs towards AST. The overall aim of this study was to explore parents’ attitudes and beliefs towards AST in the northern part of Sweden. Twenty parents participated in semi-structured interviews, which was based on the theory of planned behaviour. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the interviews. The analysis yielded one main theme, “Parenting and active school transportation – making route choices in a changed landscape” and four subthemes, “Knowing that it is beneficial while struggling with daily life”, “Considering barriers and solutions to enable AST”, “Parenting is challenging and about balancing”, and “Reflecting and contemplating about what we and others do”. Winter conditions affect parents’ decisions, and this needs to be considered when facilitating AST in these regions. Overall better health, increased physical activity, time spent outdoors, and free play were revealed as positive outcomes of AST. Decisions were also influenced by social norms and how the idea of parenting has changed through generations. The findings of this study are likely to be important when promoting AST.Validerad;2020;Nivå 2;2020-08-17 (alebob)</p

Children’s active school transportation : an international scoping review of psychosocial factors

Background: Over the last decades, the prevalence of AST has decreased significantly. Barriers to active school transport (AST) have been extensively examined in the literature, while psychosocial factors that facilitate AST have received less attention. To our best knowledge, there are currently no reviews on this subject. Therefore, the objective of this review was to scope the literature and identify published research about psychosocial factors related to AST. Methods: Systematic searches conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, TRID, Scopus, and ERIC resulted in a total of 1933 publications, and 77 of them were considered eligible for this review. Results: The results of the included articles were categorised into four psychosocial factors: confidence in ability, attitudes, social support, and social norms, which were all generally positively related to AST, with a few exceptions. Conclusion: The findings of this review indicate that these psychosocial factors may be important to consider when developing interventions and highlight that both children and parents should be involved in the process. This knowledge can serve as a valuable guide for developing interventions to promote AST. However, the evidence base supporting these psychosocial factors requires further investigation to fully understand how and when to incorporate them to maximise AST efficacy.Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-02-12 (joosat);CC BY Full text license</p