Physical activity and fitness among adolescents [sic] in Sweden with a 20-year trend perspective

To prevent chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes, it is important to avoid body fatness, to remain physically active and to maintain aerobic fitness. It is also important to maintain a certain level of muscular strength to be able to perform everyday tasks in adolescence and adulthood. Regular study of the secular trends (time-changes) in physical activity and fitness of the young can help in identifying how social and lifestyle changes can affect these factors. Also, studying the attitudes towards physical activity among various groups of young, could provide information for tailoring physical activity promotion programmes for contemporary children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate physical activity and physical fitness among 16-year old adolescents in secondary school in 1995. Also, the aim was to study the secular trend (time trend from 1974 to 1995) in physical activity and fitness. A questionnaire assessing physical activity was completed by 93% (n=542) of the invited adolescents and body dimension measurments and physical capacity tests was performed by 78% (n= 460) of the invited adolescents in 1995. In 1974, 395 adolescents was invited and all participated. One third of the students in 1995 failed to achieve the recommended level of thirty minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per day day and 70% did not achieve sixty minutes per day. Students in practical programs were less physically active, and were also less physically fit compared to students in theoretical programs. The difference between the educational programs in physical activity level was associated to lower socio-economic status, lower percieved positive influence from parents to be physically active as well as lower percieved health among the students in practical programs. Fewer girls than boys participated in sports and were members in sports clubs. On average, the girls also were physically active at lower intensities than the boys. However, there was no difference between girls and boys in the time spent in overall physical activity, since many girls performed physical activities outside sports clubs. More adolescents were active in leisure-time sports in 1995 compared to 1974. The adolescents were also more interested in keep-fit activities in 1995 compared to 1974, which is important from a public health perspective, since these activities have the potential to be continued into adulthood. However, the overall lifestyle of adolescents might have become more sedentary in 1995 compared to 1974. The higher body weight, lower running performance and muscular endurance in 1995 compared with 1974 may be due to less overall daily physical activity among girls and boys. The lower muscular endurance could also be due to lack of specific muscle endurance training for instance in leisure-time physical activity and in physical education in school. The physical activity level among adolescents was assessed by a questionnaire and showed acceptable associations to the physical activity level assed by an activity diary and to aerobic fitness on a group level. The questionnaire could be a valuable tool in examining behavioural changes following health and physical fitness promotion programmes and for studying the secular trends in physical activity levels

Longitudinal study exploring factors associated with neck/shoulder pain at 52 years of age

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the ability of work-related measurements, body composition, physical activity, and fitness levels to predict neck/shoulder pain (upper body pain, UBP) at the age of 52 years. Another aim was to investigate the cross-sectional relationships between UBP, work-related factors, and individual factors at the age of 52 years. METHODS: We followed a randomly selected cohort of 429 adolescents that was recruited in 1974 (baseline), when they were 16 years old. The participants completed physical fitness tests, questions about sociodemographic and lifestyle factors at 16, 34, and 52 years of age, and questions about work-related factors and pain in the follow-ups. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between UBP and the other variables. RESULTS: Univariate logistic regression analyses showed that high body mass index and the work-related factors, low control, and low social support at the age of 34 years were related to UBP at the age of 52 years. For social support, there was an interaction between men and women where the relationship between low social support and the experience of pain was more evident for women. Among women, body mass index and social support remained significantly related in the multivariate analyses. For men, social support remained significantly related. Cross-sectional relationships at the age of 52 differed from the longitudinal in the sense that measures of joint flexibility and work posture were also significantly associated with UBP. CONCLUSION: The fact that the cross-sectional differed from the longitudinal relationships strengthens the importance of performing longitudinal studies when studying factors that might influence the initiation of pain. UBP preventative measures might need to include both lifestyle (such as dietary habits and physical activity to ensure that the individuals are not becoming overweight) and work-related factors such as social support

Vasculoprotective properties of plasma lipoproteins from brown bears (Ursus arctos)

Plasma cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) levels are twice as high in hibernating brown bears (Ursus arctos) than healthy humans. Yet, bears display no signs of early stage atherosclerosis development when adult. To explore this apparent paradox, we analyzed plasma lipoproteins from the same 10 bears in winter (hibernation) and summer using size exclusion chromatography, ultracentrifugation, and electrophoresis. LDL binding to arterial proteoglycans (PGs) and plasma cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) were also evaluated. The data collected and analyzed from bears were also compared with those from healthy humans. In bears, the cholesterol ester, unesterified cholesterol, TG, and phospholipid contents of VLDL and LDL were higher in winter than in summer. The percentage lipid composition of LDL differed between bears and humans but did not change seasonally in bears. Bear LDL was larger, richer in TGs, showed prebeta electrophoretic mobility, and had 5–10 times lower binding to arterial PGs than human LDL. Finally, plasma CEC was higher in bears than in humans, especially the HDL fraction when mediated by ABCA1. These results suggest that in brown bears the absence of early atherogenesis is likely associated with a lower affinity of LDL for arterial PGs and an elevated CEC of bear plasma