Does doing housework keep you healthy? The contribution of domestic physical activity to meeting current recommendations for health

Recent lifestyle approaches to physical activity have included the promotion of domestic physical activities such as do-it-yourself or home maintenance, gardening and housework. Although it is acknowledged that any activity is better than none, there is a danger that those undertaking domestic 'chores' may assume that this activity is moderate intensity and therefore counts towards this 150 minute per week target The purpose of this paper was to report the contribution domestic physical activity makes to total weekly physical activity and the relationship between domestic physical activity and leanness in the Northern Ireland population

Physiological factors associated with low bone mineral density in female endurance runners

This paper details research taken to explore potential factors that could be associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) in female endurance runners. Fifty two female endurance runners (1,500 m to marathon), aged 18-44 years, took part. Body fat percentage, lumbar spine BMD, and femoral neck BMD were measured using the Hologic QDR 4,500w bone densitometer. Data on training, menstrual cycle status, osteoporosis, and health related factors were obtained by questionnaire. Dietary variables were assessed from a prospective seven day dietary record of macronutrients and micronutrients. The results suggest a negative association between endurance running distance and lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD, with a positive association between body mass and femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD. However, longitudinal studies are required to assess directly the effect of endurance running and body mass on BMD, and to see if the addition of alternative exercise that would increase lean body mass would have a positive effect on BMD and therefore help to prevent osteoporosis

A tribute to Professor Edward Winter Edward Winter 28 June 1950-18 July 2020

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Sports Sciences on 03/09/2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1812283 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.This tribute honours Professor Edward Winter who, during a distinguished career, made a substantial contribution to the discipline of Sport and Exercise Science. Edward authored more than 200 publications, was involved in the review of more than 2000 manuscripts and abstracts and had extensive experience of supervising and examining research candidates. Specifically here, Professor Winter made a major contribution to the Journal of Sport Sciences as section editor for Sport Performance for over a decade. The editorial Board wishes to formally acknowledge the contribution made by Edward to; the work of the Journal, the development of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences and the science of sport and exercise. This editorial comprises contributions from colleagues across the sport and exercise community that are published elsewhere (Copeland et al., 2020).Published onlin

The influence of maturation, body size and physical self-perceptions on longitudinal changes in physical activity in adolescent girls

During adolescence , the number of girls achieving the recommended levels of physical activity (PA) for health decreases significantly and the temporal alignment of this decline in PA with the onset of maturation warrants investigation. The aim of this study was to adopt a longitudinal design to examine the effect of age, relative and absolute maturation, body size and composition on changes in PA in adolescent girls

Physical activity, walking and leanness: an analysis of the Northern Ireland Sport and Physical Activity Survey (SAPAS)

Objective: To report on the contribution walking makes to total weekly physical activity and the relationship between the volume and intensity of walking and leanness in a representative sample of the Northern Ireland population. Method: 4563 adults participated in this cross-sectional survey of physical activity behaviour. Self-reported height and weight was used to determine inverse body mass index (iBMI) as a measure of leanness. Data across all domains of physical activity including self-reported volume and intensity of walking (in bouts of 10 min or more) were analysed to determine their contribution to leanness using ANCOVA, having controlled for age, gender, socio-economic and smoking status. Results: Over 68% of the participants reported walking > 10 minutes during the previous week but only 24% report walking at a brisk or fast pace. Time walking at a brisk or fast pace for personal transport was identified as having the strongest positive association with being lean (F1,4256 = 10.45, β = 0.051 cm2 kg− 1 min− 1 (SE = 0.016),P = 0.001). Conclusions: In addition to increasing the amount of walking and the percentage of people walking regularly, public health messages encouraging an increase in walking pace may be valuable to increase the proportion of the population meeting physical activity guidelines and gaining associated health benefits.</p

Mid-expiratory flow versus FEV1 measurements in the diagnosis of exercise induced asthma in elite athletes.

BACKGROUND A fall in FEV(1) of > or =10% following bronchoprovocation (eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH) or exercise) is regarded as the gold standard criterion for diagnosing exercise induced asthma (EIA) in athletes. Previous studies have suggested that mid-expiratory flow (FEF(50)) might be used to supplement FEV(1) to improve the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis. A study was undertaken to investigate the response of FEF(50) following EVH or exercise challenges in elite athletes as an adjunct to FEV(1). METHODS Sixty six male (36 asthmatic, 30 non-asthmatic) and 50 female (24 asthmatic, 26 non-asthmatic) elite athletes volunteered for the study. Maximal voluntary flow-volume loops were measured before and 3, 5, 10, and 15 minutes after stopping EVH or exercise. A fall in FEV(1) of > or =10% and a fall in FEF(50) of > or =26% were used as the cut off criteria for identification of EIA. RESULTS There was a strong correlation between DeltaFEV(1) and DeltaFEF(50) following bronchoprovocation (r = 0.94, p = 0.000). Sixty athletes had a fall in FEV(1) of > or =10% leading to the diagnosis of EIA. Using the FEF(50) criterion alone led to 21 (35%) of these asthmatic athletes receiving a false negative diagnosis. The lowest fall in FEF(50) in an athlete with a > or =10% fall in FEV(1) was 14.3%. Reducing the FEF(50) criteria to > or =14% led to 13 athletes receiving a false positive diagnosis. Only one athlete had a fall in FEF(50) of > or =26% in the absence of a fall in FEV(1) of > or =10% (DeltaFEV(1) = 8.9%). CONCLUSION The inclusion of FEF(50) in the diagnosis of EIA in elite athletes reduces the sensitivity and does not enhance the sensitivity or specificity of the diagnosis. The use of FEF(50) alone is insufficiently sensitive to diagnose EIA reliably in elite athletes

Oxygen Uptake in Repeated Cycling Sprints Against Different Loads Is Comparable Between Men and Preadolescent Boys

Children recover faster than adults in repeated sprints, but it is unclear if their aerobic responses differ. Purpose: This study tested the hypothesis that aerobic response (VO2) during repeated sprints is greater in preadolescent boys than in men. Further, this study compared normalization with conventional ratio-scaling and scaling with the use of body mass (BM) as a covariate. Methods: Nine boys (age: 11.8 ± 0.6 years, swimmers) and 11 men (age: 21.7 ± 0.6 years, recreational athletes) performed 10 maximal 6-s cycling sprints separated by 24-s of passive recovery, against two loads (optimum and 50% of optimum). Oxygen uptake (VO2) was measured continuously. Results: Men’s mean power output (MPO) was greater than boys in each sprint, both in absolute (unscaled) values (p &amp;lt; 0.05) and when adjusted for lean leg volume (p &amp;lt; 0.05). Children had lower absolute VO2 (p &amp;lt; 0.05) than men, but when it was adjusted for BM or power-output, VO2 was comparable between men and boys. Thus, most of the difference in VO2 between men and boys was due to body size and power-output differences. Conclusion: Our results suggest that men and boys have similar VO2 during repeated sprints when appropriately adjusted to body mass or power output. Results highlight the importance of using appropriate scaling methods to compare adults’ and children’s aerobic responses to high-intensity exercise. Copyright © 2022 Theos, Bogdanis, Jansson, Nevill, Papaspyrou and Maridaki

Effects of two workload-matched high-intensity interval training protocols on regional body composition and fat oxidation in obese men

The effects of two high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols on regional body composition and fat oxidation in men with obesity were compared using a parallel randomized design. Sixteen inactive males (age, 38.9 ± 7.3 years; body fat, 31.8 ± 3.9%; peak oxygen uptake, VO2peak, 30.9 ± 4.1 mL/kg/min; all mean ± SD) were randomly assigned to either HIIT10 (48 × 10 s bouts at 100% of peak power [Wpeak ] with 15 s of recovery) or HIIT60 group (8 × 60 s bouts at 100% Wpeak with 90 s of recovery), and subsequently completed eight weeks of training, while maintaining the same diet. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) showed only a main effect of time (p &amp;lt; 0.01) and no group or interaction effects (p &amp;gt; 0.05) in the examined parameters. Total and trunk fat mass decreased by 1.81 kg (90%CI: −2.63 to −0.99 kg; p = 0.002) and 1.45 kg (90%CI: −1.95 to −0.94 kg; p &amp;lt; 0.001), respectively, while leg lean mass increased by 0.86 kg (90%CI: 0.63 to 1.08 kg; p &amp;lt; 0.001), following both HIIT protocols. HIIT increased peak fat oxidation (PFO) (from 0.20 ± 0.05 to 0.33 ± 0.08 g/min, p = 0.001), as well as fat oxidation over a wide range of submaximal exercise intensities, and shifted PFO to higher intensity (from 33.6 ± 4.6 to 37.6 ± 6.7% VO2peak, p = 0.039). HIIT, irrespective of protocol, improved VO2peak by 20.0 ± 7.2% (p &amp;lt; 0.001), while blood lactate at various submaximal intensities decreased by 20.6% (p = 0.001). In conclusion, both HIIT protocols were equally effective in improving regional body composition and fat oxidation during exercise in obese men. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland