Health-enhancing physical activity: evidence, potential and population strategies for public health

Sport, exercise and physical activity have been promoted on health grounds for many decades. However, only in the 1990’s the scientific evidence on the health benefits of physical activity became convincing enough to be considered as a significant health promoting life-style. Together with the knowledge of the high prevalence of inactivity in Western countries the new understanding of the health-enhancing potential of physical activity has led to initiatives to include physical activity in the health promotion agenda in many countries. In the following an overview of the available evidence of the health benefits of physical activity, the characteristics of health enhancing physical activity (HEPA) and the activity patterns in European countries is presented. In addition the issues of the public health potential of physical activity and the population strategies for its promotion are addressed

Health-enhancing physical activity: evidence, potential and population strategies for public health

Sport, exercise and physical activity have been promoted on health grounds for many decades. However, only in the 1990’s the scientific evidence on the health benefits of physical activity became convincing enough to be considered as a significant health promoting life-style. Together with the knowledge of the high prevalence of inactivity in Western countries the new understanding of the health-enhancing potential of physical activity has led to initiatives to include physical activity in the health promotion agenda in many countries. In the following an overview of the available evidence of the health benefits of physical activity, the characteristics of health enhancing physical activity (HEPA) and the activity patterns in European countries is presented. In addition the issues of the public health potential of physical activity and the population strategies for its promotion are addressed

Economic impact of reduced mortality due to increased cycling.

Increasing regular physical activity is a key public health goal. One strategy is to change the physical environment to encourage walking and cycling, requiring partnerships with the transport and urban planning sectors. Economic evaluation is an important factor in the decision to fund any new transport scheme, but techniques for assessing the economic value of the health benefits of cycling and walking have tended to be less sophisticated than the approaches used for assessing other benefits. This study aimed to produce a practical tool for estimating the economic impact of reduced mortality due to increased cycling. The tool was intended to be transparent, easy to use, reliable, and based on conservative assumptions and default values, which can be used in the absence of local data. It addressed the question: For a given volume of cycling within a defined population, what is the economic value of the health benefits? The authors used published estimates of relative risk of all-cause mortality among regular cyclists and applied these to levels of cycling defined by the user to produce an estimate of the number of deaths potentially averted because of regular cycling. The tool then calculates the economic value of the deaths averted using the "value of a statistical life." The outputs of the tool support decision making on cycle infrastructure or policies, or can be used as part of an integrated economic appraisal. The tool's unique contribution is that it takes a public health approach to a transport problem, addresses it in epidemiologic terms, and places the results back into the transport context. Examples of its use include its adoption by the English and Swedish departments of transport as the recommended methodologic approach for estimating the health impact of walking and cycling

Kestävän kehityksen tietoyhteiskunta: teoreettisia ja käsitteellisiä näkökulmia

Tietoyhteiskunta on murrosvaihe teollisuusyhteiskunnan hiipumisen ja uuden yhteiskuntamuodon välissä. Kestävän kehityksen tavoite asettaa tietoyhteiskuntavisioille uusia haasteita ja reunaehtoja, vaikka tietoyhteiskunta ja kestävä kehitys ilmenevätkin usein kilpailevina tieteellisinä ja yhteiskuntapoliittisina diskursseina. Tarkastelun optimistinen päätelmä on, että informaatiopalveluiden ja –teknologian voimistuminen voi edistää talouden dematerialisaatiota. Toisaalta ympäristöystävällisyys ei ole itsestäänselvä tietoyhteiskunnan ominaisuus

Effects of frequency, intensity, duration and volume of walking interventions on CVD risk factors: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis of randomised controlled trials among inactive healthy adults

ObjectiveWalking interventions in healthy populations show clinically relevant improvements for many cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. We aimed to assess the changes in CVD risk factors and the dose–response relationship between frequency, intensity, duration and volume of walking and cardiovascular risk factors based on randomised controlled trials (RCTs).DesignA systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression.Data sourcesFour electronic databases searched from January 1971 to April 2017.Eligibility criteriaWalking RCTs reporting one or more CVD risk factor outcomes; trials including at least one group with walking intervention and a no-walking control group; duration ≥8 weeks; participants ≥18 years old, inactive but healthy; risk factors assessed preintervention and postintervention; English-language articles in peer-reviewed journals.ResultsThirty-seven RCTs, involving 2001 participants (81% women) and assessing 13 CVD risk factors, were identified. Pooled meta-analysis showed favourable effects (P≤0.05) of walking intervention for seven CVD risk factors (body mass, body mass index, body fat, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose and VO2max).There were no significant effects (P&gt;0.05) for waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and four blood lipid variables.Despite testing 91 possible dose–response relationships, linear meta-regression analysis adjusted for age indicated just 7 (or 7.7%) statistically significant findings.Summary/conclusionWalking interventions benefit a number of CVD risk factors. Despite multiple studies and tested metrics, only a few dose–response relationships were identified and the possibility of chance findings cannot be ruled out. There is insufficient evidence to quantify the frequency, length, bout duration, intensity and volume of the walking required to improve CVD risk factors.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42016039409.</jats:sec

Effect of Accelerated Aging on Some Mechanical Properties and Wear of Different Commercial Dental Resin Composites

The aim of current in vitro research was to determine the effect of hydrothermal accelerated aging on the mechanical properties and wear of different commercial dental resin composites (RCs). In addition, the effect of expiration date of the composite prior its use was also evaluated. Five commercially available RCs were studied: Conventional RCs (Filtek Supreme XTE, G-aenial Posterior, Denfil, and >3y expired Supreme XTE), bulk-fill RC (Filtek Bulk Fill), and short fiber-reinforced RC (everX Posterior). Three-point flexural test was used for determination of ultimate flexural strength (n = 8). A vickers indenter was used for testing surface microhardness. A wear test was conducted with 15,000 chewing cycles using a dual-axis chewing simulator. Wear pattern was analyzed by a three-dimensional (3D) noncontact optical profilometer. Degree of C=C bond conversion of monomers was determined by FTIR-spectrometry. The specimens were either dry stored for 48 h (37 °C) or boiled (100 °C) for 16 h before testing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate the microstructure of each material. Data were analyzed using ANOVA (p = 0.05). Hydrothermal aging had no significant effects on the surface wear and microhardness of tested RCs (p > 0.05). While flexural strength significantly decreased after aging (p p </p

Physical activity recommendations for health: what should Europe do?

Peer reviewe

Human factors and ergonomics in manufacturing in the Industry 4.0 context – A scoping review

Industry 4.0 revolution has brought rapid technological growth and development in manufacturing industries. Technological development enables efficient manufacturing processes and brings changes in human work, which may cause new threats to employee well-being and challenge their existing skills and knowledge. Human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) is a scientific discipline to optimize simultaneously overall system performance and human well-being in different work contexts. The aim of this scoping review is to describe the state-of-the-art of the HF/E research related to the industry 4.0 context in manufacturing. A systematic search found 336 research articles, of which 37 were analysed utilizing a human-centric work system framework presented in the HF/E literature. Challenges related to technological development were analysed in micro- and macroergonomics work system frameworks. Based on the review we frame characteristics of an organisation level maturity model to optimize overall sociotechnical work system performance in the context of rapid technological development in manufacturing industries.</p