The effects of an active-assisted stretching program on functional performance in elderly persons: A pilot study

This study examined the impact of an eight-week active-assisted (AA) stretching program on functionality, mobility, power, and range of motion (ROM) in elderly residents of a residential retirement community. Seventeen volunteers (4 male, 13 female; 88.8 ± 5.36 years) were randomly assigned to an AA or control group. The AA group performed 10 different AA stretches targeting the major joints of the body twice weekly for eight weeks. Controls attended classes requiring limited physical activity. All participants were assessed using four flexibility and six functional tests, one week before and after the eight-week training period. A fully randomized repeated-measures ANCOVA with pretest scores as a covariate was used to detect differences between groups across time. The AA group demonstrated significant increases in ROM for most of the joints evaluated (p < 0.05) and significant increases in all performance measures (p < 0.05). Controls showed no improvements in functional or ROM measures (α = 0.05). Additionally, the AA group showed significantly better performance outcomes across the training period than controls. We conclude that our eight-week flexibility program effectively reduces age-related losses in ROM and improves functional performance in elderly persons with insufficient physical reserves to perform higher-intensity exercises

National Athletic Trainers\u27 Association Position Statement: Safe Weight Loss and Maintenance Practices in Sport and Exercise

Objective: To present athletic trainers with recommendations for safe weight loss and weight maintenance practices for athletes and active clients and to provide athletes, clients, coaches, and parents with safe guidelines that will allow athletes and clients to achieve and maintain weight and body composition goals. Background: Unsafe weight management practices can compromise athletic performance and negatively affect health. Athletes and clients often attempt to lose weight by not eating, limiting caloric or specific nutrients from the diet, engaging in pathogenic weight control behaviors, and restricting fluids. These people often respond to pressures of the sport or activity, coaches, peers, or parents by adopting negative body images and unsafe practices to maintain an ideal body composition for the activity. We provide athletic trainers with recommendations for safe weight loss and weight maintenance in sport and exercise. Although safe weight gain is also a concern for athletic trainers and their athletes and clients, that topic is outside the scope of this position statement. Recommendations: Athletic trainers are often the source of nutrition information for athletes and clients; therefore, they practices, and methods to change body composition. Body composition assessments should be done in the most scientifically appropriate manner possible. Reasonable and individualized weight and body composition goals should be identified by appropriately trained health care personnel (eg, athletic trainers, registered dietitians, physicians). In keeping with the American Dietetics Association (ADA) preferred nomenclature, this document uses the terms registered dietitian or dietician when referring to a food and nutrition expert who has met the academic and professional requirements specified by the ADA\u27s Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education. In some cases, a registered nutritionist may have equivalent credentials and be the commonly used term. All weight management and exercise protocols used to achieve these goals should be safe and based on the most current evidence. Athletes, clients, parents, and coaches should be educated on how to determine safe weight and body composition so that athletes and clients more safely achieve competitive weights that will meet sport and activity requirements while also allowing them to meet their energy and nutritional needs for optimal health and performance

Race differences in obesity and its relationship to the sex hormone milieu

A sexual dimorphism exists in which increased abdominal and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) – found in women and marked by low sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and high bioavailable testosterone (BT) – is related to the metabolic risk profile. In men, increased BT is related to decreased abdominal obesity and a decrease in the metabolic risk profile. In women, race differences have been found in androgenic sex steroids including SHBG and BT as well as central fat distribution, creating inherently greater metabolic risk for certain populations. Estrogen and estrogen receptor isoforms play a role in fat deposition and distribution and may influence the changes that occur during the menopausal transition. Androgenic sex steroids serve a mediating role, influencing VAT accumulation and its associated metabolic risk factors while VAT also serves a mediating role influencing the androgenic sex steroid-metabolic risk relationship in women. Furthermore, androgenic sex steroids and VAT may independently contribute to the variance in several metabolic variables associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and their antecedent conditions such as the metabolic syndrome. Race has been shown to modify the relationship between androgenic sex steroids and metabolic variables associated with risk for diabetes in Black and White women. Further research is warranted to examine the mechanisms involved in race differences. Total adiposity and central fat distribution in accordance with changes in the hormone and metabolic milieu influence breast cancer risk, which varies by race and menopausal status. These findings have broader implications for the study of health promotion/disease prevention in women

Metabolic and Physiologic Responses to Video Game Play in 7- to 10-Year-Old Boys

To examine the metabolic, physiologic, and hemostatic responses to action video game play in a group of young boys. Comparison study. Laboratory of Clinical and Applied Physiology, University of Miami. Twenty-one boys aged 7 to 10 years. Blood pressure monitored before and during game play and blood glucose and lactate levels measured before and immediately after game play. Measurements were continuously recorded throughout game play. Dependent t tests were used to compare measurements recorded at baseline and during or after game play. Effect sizes using the Cohen d were examined for comparisons. Significant increases from baseline were found for heart rate (18.8%; P<.001), systolic (22.3%; P<.001) and diastolic (5.8%; P = .006) blood pressure, ventilation (51.9%; P<.001), respiratory rate (54.8%; P<.001), oxygen consumption (49.0%; P<.001), and energy expenditure (52.9%; P<.001). Effect sizes for these comparisons were medium or large. No significant changes were found from baseline to after video game play for lactate (18.2% increase; P = .07) and glucose (0.9% decrease; P = .59) levels. Video game play results in significant increases in various metabolic and physiologic variables in young children. Thus, it should not be combined with television viewing for the evaluation of sedentary activities. The magnitude of change, however, was lower than that observed during standard physical exercise and below national health recommendations. As such, video game play should not be considered a substitute for regular physical activities that significantly stress the metabolic pathways required for the promotion of cardiovascular conditioning

Perception of Physical Fitness and Exercise Self-Efficacy and Its Contribution to the Relationship between Body Dissatisfaction and Physical Fitness in Female Minority Children

Body Dissatisfaction (BD) and low physical self-concept and exercise efficacy have been linked to poor physical fitness levels and adverse health outcomes in children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between BD, physical fitness, exercise self-efficacy, and self-Perception of Physical Fitness (PFP) in Latina and Black female children. Twenty-eight Latina and Black children enrolled in an elementary afterschool program, aged 8&ndash;12, completed surveys evaluating body dissatisfaction, exercise efficacy, PFP, and measures of physical fitness. Subjects exhibited moderate but significant inverse relationships between BD and PFP in strength (r = &minus;0.459), agility (r = &minus;0.382), aerobic fitness (r = &minus;0.354), and flexibility (r = &minus;0.461) (p &lt; 0.05 for all). There was a significant negative correlation between exercise efficacy and BD (r = &minus;4.2; p &lt; 0.05). Power (r = 0.51) and flexibility (r = 0.42) were the only physical fitness measures significantly and positively related to children&rsquo;s PFP (p &lt; 0.05). A significant medium inverse relationship was also found between BD and aerobic fitness scores (r = &minus;0.381; p &lt; 0.05). However, after controlling for exercise efficacy or perception of physical fitness, the relationship between BD and aerobic fitness was not significant (p &gt; 0.05). Findings suggest that positive PFP and positive performance in several physical fitness measures are associated with lower levels of BD in minority female children. Furthermore, evidence suggests exercise efficacy and PFP can mediate the relationship body image and aerobic fitness. These findings suggest that PFP, more so than measured physical fitness, was associated with lower levels of BD in minority female children. These results have important implications for programs designed to improve physical fitness and mental health in minority children

Physical, Behavioral, and Body Image Characteristics in a Tri-Racial Group of Adolescent Girls

The purpose of this study was to evaluate physical characteristics, nutrient intake, physical activity level, and body image in white (CC), African-American (AA), and Hispanic-American (HA) female adolescents. High school volunteers were solicited for this study. Self-reported information was used to determine subject characteristics, family income, physical activity, body image, and nutrient intake. Physical evaluations were used to determine body mass index, percent body fat, fat distribution, resting heart rate, and blood pressure (BP). Results showed that AA girls displayed significantly higher diastolic BP than HA girls (p = 0.029). CC adolescents showed greater physical activity (p = 0.010) and lower adiposity than HA adolescents (p = 0.048), as well as lower subscapular skinfold than AA adolescents (p = 0.018). AA adolescents selected a higher ideal body size than CC girls (p = 0.038). There was also a significant difference in percentage carbohydrates (p < 0.034) and cholesterol consumed (p < 0.016) among groups, with CC girls showing the highest values for carbohydrates and lowest values for cholesterol intake among groups. Given our findings of higher adiposity and lower physical activity levels in HA adolescents and greater diastolic BP levels and subscapular skinfold in AA adolescents, more interventions should be targeted toward improving health-related variables among minority populations