Effect of an individually tailored one-year energy balance programme on body weight, body composition and lifestyle in recent retirees: a cluster randomised controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The increased prevalence of overweight and obesity warrants preventive actions, particularly among people in transitional stages associated with lifestyle changes, such as occupational retirement. The purpose is to investigate the effect of a one year low-intensity computer-tailored energy balance programme among recent retirees on waist circumference, body weight and body composition, blood pressure, physical activity and dietary intake.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A randomised controlled trial was conducted among recent retirees (N = 413; mean age 59.5 years). Outcome measures were assessed using anthropometry, bio-impedance, blood pressure measurement and questionnaires.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Waist circumference, body weight and blood pressure decreased significantly in men of the intervention and control group, but no significant between-group-differences were observed at 12 or at 24-months follow-up. A significant effect of the programme was only observed on waist circumference (-1.56 cm (95%CI: -2.91 to -0.21)) at 12 month follow up among men with low education (n = 85). Physical activity and dietary behaviours improved in both the intervention and control group during the intervention period. Although, these behaviours changed more favourably in the intervention group, these between-group-differences were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The multifaceted computer-tailored programme for recent retirees did not appear to be effective. Apparently the transition to occupational retirement and/or participation in the study had a greater impact than the intervention programme.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials NCT00122213.</p

An Updated Review of Interventions that Include Promotion of Physical Activity for Adult Men

The marked disparity in life expectancy between men and women suggests men are a vulnerable group requiring targeted health promotion programs. As such, there is an increasing need for health promotion strategies that effectively engage men with their health and/or illness management. Programs that promote physical activity could significantly improve the health of men. Although George et al. (Sports Med 42(3):281, 30) reviewed physical activity programs involving adult males published between 1990 and 2010, developments in men’s health have prompted the emergence of new sex- and gender-specific approaches targeting men. The purpose of this review was to: (1) extend and update the review undertaken by George et al. (Sports Med 42(3):281, 30) concerning the effectiveness of physical activity programs in males, and (2) evaluate the integration of gender-specific influences in the content, design, and delivery of men’s health promotion programs. A search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and the SPORTDiscus databases for articles published between January 2010 and August 2014 was conducted. In total, 35 studies, involving evaluations of 31 programs, were identified. Findings revealed that a variety of techniques and modes of delivery could effectively promote physical activity among men. Though the majority of programs were offered exclusively to men, 12 programs explicitly integrated gender-related influences in male-specific programs in ways that recognized men’s interests and preferences. Innovations in male-only programs that focus on masculine ideals and gender influences to engage men in increasing their physical activity hold potential for informing strategies to promote other areas of men’s health

Overall and differentiated sensory responses to cardiopulmonary exercise test in patients with cystic fibrosis: kinetics and ability to predict peak oxygen uptake

International audienc

High bicarbonate assimilation in the dark by Arctic bacteria

10 páginas, 4 figuras, 1 tabla.Although both autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms incorporate CO2 in the dark through different metabolic pathways, this process has usually been disregarded in oxic marine environments. We studied the significance and mediators of dark bicarbonate assimilation in dilution cultures inoculated with winter Arctic seawater. At stationary phase, bicarbonate incorporation rates were high (0.5–2.5 μg C L−1 d−1) and correlated with rates of bacterial heterotrophic production, suggesting that most of the incorporation was due to heterotrophs. Accordingly, very few typically chemoautotrophic bacteria were detected by 16S rRNA gene cloning. The genetic analysis of the biotin carboxylase gene accC putatively involved in archaeal CO2 fixation did not yield any archaeal sequence, but amplified a variety of bacterial carboxylases involved in fatty acids biosynthesis, anaplerotic pathways and leucine catabolism. Gammaproteobacteria dominated the seawater cultures (40–70% of cell counts), followed by Betaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria as shown by catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARDFISH). Both Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria were active in leucine and bicarbonate uptake, while Flavobacteria did not take up bicarbonate, as measured by microautoradiography combined with CARDFISH. Within Gammaproteobacteria, Pseudoalteromonas-Colwellia and Oleispira were very active in bicarbonate uptake (ca. 30 and 70% of active cells, respectively), while the group Arctic96B-16 did not take up bicarbonate. Our results suggest that, potentially, the incorporation of CO2 can be relevant for the metabolism of specific Arctic heterotrophic phylotypes, promoting the maintenance of their cell activity and/or longer survival under resource depleted conditions.This work is a contribution to the International Polar Year – Circumpolar Flaw Lead system study (IPY-CFL 2007/2008) lead by D. Barber (University of Manitoba) supported through grants from the Canadian IPY Federal Program Office, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council, grant BOREAL (CLG2007-28872-E/ANT) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to C.P.-A., and grants from the Swedish Research Council to S.B and L.A.S. L.A.S. was supported by a Marie Curie Intraeuropean Fellowship (CHEMOARC PIEF-GA-2008- 221121), E.O.C by the Spanish grant CGL2009-13318- BOS, and P. E. G by a Marie Curie grant (CRENARC MEIF-CT-2007-040247).Peer reviewe