Sports or physical activity for the inactive world:should we be encouraging safer physical activity patterns more than sports?

The scientific evidence on the positive effects of physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle is well established. Physical activity has both direct and indirect effects for preventing several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), obesity, diabetes and cancer.1 Healthcare policies across the globe have developed numerous strategies to encourage physical activity with several calls for action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity, such as calls for action in the US Department for health and Human Services in 2001, the UK House of Commons Health Committee report on obesity and the Department of Health physical activity guidelines in 2004.2-4 Moreover, numerous implementation initiatives have encouraged physical activity and sports participation with an aim of achieving health outcomes and cost saving strategies for healthcar

High cycling cadence reduces carbohydrate oxidation at given low intensity metabolic rate

Cycling cadence (RPM)-related differences in blood lactate concentration (BLC) increase with increasing exercise intensity, whilst corresponding divergences in oxygen uptake (VO2) and carbon dioxde production (VCO2) decrease. We tested the hypothesis, that a higher RPM reduces the fraction (%) of the VO2 used for carbohydrate oxidation (relCHO) at a given BLC. Eight males (23.9 +/- 1.6 yrs; 177 +/- 3 cm; 70.3 +/- 3.4 kg) performed incremental load tests at 50 and 100 RPM. BLC, VO2 and VCO2 were measured. At respiratory exchange ratios (RER) <1, relCHO were calculated and the constant determining 50% relCHO (kCHO) was approximated as a function of the BLC. At submaximal workload, VO2 and RER were lower (p<0.001) at 50 than at 100 RPM. No differences were observed in VO2peak (3.96 +/- 0.22 vs. 4.00 +/ 0.25 l min-1) and RERpeak (1.18 +/- 0.02 vs. 1.15 +/- 0.02). BLC was lower (p<0.001) at 50 than at 100 RPM irrespective of cycling intensity. At 50 RPM, kCHO (4.2 +/- 1.4 (mmol l-1)3) was lower (p<0.05) than at 100 RPM (5.9 +/- 1.9 (mmol l-1)3). This difference in kCHO reflects a reduced CHO oxidation at a given BLC at 100 than at 50 RPM. At a low exercise intensity, a higher cycling cadence can substantially reduce the reliance on CHO at a given metabolic rate and/or BLC

Yerba Maté (Illex Paraguariensis) ingestion augments fat oxidation and energy expenditure during exercise at various submaximal intensities

Methods: Fourteen healthy males and females were randomised in a repeated measures crossover experimental design. All participants ingested either 1000 mg of YM or placebo capsules (PLC) 60 min before performing two incremental exercise ergometry tests. Power output was initiated at and increased by 0.5 W.kg-1of body weight every 3 min stage, until reaching peak oxygen uptake V O 2 Peak. Expired gases and stoichiometric indirect calorimetry were used to analyse FAO and EEFAO. Capillary blood samples were collected and analysed for blood lactate concentration (BLC) at rest and at each submaximal and maximal power output. Results: YM significantly increased FAO and EEFAOby 24% in all submaximal exercise intensities below 70% of V O 2 peak (p < 0.001, ANOVA main effects) with post hoc tests showing a higher FAO and EEFAO(p < 0.05) at the lower exercise intensities (e.g. 0.26 ± 0.09 vs. 0.35 ± 0.10 and 0.25 ± 0.12 vs. 0.33 ± 0.11 g.min-1at 40 and 50% of V O 2 peak respectively). These changes were combined with a trend towards a decrease in BLC (P = 0.066), and without a significant difference in V O 2 peak, peak power, peak RER, or peak BLC. Conclusions: Acute YM ingestion augments the exercise dependent increase in FAO and EEFAOat submaximal exercise intensities without negatively affecting maximal exercise performance, suggesting a potential role for YM ingestion to increase the exercise effectiveness for weight loss and sports performance. Background: Ingesting Yerba Maté (YM) has become widely popular for health promotion, obesity prevention and body weight reduction, primarily due its thermogenic effectiveness. However, the YM effects on fat metabolism during exercise, when fat metabolism is already increased several fold, are unknown. The present study investigated whether acute YM ingestion augments fat metabolism parameters of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and energy expenditure derived from FAO (EEFAO) during exercise with several intensities

Editorial: Spotlight on aging: anthropological factors impacting physiology, prevention and management of aging conditions

Human longevity and the increased life expectancy have come with concerning burdens of ageing related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including obesity, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Although people of all age groups, regions, and countries are affected by NCDs, these conditions are often associated with older age groups (WHO, 2021). Ageing is characterised by physical and mental decline of the human organism, which is a complex interaction between very diverse mechanisms of anthropometry and body composition, metabolic, hormonal, and neuromuscular. For example, most recent discoveries explained ageing development by associating relative bone mass changes and the growing body size with insulin production mechanisms throughout the life course (Lin et al., 2021)

Antiviral Functional Foods and Exercise Lifestyle Prevention of Coronavirus

Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing global mortality and lockdown burdens. A compromised immune system is a known risk factor for all viral influenza infections. Functional foods optimize the immune system capacity to prevent and control pathogenic viral infections, while physical activity augments such protective benefits. Exercise enhances innate and adaptive immune systems through acute, transient, and long-term adaptations to physical activity in a dose-response relationship. Functional foods prevention of non-communicable disease can be translated into protecting against respiratory viral infections and COVID-19. Functional foods and nutraceuticals within popular diets contain immune-boosting nutraceuticals, polyphenols, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, sterols, pigments, unsaturated fatty-acids, micronutrient vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, B6, B12, C, D, E, and folate, and trace elements, including zinc, iron, selenium, magnesium, and copper. Foods with antiviral properties include fruits, vegetables, fermented foods and probiotics, olive oil, fish, nuts and seeds, herbs, roots, fungi, amino acids, peptides, and cyclotides. Regular moderate exercise may contribute to reduce viral risk and enhance sleep quality during quarantine, in combination with appropriate dietary habits and functional foods. Lifestyle and appropriate nutrition with functional compounds may offer further antiviral approaches for public health

Maximal Fat Metabolism Explained by Lactate-Carbohydrate Model

(1) Background: Maximal fat oxidation (MFO), its associated exercise intensity (Fatmax) and the cross-over point (COP) are known indirect calorimetry-based diagnostics for whole-body metabolic health and exercise. However, large inter- and intra-individual variability in determining their corresponding intensity makes their use inconsistent, whether the intensity is based on power output or oxygen uptake. Blood lactate concentration (BLC) has often reflected a range in MFO and COP, which may offer another non-indirect calorimetry dimension based on the near equilibrium between lactate and pyruvate at the molecular level, which biochemically determines an interchange between lactate and relative rate of carbohydrate (relCHO) and relative rate of fat utilization (relFAO). This paper proposes a new testing approach describing relCHO as a function of BLC, with an individualized half-maximal activation constant of relCHO (kel), to explain and predict the variability in MFO, Fatmax and COP. (2) Methods: Following ethical approval, twenty-one healthy males participated in the incremental cardiorespiratory maximal test, and capillary BLC was measured. Indirect calorimetry relCHO and relFAO were calculated, and a constant kel that reflected 50% of CHO saturation level was estimated as a sigmoid function of BLC (mmol&middot;L&minus;1): relCHO = 100/(1 + kel/BLC2). (3) Results: 86% of relCHO variability was explained by BLC levels. The individualized kel estimations, which were 1.82 &plusmn; 0.95 (min/max 0.54/4.4) (mmol&middot;L&minus;1)2 independently explained 55% MFO and 44% of COP variabilities. Multiple regression analysis resulted in kel as the highest independent predictor of Fatmax (adjusted r-square = 22.3%, p &lt; 0.05), whilst classic intensity-based predictors (peak power, maximal oxygen uptake, fixed BLC at 4 mmol&middot;L&minus;1) were not significant predictors. (4) Conclusions: The BLC-relCHO model, with its predictor kel explains the inter- and intra-individual variability in MFO, its exercise intensity Fatmax and power outs at COP through dynamic changes in BLC, fat and carbohydrates regardless of the intensity at which exercise takes place. kel capability as a predictor of MFO, Fatmax and COP independently of their associated intensities provides a new diagnostic tool in physiological exercise testing for health and exercise performance