Profiling the University of British Columbia Doctor of Medicine undergraduate students’ physical activity knowledge, attitudes, and health behaviours

The growing Exercise is Medicine (EIM) initiative recommends that physicians assess and prescribe physical activity as part of their patient care to tackle the physical inactivity public health crisis (Sallis, 2009). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether University of British Columbia (UBC) Doctor of Medicine (MD) students have the physical activity related knowledge, attitudes, and health behaviours to include physical activity when prescribing treatment plans for their patients and whether the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours differ between years of the medical program. In a cross-sectional design, an online survey was administered to profile the UBC MD student population and investigate variables addressing the research questions. Statistics were used to examine frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and any significant (P < 0.05) differences between years of the medical program. The response rate was 18.9% (217/1150). Mean age (SD) of participants was 25.5 (3.9) years and the majority were female (60.7%), white (58.1%), single (72.9%), first year (41.6%), and from Vancouver Fraser (61.1%). The main findings were: 90.3% were aware of the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults, but their understanding was poor; 78.8% recalled seven hours or less time spent discussing physical activity, and 74.4% would like to see more time dedicated to learning how to talk to their patients about physical activity; 98.0% strongly agreed or agreed that physical activity counselling is important, only 57.0% felt they have sufficient knowledge, and only 36.6% felt confident in suggesting specific physical activity programs; 96.0% felt medical schools should encourage healthy lifestyles, but only 49.0% felt they do; 89.8% reported their health as excellent or good, but 29.5% identified as having mental health concerns; 76.8% were meeting Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines, and the mean (SD) Godin Leisure Time Exercise Score was 55.6 (25.4) which is a classification of Active. Participants were receptive to an EIM approach to increase physical activity levels and health outcomes of the population. Given the lack of necessary knowledge, training, and confidence to support EIM in clinical practice, recommendations for medical education, policy, and practice are provided to better equip medical students to positively impact global health

Determination of Nitrogen-Fixing Phylotypes in Lyngbya sp. and Microcoleus chthonoplastes Cyanobacterial Mats from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, Mexico

In many environments, biological nitrogen fixation can alleviate nitrogen limitation. The high rates of N(2) fixation often observed in cyanobacterial mats suggest that N(2) fixation may be an important source of N. In this study, organisms expressing nifH were identified in a Lyngbya sp.- and two Microcoleus chthonoplastes-dominated cyanobacterial mats. The pattern of nitrogenase activity was determined for the Lyngbya sp. mat and a Microcoleus chthonoplastes mat sampled directly in Guerrero Negro, Mexico. Their maximum rates were 23 and 15 μmol of C(2)H(4) m(−2) h(−1), respectively. The second Microcoleus mat, which was maintained in a greenhouse facility, had a maximum rate of 40 μmol of C(2)H(4) m(−2) h(−1). The overall diel pattern of nitrogenase activity in the three mats was similar, with the highest rates of activity occurring during the dark period. Analysis of nifH transcripts by reverse transcription-PCR revealed that several different organisms were expressing nifH during the dark period. nifH phylotypes recovered from these mats were similar to sequences from the unicellular cyanobacterial genera Halothece, Myxosarcina, and Synechocystis, the filamentous cyanobacterial genera Plectonema and Phormidium, and several bacterial nifH groups. The results of this study indicate that several different organisms, some of which were not previously known to fix nitrogen, are likely to be responsible for the observed dark-period nitrogenase activity in these cyanobacterial mats

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: Implications for practitioners, professional and organizations and strategies for dissemination and implementation

The new Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth emphasize the integration of all movement behaviours that occur over a whole day (i.e., sleep, sedentary behaviour, and light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity). These guidelines shift the paradigm away from considering each behaviour in isolation. This concept of the â whole day mattersâ not only calls for a change in thinking about movement but also for redevelopment of dissemination and implementation practice. Past guideline launch activities largely have aimed to create awareness through passive dissemination strategies (e.g., website posts, distribution of print resources). For the integrated guidelines to have public health impact, we must move beyond dissemination and awareness raising to implementation and behaviour change. Shifting this focus requires new, innovative approaches to intervention including interdisciplinary collaboration, policy change, and refocused service provision. The purpose of this paper is to identify practitioners, professionals and organizations with potential to disseminate and/or implement the guidelines, discuss possible implementation strategies for each of these groups, and describe the few resources being developed and those needed to support dissemination and implementation efforts. This discussion makes readily apparent the need for a well-funded, comprehensive, long-term dissemination, implementation, and evaluation plan to ensure uptake and activation of the guidelines.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

2019 Canadian guideline for physical activity throughout pregnancy

The objective is to provide guidance for pregnant women and obstetric care and exercise professionals on prenatal physical activity. The outcomes evaluated were maternal, fetal or neonatal morbidity, or fetal mortality during and following pregnancy. Literature was retrieved through searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, Education Resources Information Center, SPORTDiscus, ClinicalTrials.gov and the Trip Database from inception up to 6 January 2017. Primary studies of any design were eligible, except case studies. Results were limited to English-language, Spanish-language or French-language materials. Articles related to maternal physical activity during pregnancy reporting on maternal, fetal or neonatal morbidity, or fetal mortality were eligible for inclusion. The quality of evidence was rated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology. The Guidelines Consensus Panel solicited feedback from end users (obstetric care providers, exercise professionals, researchers, policy organisations, and pregnant and postpartum women). The development of these guidelines followed the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II instrument. The benefits of prenatal physical activity are moderate and no harms were identified; therefore, the difference between desirable and undesirable consequences (net benefit) is expected to be moderate. The majority of stakeholders and end users indicated that following these recommendations would be feasible, acceptable and equitable. Following these recommendations is likely to require minimal resources from both individual and health systems perspectives

Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep1

Leaders from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology convened representatives of national organizations, content experts, methodologists, stakeholders, and end-users who followed rigorous and transparent guideline development procedures to create the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep. These novel guidelines for children and youth aged 5–17 years respect the natural and intuitive integration of movement behaviours across the whole day (24-h period). The development process was guided by the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument and systematic reviews of evidence informing the guidelines were assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Four systematic reviews (physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, integrated behaviours) examining the relationships between and among movement behaviours and several health indicators were completed and interpreted by expert consensus. Complementary compositional analyses were performed using Canadian Health Measures Survey data to examine the relationships between movement behaviours and health indicators. A stakeholder survey was employed (n = 590) and 28 focus groups/stakeholder interviews (n = 104) were completed to gather feedback on draft guidelines. Following an introductory preamble, the guidelines provide evidence-informed recommendations for a healthy day (24 h), comprising a combination of sleep, sedentary behaviours, light-, moderate-, and vigorous-intensity physical activity. Proactive dissemination, promotion, implementation, and evaluation plans have been prepared in an effort to optimize uptake and activation of the new guidelines. Future research should consider the integrated relationships among movement behaviours, and similar integrated guidelines for other age groups should be developed