Search results for "physical activity"
showing 10 items of 1472 documents
A Self-Determined Exploration of Adolescents’ and Parents’ Experiences Derived From a Multidimensional School-Based Physical Activity Intervention
2022
Purpose: Adolescents’ and parents’ experiences within a multidimensional school-based physical activity intervention grounded on self-determination theory were explored. Method: Qualitative data from 29 adolescents (aged 15–17 years) and three parents on behalf of the total students’ families were collected via participant observation (research diary), semistructured interviews, and focus groups. Results: Adolescents perceived that the application of motivational strategies, based on self-determination theory, satisfied their basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, favored self-determined motivation, and gave rise to adaptive consequences (improved physical activ…
“Brainstorming”: Extracellular Vesicles in Physical Activity and Neuronal Health
2020
Physical and mental activity are known to contribute to brain health and overall longevity. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have attracted attention for their ability to transport bioactive cargo through various body-fluids and their role in tissue crosstalk and regeneration. Targeted intercellular communication processes, including those facilitated by EVs, are of vital importance for the complex architecture and function of the brain. Activated neurons trigger the transfer of EVs from myelinating oligodendrocytes to neurons, promoting neuronal long-term maintenance and survival. Likewise, physical activity leads to the liberation of EVs into the circulation, while the molecular link between …
Adolescent Feeding: Nutritional Risk Factors
2018
AbstractThe aim of this review is to describe adolescent nutritional requirements from a scientific, nutritional, and psychosocial point of view, emphasizing the main risks of malnutrition at this age. Currently, too many teenagers are alone at home and prepare their own meals. The influence of friends replaces parental rules. The habits of adolescents are characterized by a tendency to skip meals, especially breakfast, and, less frequently, the midday meal; to purchase carry-out meals away from home; to consume snacks, especially sweets; to eat at fast food restaurants, almost always with high-calorie content; and to eat fried foods, soft drinks, and sweets. Toxic habits, such as smoking, …
Long-term physical activity modulates brain processing of somatosensory stimuli: Evidence from young male twins.
2016
Leisure-time physical activity is a key contributor to physical and mental health. Yet the role of physical activity in modulating cortical function is poorly known. We investigated whether precognitive sensory brain functions are associated with the level of physical activity. Physical activity history (3-yr-LTMET), physiological measures and somatosensory mismatch response (sMMR) in EEG were recorded in 32 young healthy twins. In all participants, 3-yr-LTMET correlated negatively with body fat%, r = −0.77 and positively with VO2max, r = 0.82. The fat% and VO2max differed between 15 physically active and 17 inactive participants. Trend toward larger sMMR was seen in inactive compared to ac…
Effects of intrinsic aerobic capacity, aging and voluntary running on skeletal muscle sirtuins and heat shock proteins
2016
Aim Sirtuins are proteins that connect energy metabolism, oxidative stress and aging. Expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps) is regulated by heat shock factors (HSFs) in response to various environmental and physiological stresses, such as oxidative stress. Oxidative stress accumulates during aging which makes cells more prone to DNA damage. Although many experimental animal models have been designed to study the effects of knockdown or overexpression of sirtuins, HSFs and Hsps, little is known about how aging per se affects their expression. Here we study the impact of intrinsic aerobic capacity, aging and voluntary exercise on the levels of sirtuins, HSFs and Hsps in skeletal muscle. Me…
Does telomere length predict decline in physical functioning in older twin sisters during an 11-year follow-up?
2016
Background: Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) is known to be associated with mortality, but its association with age-related decline in physical functioning and the development of disability is less clear. This study examined the associations between LTL and physical functioning, and investigated whether LTL predicts level of physical functioning over an 11- year follow-up. Methods: Older mono- (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin sisters (n=386) participated in the study. Relative LTL was measured by qPCR at baseline. Physical functioning was measured by 6-min walking distance and level of physical activity (PA). Walking distance was measured at baseline and at 3-year follow-up. PA was assessed by q…
Role of Regular Physical Activity in Neuroprotection against Acute Ischemia
2020
One of the major obstacles that prevents an effective therapeutic intervention against ischemic stroke is the lack of neuroprotective agents able to reduce neuronal damage; this results in frequent evolution towards a long-term disability with limited alternatives available to aid in recovery. Nevertheless, various treatment options have shown clinical efficacy. Neurotrophins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), widely produced throughout the brain, but also in distant tissues such as the muscle, have demonstrated regenerative properties with the potential to restore damaged neural tissue. Neurotrophins play a significant role in both protection and recovery of function followi…
Effect of chronic exercise on myocardial electrophysiological heterogeneity and stability. Role of intrinsic cholinergic neurons: A study in the isol…
2018
[EN] A study has been made of the effect of chronic exercise on myocardial electrophysiological heterogeneity and stability, as well as of the role of cholinergic neurons in these changes. Determinations in hearts from untrained and trained rabbits on a treadmill were performed. The hearts were isolated and perfused. A pacing electrode and a recording multielectrode were located in the left ventricle. The parameters determined during induced VF, before and after atropine (1 mu M), were: fibrillatory cycle length (VV), ventricular functional refractory period (FRPVF), normalized energy (NE) of the fibrillatory signal and its coefficient of variation (CV), and electrical ventricular activatio…
Five-year follow-up results of aerobic and impact training on bone mineral density in early breast cancer patients
2021
Summary A 12-month exercise program reversibly prevented hip bone loss in premenopausal women with early breast cancer. The bone-protective effect was maintained for 2 years after the end of the program but was lost thereafter. Purpose Breast cancer survivors are at an increased risk for osteoporosis and fracture. This 5-year follow-up of a randomized impact exercise intervention trial evaluated the maintenance of training effects on bone among breast cancer patients. Methods Five hundred seventy-three early breast cancer patients aged 35–68 years and treated with adjuvant therapy were allocated into a 12-month exercise program or a control group. Four hundred forty-four patients (77%) were…
Aerobic Exercise and Pharmacological Treatments Counteract Cachexia by Modulating Autophagy in Colon Cancer
2016
Recent studies have correlated physical activity with a better prognosis in cachectic patients, although the underlying mechanisms are not yet understood. In order to identify the pathways involved in the physical activity-mediated rescue of skeletal muscle mass and function, we investigated the effects of voluntary exercise on cachexia in colon carcinoma (C26)-bearing mice. Voluntary exercise prevented loss of muscle mass and function, ultimately increasing survival of C26-bearing mice. We found that the autophagic flux is overloaded in skeletal muscle of both colon carcinoma murine models and patients, but not in running C26-bearing mice, thus suggesting that exercise may release the auto…