Search results for "physical fitne"

2013

Background: Nonpharmacological secondary prevention of coronary heart disease is considered a safe and effective measure to substantially reduce mortality. Despite the effectiveness of lifestyle changes, the compliance rate of patients is very low mainly due to psychosocial barriers. Psychotherapeutic approaches that address how persons think about themselves and their behaviors appear to have a significant potential for improving health behavior. Methods/design: Against this background, our study aims to examine the feasibility and effects of a Psychodynamic Motivation and Training program (PMT) as compared to one session of advice in exercise training (EX) and treatment as usual (TAU). Fo…

2020

Introduction/Purpose: Physical activity and sedentary time may associate with physical fitness and body composition. Yet, there exists some observational studies that have investigated the associations of device-based measures of sedentary time and physical activity (PA) with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body composition but associations with muscular fitness (MF) are less studied.Methods: Objective sedentary time and physical activity was measured by a hip worn accelerometer from 415 young adult men (age: mean 26, standard deviation 7 years). Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) (CRF) was determined using a graded cycle ergometer test until exhaustion. Maximal force of lower extremiti…

Effects of strength training on muscle power and serum hormones in middle-aged and older men.

2001

Effects of 16-wk strength training on maximal strength and power performance of the arm and leg muscles and serum concentrations [testosterone (T), free testosterone (FT), and cortisol] were examined in 11 middle-aged (M46; 46 ± 2 yr) and 11 older men (M64; 64 ± 2 yr). During the 16-wk training, the relative increases in maximal strength and muscle power output of the arm and leg muscles were significant in both groups ( P < 0.05–0.001), with no significant differences between the two groups. The absolute increases were higher ( P < 0.01–0.05) in M46 than in M64 mainly during the last 8 wk of training. No significant changes were observed for serum T and FT concentrations. Analysis o…

European fitness landscape for children and adolescents: updated reference values, fitness maps and country rankings based on nearly 8 million test r…

2023

Objectives (1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness in European children and adolescents aged 6–18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multilanguage fitness platform (FitBack); (2) to provide comparisons across European countries. Methods This study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity and fitness at population level (ALPHA) test battery as it comprises tests with the h…

Effects of Physical Exercise on Inflammatory Markers of Atherosclerosis

2011

It is well established that physically fit individuals have a reduced risk of developing CVD (cardiovascular disease) and other age-related chronic disorders. Regular exercise is an established therapeutic intervention with an enormous range of benefits. Chronic low-grade systemic inflammation may be involved in atherosclerosis, diabetes and in pathogenesis of several chronic pathological conditions; recent findings confirm that physical activity induces an increase in the systemic levels of a number of cytokines and chemokines with anti-inflammatory properties. The possibility that regular physical exercise exerts anti-inflammation activity, being the interaction between contracting muscle…

Self-Efficacy, Planning, or a Combination of Both? A Longitudinal Experimental Study Comparing Effects of Three Interventions on Adolescents’ Body Fat

2016

Author(s): Luszczynska, Aleksandra; Hagger, Martin S; Banik, Anna; Horodyska, Karolina; Knoll, Nina; Scholz, Urte | Abstract: BackgroundThe superiority of an intervention combining two sets of theory-based behavior change techniques targeting planning and self-efficacy over an intervention targeting planning only or self-efficacy only has rarely been investigated.PurposeWe compared the influence of self-efficacy, planning, and self-efficacy+planning interventions with an education-based control condition on adolescents' body fat, assuming mediating effects of respective social cognitive variables and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The moderating role of the built environment…

Ķengaragā dzīvojošo jauniešu veselība dzīvesveida paradumi

2018

Bakalaura darbs: “Ķengaragā dzīvojošu jauniešu veselīga dzīvesveida paradumi.” Darbā iekļautas 71 lpp., 26 attēli, 5 tabulas un 2 pielikumi. Bakalaura darba mērķis ir noskaidrot, kādi ir Ķengaragā dzīvojošo jauniešu veselīga dzīvesveida paradumi. Pētnieciskie jautājumi: kā jaunieši interpretē veselīgu dzīvesveidu? Kādas ir jauniešu veselīga dzīvesveida prakses un aktivitātes? Kādi faktori ietekmē jauniešu veselīga dzīvesveida paradumus? Kā teorētiskā bāze izmantota zinātniskā literatūra, iepriekš veikti pētījumi. Empīriskā bāze dati, kurus iegūs ar anketēšanu un dziļajam intervijām. Darba teorētiskā daļa sastāv no divām nodaļām. Pirmajā nodaļā skaidrots jauniešu un veselīga dzīvesveida jēdz…

Determinants of dynamic inspiratory muscle strength in healthy trained elderly.

2021

Background: The S-Index assessed by means of electronic devices is a measure of Inspiratory Muscle Strength (IMS) that highly correlates with the maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP). The variables involved when using regression models for the prediction of IMS/MIP depend on both the sample characteristics and the device or protocol used. In light of the scarce information on the influence of physical activity (PA) on IMS in healthy older adults (OA), together with the incorporation of new assessment devices, the objectives of this research are: 1) to determine which factors influence the IMS in a group of trained OA, using a portable electronic device; and 2) to propose a regression model to…

The importance of standard operating procedures in physical fitness assessment: a brief review

2022

Abstract Background Physical fitness status is a key aspect of health and, consequently, it is important to create and adopt appropriate interventions to maintain or improve it, and assess it using valid measures. While in other testing contexts, standard operating procedures (SOPs) are commonly and widely adopted, in physical fitness testing, a variety of unstandardized testing protocols are proposed. Aims The topic of this review was to evaluate the existing literature on SOPs in physical fitness assessment and to provide guidelines on how SOPs could be created and adopted. Method The electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were screened and original, peer-reviewed studies …

Physical Fitness Evaluation of School Children in Southern Italy: A Cross Sectional Evaluation

2018

The aim of this work was to evaluate the fitness levels of different physical components in schoolchildren in southern Italy and identify age-related effects of physical performance. One hundred and fifty-four schoolchildren with ages ranging between 6 and 10 years (age 8.1 ± 1.45 years; 33.70 ± 10.25 kg; 131.50 ± 13.60 cm) were recruited for the investigation. Each scholar underwent a fitness-test battery composed of five elements. A Hand-Grip Strength Test to assess the strength of the hand muscles, a Standing Broad Jump Test to assess lower body explosive strength, a Sit-Up Test to exhaustion to evaluate abdominal muscular endurance, a 4 × 10-m Shuttle Run Test to assess agility, and a 2…