Search results for "sitting"
showing 10 items of 90 documents
Lifestyle Habits and Mental Health in Light of the Two COVID-19 Pandemic Waves in Sweden, 2020
2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has become a public health emergency of international concern, which may have affected lifestyle habits and mental health. Based on national health profile assessments, this study investigated perceived changes of lifestyle habits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and associations between perceived lifestyle changes and mental health in Swedish working adults. Among 5599 individuals (50% women, 46.3 years), the majority reported no change (sitting 77%, daily physical activity 71%, exercise 69%, diet 87%, alcohol 90%, and smoking 97%) due to the pandemic. Changes were more pronounced during the first wave (April–June) compared to the second (October–December). Women,…
Changes in Sitting Time, Screen Exposure and Physical Activity during COVID-19 Lockdown in South American Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study
2021
The worldwide prevalence of insufficient physical activity (PA) and prolonged sedentary behavior (SB) were high before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Measures that were taken by governments (such as home confinement) to control the spread of COVID-19 may have affected levels of PA and SB. This cross-sectional study among South American adults during the first months of COVID-19 aims to (i) compare sitting time (ST), screen exposure, moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) before and during lockdown to sociodemographic correlates and (ii) to assess the impact of lockdown on combinations of groups reporting meeting/not-meeting PA recommendations and enga…
Heterogeneity of muscle activity during sedentary behavior
2016
Replacing sitting by standing has been hypothesized to reduce the health risks of sitting, based on the assumption that muscles are passive during sitting and active during standing. Interventions have been more effective in overweight (OW) than in normal weight (NW) individuals, but subjects’ muscle activities have not been quantified. This study compared quadriceps and hamstring muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity between 57 NW (body mass index (BMI) 22.5 ± 1.5 kg/m2, female n = 36) and 27 OW (BMI 28.4 ± 2.9 kg/m2, female n = 8) subjects during non-fatiguing standing (15 s, EMGstanding) and sitting (30 min). EMG amplitude was normalized to EMG measured during maximal isometric knee e…
Effects of environmental intervention on sedentary time, musculoskeletal comfort and work ability in office workers
2016
Sit-stand workstations offer a potential strategy to reduce prolonged occupational sitting. This controlled intervention study examined the effects of an environmental intervention on occupational sedentary time, musculoskeletal comfort and work ability, and the usability of sit-stand workstations in office work via a self-reported questionnaire. The intervention group (n = 24) used sit-stand workstations during the 6-month intervention period, and the control group (n = 21) used traditional sitting workstations. The results showed that working at sit-stand workstations can reduce sitting time significantly compared to control workstations (-6.7% vs. 5.0%, p = .019), which is reallocated mo…
Effects of strength and endurance training on isometric muscle strength and walking speed in elderly women
1996
The separate effects of 18 weeks of intensive strength and endurance training on isometric knee extension (KE) and flexion (KF) strength and walking speed were studied in 76- to 78- year-old women. Maximal voluntary isometric force for both KE and KF was measured in a sitting position on a custom-made dynamometer chair at a knee angle of 60 degrees from full extension. Maximal walking speed was measured over a distance of 10 m. The endurance-trained women increased KE torque and KE torque/body mass after the first 9 weeks of training when compared with the controls. when comparing the baseline, 9 week and 18 week measurements within the groups separately, both the endurance- and strength-tr…
Acute Metabolic Response, Energy Expenditure, and EMG Activity in Sitting and Standing
2017
Purpose While merely standing up interrupts sedentary behavior, it is important to study acute metabolic responses during single bouts of sitting and standing to understand the physiological processes affecting the health of office workers. Methods Eighteen healthy middle-age women 49.4 ± 7.9 yr old (range: 40–64) with a body mass index of 23.4 ± 2.8 kg·m−2 volunteered for this laboratory-based randomized crossover trial where they performed 2 h desk work in either sitting or standing postures after overnight fasting. Muscle activity (normalized to walking at 5 km·h−1), respiratory gas exchange, and blood samples were assessed after glucose loading (75 g). Results Compared with seated work,…
Blood pressure control in treated hypertensive patients in daily practice of Latvian family physicians.
2011
Background and Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate blood pressure (BP) control level in treated hypertensive patients in Latvia and to compare their characteristics according to the adequacy of BP control. Materials and Methods. Family physicians collected information on demographic and clinical characteristics, and current antihypertensive treatment of 455 18–80-year-old patients with essential arterial hypertension treated for 1 or more years. Target BP was defined as values of <140/90 mm Hg for patients with low or moderate cardiovascular risk and <135/85–125/75 mm Hg for patients with high or very high risk. BP was measured in the office setting after a 5-minute rest …
Combined spectroscopic and theoretical analysis of the binding of a water-soluble perylene diimide to DNA/RNA polynucleotides and G-quadruplexes.
2021
We present here a combined spectroscopic and theoretical analysis of the binding of N,N’-bis(2-(1-piperazino)ethyl)-3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic acid diimide dichloride (PZPERY) to different biosubstrates. Absorbance titrations and circular dichroism experiments, melting studies and isothermal calorimetry (ITC) titrations reveal a picture where the binding to natural double-stranded DNA is very different from that to double and triple-stranded RNAs (poly(A)∙poly(U) and poly(U)∙poly(A)⁎poly(U)). As confirmed also by the structural and energetic details clarified by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, intercalation occurs for DNA, with a process driven by the combination of aggr…
A new testing device for the role of the trunk in force production and in balance control in disabled sitting athletes
2017
In cross-country sit-skiing all athletes compete in a sitting position, but some of them have the ability to control their trunk more than others. The trunk plays an essential role in two performance determinants: propulsion generation and balance maintenance. The aim of the study is to design a new testing device assessing athletes’ responses to these propulsion determinants. The new device was composed of a seat surrounded by a sensorized aluminum frame. To assess propulsion generation, two force sensors were mounted in the anterior and posterior side of the frame, while two force sensors were embedded in two ropes elongated from the top of the frame. To measure trunk control, the device …
‘Let’s Move It’ – a school-based multilevel intervention to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour among older adolescents in voca…
2016
Background Physical activity (PA) has been shown to decline during adolescence, and those with lower education have lower levels of activity already at this age, calling for targeted efforts for them. No previous study has demonstrated lasting effects of school-based PA interventions among older adolescents. Furthermore, these interventions have rarely targeted sedentary behaviour (SB) despite its relevance to health. The Let’s Move It trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness and the cost-effectiveness of a school-based, multi-level intervention, on PA and SB, among vocational school students. We hypothesise that the intervention is effective in increasing moderate-to-vigorous-intensity phy…