Taking a partnership approach to embed physical activity in local policy and practice: a Bradford District case study.

Background: Supportive policy is an important component of a whole-systems approach to increasing physical activity and reducing inequalities. There is a growing body of literature surrounding the design and effectiveness of national policy approaches to physical activity, but evidence related to local-level approaches is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine 'what works', and identify factors underpinning change, focused on work to embed physical activity in local policy and practice in Bradford, UK.

Enhancing clinical and public health interpretation of accelerometer-assessed physical activity with age-referenced values based on UK Biobank data.

Background: Higher accelerometer-assessed volume and intensity of physical activity (PA) have been associated with a longer life expectancy but can be difficult to translate into recommended doses of PA. We aimed to: (a) improve interpretability by producing UK Biobank age-referenced centiles for PA volume and intensity; (b) inform public-health messaging by examining how adding recommended quantities of moderate and vigorous PA affect PA volume and intensity.

Methods: 92,480 UK Biobank participants aged 43-80 years with wrist-worn accelerometer data were included.

Physical Activity Assessed by Wrist and Thigh Worn Accelerometry and Associations with Cardiometabolic Health.

Physical activity is increasingly being captured by accelerometers worn on different body locations. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between physical activity volume (average acceleration), intensity (intensity gradient) and cardiometabolic health when assessed by a thigh-worn and wrist-worn accelerometer. A sample of 659 office workers wore an Axivity AX3 on the non-dominant wrist and an activPAL3 micro on the right thigh concurrently for 24 h a day for 8 days.

Accelerometer-Assessed Physical Activity in People with Type 2 Diabetes: Accounting for Sleep when Determining Associations with Markers of Health.

High physical activity levels during wake are beneficial for health, while high movement levels during sleep are detrimental to health. Our aim was to compare the associations of accelerometer-assessed physical activity and sleep disruption with adiposity and fitness using standardized and individualized wake and sleep windows. People (N = 609) with type 2 diabetes wore an accelerometer for up to 8 days.

Stepping up with GGIR: Validity of step cadence derived from wrist-worn research-grade accelerometers using the verisense step count algorithm.

The Verisense Step Count Algorithm facilitates generation of steps from wrist-worn accelerometers. Based on preliminary evidence suggesting a proportional bias with overestimation at low steps/day, but underestimation at high steps/day, the algorithm parameters have been revised. We aimed to establish validity of the original and revised algorithms relative to waist-worn ActiGraph step cadence.

Driven Radical Motion Enhances Cryptochrome Magnetoreception: Toward Live Quantum Sensing.

The mechanism underlying magnetoreception has long eluded explanation. A popular hypothesis attributes this sense to the quantum coherent spin dynamics and spin-selective recombination reactions of radical pairs in the protein cryptochrome. However, concerns about the validity of the hypothesis have been raised because unavoidable inter-radical interactions, such as the strong electron-electron dipolar coupling, appear to suppress its sensitivity.

Physical activity volume, intensity, and incident cardiovascular disease.

Aims: The interplay between physical activity (PA) volume and intensity is poorly understood in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study aimed to investigate the role of PA intensity, over and above volume, in relation to incident CVD.

Methods And Results: Data were from 88 412 UK Biobank middle-aged adults (58% women) without prevalent CVD who wore accelerometers on their dominant wrist for 7 days, from which we estimated total PA energy expenditure (PAEE) using population-specific validation.

Importance of Overall Activity and Intensity of Activity for Cardiometabolic Risk in Those with and Without a Chronic Disease.

Introduction: Higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower cardiometabolic risk. However, the relative contribution of overall activity and the intensity of activity are unclear. Our aim was to determine the relative contribution of overall activity and intensity distribution of activity to cardiometabolic risk in a cross-sectional analysis of apparently healthy office workers and in people with one or more chronic disease.

Differences in Accelerometer-Measured Patterns of Physical Activity and Sleep/Rest Between Ethnic Groups and Age: An Analysis of UK Biobank.

Background: Physical activity and sleep are important for health; whether device-measured physical activity and sleep differ by ethnicity is unclear. This study aimed to compare physical activity and sleep/rest in white, South Asian (SA), and black adults by age.

Methods: Physical activity and sleep/rest quality were assessed using accelerometer data from UK Biobank.

Enhancing the Awareness of Modifiable Risk Factors for Cancer Prevention in the Alabama Black Belt Region: A Follow-up Study.

We determined the profile of participants in the multi-level annual marathons held in Alabama Black Belt counties in terms of lifestyle characteristics and considered how these characteristics relate to a family history of cancer. Data on socioeconomic, health, and lifestyle characteristics of respondents were collected during the Annual Healthy Lifestyle Marathons of 2013-2019. These events were five miles in length and allowed participants to walk, bike, or run.

Normative wrist-worn accelerometer values for self-paced walking and running: a walk in the park.

This study aimed to a) determine whether wrist acceleration varies by accelerometer brand, wear location, and age for self-paced "slow", "normal" and "brisk" walking; b) develop normative acceleration values for self-paced walking and running for adults. One-hundred-and-three adults (40-79 years) completed self-paced "slow", "normal" and "brisk" walks, while wearing three accelerometers (GENEActiv, Axivity, ActiGraph) on each wrist. A sub-sample (n = 22) completed a self-paced run.

Evaluation of an 8-Week Vegan Diet on Plasma Trimethylamine-N-Oxide and Postchallenge Glucose in Adults with Dysglycemia or Obesity.

Background: Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a metabolite generated by the gut in response (in part) to meat consumption, is linked to poor cardiometabolic health.

Objectives: We investigate the effect of an 8-week vegan diet, followed by a 4-week period of unrestricted diet, on glucose tolerance and plasma TMAO in human omnivores with obesity or dysglycemia.

Methods: This interventional single-group prospective trial involved 23 regular meat eaters with dysglycemia [glycated hemoglobin ≥ 5.

Comparing 24 h physical activity profiles: Office workers, women with a history of gestational diabetes and people with chronic disease condition(s).

This study demonstrates a novel data-driven method of summarising accelerometer data to profile physical activity in three diverse groups, compared with cut-point determined moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). GGIR was used to generate average daily acceleration, intensity gradient, time in MVPA and MX metrics (acceleration above which the most active X-minutes accumulate) from wrist-worn accelerometer data from three datasets: office-workers (OW, N = 697), women with a history of post-gestational diabetes (PGD, N = 267) and adults with ≥1 chronic disease (CD, N = 1,325). Average acceleration and MVPA were lower in CD, but not PGD, relative to OW (-5.

Association of Timing and Balance of Physical Activity and Rest/Sleep With Risk of COVID-19: A UK Biobank Study.

Behavioral lifestyle factors are associated with cardiometabolic disease and obesity, which are risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to investigate whether physical activity, and the timing and balance of physical activity and sleep/rest, were associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity and COVID-19 severity. Data from 91,248 UK Biobank participants with accelerometer data and complete covariate and linked COVID-19 data to July 19, 2020, were included.

Management of fatigue with physical activity and behavioural change support in vasculitis: a feasibility study.

Objective: Patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) experience high levels of fatigue, despite disease remission. This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a definitive randomized controlled trial of a behavioural-based physical activity intervention to support fatigue self-management in AAV patients.

Methods: AAV patients in disease remission with fatigue (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 general fatigue domain ≥14) were randomly allocated to intervention or standard care in this single-centre open-label randomized controlled feasibility study.

Physical Activity for Bone Health: How Much and/or How Hard?

Purpose: High-impact physical activity is associated with bone health, but higher volumes of lower-intensity activity may also be important. The aims of this study were to: 1) investigate the relative importance of volume and intensity of physical activity accumulated during late adolescence for bone health at age 23 yr; and 2) illustrate interpretation of the results.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of data from the Iowa Bone Development Study, a longitudinal study of bone health from childhood through to young adulthood.

Enhancing the value of accelerometer-assessed physical activity: meaningful visual comparisons of data-driven translational accelerometer metrics.

The lack of consensus on meaningful and interpretable physical activity outcomes from accelerometer data hampers comparison across studies. Cut-point analyses are simple to apply and easy to interpret but can lead to results that are not comparable. We propose that the optimal accelerometer metrics for data analysis are not the same as the optimal metrics for translation.

Weight and blood pressure reduction among participants engaged in a cancer awareness and prevention program.

Objectives: African-Americans consume a diet high in fat, salt and sugar; such dietary habits increase the risks of cancer and other chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to engage rural communities in a nutrition and physical activity behavior modification program to promote cancer awareness and risk reduction.

Methods: Focus group discussions were conducted to generate information for the development of a nutrition and physical activity program.

Evaluation design of New York City's regulations on nutrition, physical activity, and screen time in early child care centers.

This article describes the multi-method cross-sectional design used to evaluate New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's regulations of nutrition, physical activity, and screen time for children aged 3 years or older in licensed group child care centers. The Center Evaluation Component collected data from a stratified random sample of 176 licensed group child care centers in New York City. Compliance with the regulations was measured through a review of center records, a facility inventory, and interviews of center directors, lead teachers, and food service staff.

Diets containing traditional and novel green leafy vegetables improve liver fatty acid profiles of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Background: The consumption of green leafy vegetables (GLVs) has been demonstrated to reduce the risks associated with cardiovascular and other diseases. However, no literature exists that examines the influence of traditional and novel GLVs on the liver fatty acid profile of an animal model genetically predisposed to developing hypertension. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of diets containing 4% collard greens, purslane or sweet potato greens on the liver fatty acid profiles of four-week old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs, N = 44).

The impact of high fat diets on physiological changes in euthyroid and thyroid altered rats.

The association of adverse health with high fat intake has long been recognized. However, the lack of research focusing on the interrelationship of thyroid and liver function, and the pathogenesis of a high fat diet leaves these topics poorly understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the physiological changes in euthyroid and thyroid altered animal model fed saturated and unsaturated high fat diets.

Results of evaluability assessments of local wellness policies in 6 US school districts.

Background: A US federal mandate that school districts devise and implement local wellness policies (LWPs) has potential widespread impact on the nutritional content of foods and beverages available in schools and on the amount of physical activity that students engage in; however, evidence concerning the mandate's effectiveness is limited. This study describes the content of LWPs of 6 US school districts and steps taken toward their implementation and evaluation.

Methods: During visits to 6 school districts, we interviewed 88 school and community representatives about the content of their district's LWPs and how the LWPs were being implemented and evaluated.

Training and technical assistance to enhance capacity building between prevention research centers and their partners.

Introduction: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has administered the Prevention Research Centers Program since 1986. We quantified the number and reach of training programs across all centers, determined whether the centers' outcomes varied by characteristics of the academic institution, and explored potential benefits of training and technical assistance for academic researchers and community partners. We characterized how these activities enhanced capacity building within Prevention Research Centers and the community.