Effectiveness of physical activity counselling and exercise prescription education among medical students: a systematic review.

Background: Providing physical activity counselling and prescribing exercise increases patients' activity and cardiorespiratory fitness, but healthcare providers experience challenges in promoting activity to patients. Implementing educational intervention during medical training may be an effective strategy to promote physical activity and exercise counselling/prescriptions. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the impact of educational interventions on medical students' physical activity counselling and exercise prescription perceptions and practices.

Assessing the criterion validity of the activPAL CREA v1.3 algorithm and ActiPASS 2023.12 software for detecting steps during a progressive treadmill-based laboratory protocol.

Thigh-worn accelerometry is commonly implemented to measure step cadence. The default activPAL CREA algorithm is a valid measure of cadence during walking, but its validity during running is unknown. The ActiPASS software is designed to analyse tri-axial accelerometry data from various brands.

Nadir blood pressure responses to longer consecutive cardiac cycle sequences absent of sympathetic bursts are associated with popliteal endothelial-dependent dilation.

Purpose: The nadir pressure responses to cardiac cycles absent of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) bursts (or non-bursts) are typically reported in studies quantifying sympathetic transduction, but the information gained by studying non-bursts is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that longer sequences of non-bursts (≥8 cardiac cycles) would be associated with a greater nadir diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and that better popliteal artery function would be associated with an augmented reduction in DBP.

Methods: Resting beat-by-beat DBP (via finger photoplethysmography) and common peroneal nerve MSNA (via microneurography) were recorded in 39 healthy, adults (age 23.

Sitting knee-flexion angle does not influence endothelial-dependent vasodilation in laboratory or free-living conditions.

Introduction: Single bouts of prolonged bent-legged sitting attenuate popliteal endothelial-dependent vasodilation (as assessed via flow-mediated dilation [FMD]), which is partially attributed to arterial 'kinking'. However, the impact of knee-flexion angle on sitting-induced popliteal FMD is unknown. The objective of this study was to perform separate laboratory and free-living studies to test the hypotheses that: (1) popliteal FMD impairments would be graded between knee flexions at 90° (bent-legged sitting) > 45° > 0° (straight-legged sitting) following a 3-hour bout of sitting; and (2) more habitual time spent bent-legged sitting (< 45°) would be associated with lower FMD.

Faster stepping cadence partially explains the higher metabolic cost of walking among females versus males.

The metabolic cost of walking (MCOW), or oxygen uptake normalized to distance, provides information on the energy expended during movement. There are conflicting reports as to whether sex differences in MCOW exist, with scarce evidence investigating factors that explain potential sex differences. This study ) tested the hypothesis that females exhibit a higher MCOW than males, ) determined whether normalizing to stepping cadence ameliorates the hypothesized sex difference, and ) explored whether more habitual step counts and time in intensity-related physical activity, and less sedentary time were associated with a decreased MCOW.

More moderate-intensity physical activity and less prolonged sedentary time are associated with better very short-term systolic blood pressure variability in healthy adults.

Whole-day movement guidelines for improving health, recommend that adults engage in at least 150 min week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity and limit their sedentary time. In young adults, higher systolic blood pressure variability (BPV) is a precursor for the development of hypertension. The impact of habitual activity that comprises (inter)national guidelines on BPV is unclear.

Habitual sedentary time and stationary time are inversely related to aerobic fitness.

A one metabolic-equivalent-of-task increase in peak aerobic fitness (peak MET) is associated with a clinically relevant improvement in survival risk and all-cause mortality. The co-dependent impact of free-living physical behaviours on aerobic fitness are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of theoretically re-allocating time spent in physical behaviours on aerobic fitness.

Validity of the activPAL monitor to measure stepping activity and activity intensity: A systematic review.

Background: Accumulating step counts and engaging in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity is positively associated with numerous health benefits. The activPAL is a thigh-worn monitor that is frequently used to measure physical activity.

Research Question: Can the activPAL accurately measure stepping activity and identify physical activity intensity?

Methods: We systematically reviewed validation studies examining the accuracy of activPAL physical activity outcomes relative to a criterion measure in adults (>18 years).

Comparison of signal-averaging and regression approaches to analyzing sympathetic transduction.

Purpose: Spontaneous sympathetic transduction reflects the vascular and/or pressor responses to bursts of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). Separately, signal-averaging and regression-based approaches have been implemented to quantify resting sympathetic transduction. It is unknown whether the outcomes of these analytical approaches provide (dis)similar information, which is imperative for between-study comparisons and the amalgamation of results for synthesis of multiple studies (i.

Validity of the ActivPAL monitor to distinguish postures: A systematic review.

Background: Posture has been recently integrated into activity guidelines, advising people to limit their sedentary time and break up sedentary postures with standing/stepping as much as possible. The thigh-worn activPAL is a frequently used objective measure of posture, but its validity has only been investigated by individual studies and has not been systematically reviewed.

Research Question: Can the activPAL accurately characterize different postures?

Methods: A rigorous systematic review protocol was conducted, including multiple study screeners and determiners of study quality.

The impact of different step rate threshold methods on physical activity intensity in older adults.

Background: Older adults benefit most from engaging in higher-intensity physical activity, which is often determined using step rate thresholds. Fixed step rate thresholds that correspond to moderate (MPA) and vigorous-intensity physical activity (VPA) have been developed for heuristic activity promotion. The activPAL monitor uses step rate thresholds to determine activity intensity.

Impact of habitual sedentary patterns on popliteal artery endothelial-dependent vasodilation in healthy adults.

Introduction: Acute, laboratory-based bouts of prolonged sitting attenuate lower-limb arterial endothelial-dependent vasodilation. However, the impact of habitual sedentary patterns on popliteal artery endothelial health is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that greater habitual total sedentary time, more time spent in prolonged sedentary bouts, and fewer sedentary breaks would be associated with worse popliteal flow-mediated dilation (FMD) responses.

What is the impact of aerobic fitness and movement interventions on low-flow-mediated vasoconstriction? A systematic review of observational and intervention studies.

The cardiovascular benefits of physical exercise are well established. The vasoreactivity that occurs during reductions in local arterial blood flow, termed low-flow-mediated constriction (L-FMC), is a measure of endothelial-dependent vasoconstrictor function. It is unclear whether aerobic fitness and movement (or lack thereof) influences L-FMC.

A larger low-flow-mediated constrictor response is associated with augmented flow-mediated dilation in the popliteal artery.

In the brachial artery, conflicting evidence exists regarding the relationship between the low-flow-mediated constriction (L-FMC) and subsequent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) responses, which may confound interpretation of the latter. The popliteal artery is a common site for atherosclerotic development, which is preceded by endothelial dysfunction. We aimed to determine whether the magnitude of popliteal L-FMC impacted FMD responses, which is currently unknown.

Aerobic fitness is inversely associated with neurohemodynamic transduction and blood pressure variability in older adults.

Higher aerobic fitness is independently associated with better cardiovascular health in older adults. The transduction of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) into mean arterial pressure (MAP) responses provides important insight regarding beat-by-beat neural circulatory control. Aerobic fitness is negatively associated with peak MAP responses to spontaneous MSNA in young males.

The influence of habitual breaks in sedentary time on cardiovagal baroreflex function.

Sedentary time has recently been included in the 24-h activity guidelines. However, the impact of habitual sedentary patterns on autonomic cardiovascular regulation are unclear. We tested the hypothesis that more sedentary time and fewer sedentary breaks were associated with lower cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity.

An open-source program to analyze spontaneous sympathetic neurohemodynamic transduction.

The sympathetic nervous system is important for the beat-by-beat regulation of arterial blood pressure and the control of blood flow to various organs. Microneurographic recordings of pulse-synchronous muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) are used by numerous laboratories worldwide. The transduction of hemodynamic and vascular responses elicited by spontaneous bursts of MSNA provides novel, mechanistic insight into sympathetic neural control of the circulation.

The impact of age and sex on popliteal artery endothelial-dependent vasodilator and vasoconstrictor function.

Lower-limb arteries, such as the popliteal artery, are a common site of atherosclerosis. These arteries are habitually exposed to large fluctuations in blood flow during physical and sedentary activities. Low-flow-mediated constriction (L-FMC) and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) provide indices of endothelial-dependent vasoconstriction and vasodilation, respectively.

Influence of prostaglandins and endothelial-derived hyperpolarizing factors on brachial and popliteal endothelial-dependent function in young adults.

Heterogeneous flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and low-flow-mediated constriction (L-FMC) responses have been reported between upper- and lower-limb arteries. Radial artery L-FMC, but not FMD, responses are blunted when endothelial-derived hyperpolarizing factors (EDHFs) or prostaglandin production is inhibited in young adults. However, it is unknown if these mechanisms similarly impact endothelial-dependent responses in the brachial (BA) and popliteal (POP) arteries.