Background: despite multimillion-dollar investments in sports facilities, there is little information on their contribution to energy expenditure of the population. In this study, participation in 71 physical activities (PAs) and 31 different types of spaces was examined. Objectives: to evaluate which types of spaces are more effective from a public health perspective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is little information about the trend of the gender gap in chronic morbidities and whether the trend of expansion occurs equally in the age and gender groups. The objectives were to examine the consistency and stability of the gender gap in the main self-reported chronic morbidities in the general population, and, likewise, to analyze the trend of major chronic morbidities between 1997 and 2015 in men and women across age groups. The data were extracted from the Canary Health Survey, which uses a probabilistic sampling in the population >16 years of age, for the years 1997 (n = 2167), 2004 (n = 4304), 2009 (n = 4542), and 2015 (n = 4560).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this investigation was to determine whether differences in body composition, pharmacological treatment, and physical activity explain the increased resting metabolic rate (RMR) and impaired insulin sensitivity in hypertension. Resting blood pressure, RMR (indirect calorimetry), body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), physical activity (accelerometry), maximal oxygen uptake (VO max) (ergospirometry), and insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index) were measured in 174 patients (88 men and 86 women; 20-68 years) with overweight or obesity. Hypertension (HTA) was present in 51 men (58%) and 42 women (49%) (p = .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, entire populations were instructed to live in home-confinement to prevent the expansion of the disease. Spain was one of the countries with the strictest conditions, as outdoor physical activity was banned for nearly two months. This study aimed to analyse the changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviours in Spanish university students before and during the confinement by COVID-19 with special focus on gender.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The use of Pilates in various fields of sport sciences and rehabilitation is increasing; however, little is known about the muscle adaptations induced by this training method.
Hypothesis: A standardized Pilates training program for beginners (9 months; 2 sessions of 55 minutes per week) will increase the muscle volume and reduce potential side-to-side asymmetries of the quadratus lumborum, iliopsoas, piriformis, and gluteus muscles (gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus).
Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.
Little is known about the impact of long term participation in sports and subcutaneous fat volume in children. This study aimed at determining whether tennis participation is associated with lower subcutaneous adipose tissue volume (SATv) in the abdominal and upper extremities in children. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine the SATv stored in the abdominal region and upper arms in seven tennis players and seven inactive children matched by height and age (147 cm and 10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Little is known on how the domain and intensity of physical activity (PA) associates with metabolic syndrome (MetS). The aim of this study was to examine associations between PA domains (leisure-time, domestic, active transport, total walking and total PA), PA intensities (light, moderate and vigorous) and PA levels with MetS in the general adult population.
Methods: Cross-sectional study.
It is generally accepted that preadolescents have a limited capacity to develop muscle hypertrophy in response to exercise compared with older populations; however, studies are scarce and conflicting. The main aim of the present study was to assess if playing tennis is associated with the hypertrophy of dominant pectoralis muscles (PM) in professional (PRO) and in prepubescent tennis players (PRE). A secondary aim was to assess if the degree of asymmetry of PM is greater in PRO than PRE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: the human androgen receptor (AR) gene possesses two trinucleotide polymorphic repeats, (CAG and GGN) that affect the amount of AR protein translated. In this study, we genotyped these polymorphic tracts in a representative sample of Caucasian children (Tanner ≤ 5), 152 boys (11.5 } 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
December 2015
Introduction: The aim is to examine the differences between participation at low and zero moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in relation to their trends and associations with known socio-demographic and health factors. We hypothesised that the number of people at zero MVPA level could be rising despite a parallel increase in the population meeting the recommended MVPA level. We also hypothesised that graded associations of sociodemographic and health factors exist across MVPA levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Lack of physical activity (PA) is a major risk for chronic disease and obesity. The main aims of the present study were to identify individual and environmental factors independently associated with PA and examine the relative contribution of these factors to PA level in Spanish adults.
Methodology/principal Findings: A population-based cross-sectional sample of 3,000 adults (18-75 years old) from Gran Canaria (Spain) was selected using a multistage stratified random sampling method.
Purpose: To asses if tennis at prepubertal age elicits the hypertrophy of dominant arm muscles.
Methods: The volume of the muscles of both arms was determined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 7 male prepubertal tennis players (TP) and 7 non-active control subjects (CG) (mean age 11.0 ± 0.
Background: Excessive time in front of a single or several screens could explain a displacement of physical activity. The present study aimed at determining whether screen-time is associated with a reduced level of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in Spanish adolescents living in favorable environmental conditions.
Methodology/principal Findings: A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was used to select 3503 adolescents (12-18 years old) from the school population of Gran Canaria, Spain.
Background: To determine if there is an association between physical activity assessed by the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness.
Methodology/principal Findings: One hundred and eighty-two young males (age range: 20-55 years) completed the short form of the IPAQ to assess physical activity. Body composition (dual-energy X-Ray absorptiometry), muscular fitness (static and dynamic muscle force and power, vertical jump height, running speed [30 m sprint], anaerobic capacity [300 m running test]) and cardiorespiratory fitness (estimated VO(2)max: 20 m shuttle run test) were also determined in all subjects.
Osteocalcin is a hormone produced by osteoblasts which acts as a negative regulator of fat mass, protecting against diet induced obesity and insulin resistance in rodents. To determine if an acute increase in osteocalcin concentration is associated with opposed changes in circulating leptin levels and insulin resistance we studied 15 middle and long distance male triathletes, (age 32.1 ± 6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProfessional tennis players (TP) have marked inter-arm asymmetry in bone mass (BMC) and density (BMD). To determine if this asymmetry is influenced by training frequency and volume, we studied 24 young tennis players (mean age 10.6 years, Tanner 1-2), 17 physically active control boys (CG) and ten male professional tennis players.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine the effect of physical activity on bone mineral accrual during growth in prepuberal boys.
Methods: Seventeen soccer players and 11 matched (physically active) control boys (Tanner 1-2, at the start of the study) were followed over a 3-yr period. Bone mineral content (BMC) and a real density (BMD) was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.