Acute effects of outdoor and indoor walking on cigarette cravings, withdrawal symptoms and affective response during temporary smoking abstinence.

Rationale: Cigarette smoking is one of the leading preventable causes of premature death worldwide. There is evidence in the literature that brief exercise units indoors can improve well-being in temporarily abstinent smokers and reduce cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

Objective: Because exercise in natural environments showed enhanced psychological effects, the aim of our study was to examine the acute effects of outdoor exercise compared with indoor exercise on craving, withdrawal symptoms and affective response in temporarily abstinent smokers.

Is the cross-over effect of a unilateral high-intensity leg extension influenced by the sex of the participants?

Background: While performing a unilateral muscle contraction, electrical muscle activity also arises in the contralateral homologous muscle, muscle group, or limb. When the muscle contraction induces muscle fatigue, females show not only a greater resistance than males but also a reduced contralateral muscle activation. The study aimed at investigating whether, during a high-intensity 30-s unilateral maximal effort isometric leg extension exercise, the contralateral non-exercising limb (NEL) knee extensor muscle activation would differ between females and males.