The "ON-OFF" Switching Response of Reactive Oxygen Species in Acute Normobaric Hypoxia: Preliminary Outcome.

Exposure to acute normobaric hypoxia (NH) elicits reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, whose production kinetics and oxidative damage were here investigated. Nine subjects were monitored while breathing an NH mixture (0.125 FO in air, about 4100 m) and during recovery with room air.

Variation of skeletal muscle ultrasound imaging intensity in horses after treadmill exercise: a proof of concept for glycogen content estimation.

Background: Glycogen in skeletal muscle is a major source of energy during exercise and an important determinant of endurance capacity, so that its measurement may provide a meaningful marker of athletes' preparation and a possible predictor of performance, both in humans and in equines. Gold standard of glycogen concentration measurement is the histochemical and biochemical analysis of biopsy-derived muscle tissue, an invasive and potentially injuring procedure. Recently, high-frequency ultrasound (US) technology is being exploited in human sports medicine to estimate muscle glycogen content.

Sedentary Behaviors and Physical Activity Habits Independently Affect Fat Oxidation in Fasting Conditions and Capillary Glucose Levels After Standardized Glucose-Rich Meal in Healthy Females.

Purpose: Sedentary behaviors and muscle inactivity are being growingly recognized as important risk factors for health, adjunctively and independently from a scarce physical activity (PA), although the metabolic mechanism underneath is barely clear. To explore the relation between sedentary behaviors (SBs) and metabolism, we measured the metabolic profile in fasting condition and after oral glucose overload in a group of women, along with objective monitoring of their PA/sedentary lifestyle habits.

Subjects And Methods: Thirteen women (age: 32.

A Mobile Phone Intervention to Improve Obesity-Related Health Behaviors of Adolescents Across Europe: Iterative Co-Design and Feasibility Study.

Background: Promotion of physical activity, healthy eating, adequate sleep, and reduced sedentary behavior in adolescents is a major priority globally given the current increase in population health challenges of noncommunicable diseases and risk factors such as obesity. Adolescents are highly engaged with mobile technology, but the challenge is to engage them with mobile health (mHealth) technology. Recent innovations in mobile technology provide opportunities to promote a healthy lifestyle in adolescents.

Promoting healthy teenage behaviour across three European countries through the use of a novel smartphone technology platform, PEGASO fit for future: study protocol of a quasi-experimental, controlled, multi-Centre trial.

Background: Behaviour change interventions targeting physical activity, diet, sleep and sedentary behaviour of teenagers show promise when delivered through smartphones. However, to date there is no evidence of effectiveness of multicomponent smartphone-based interventions. Utilising a user-centred design approach, we developed a theory-based, multi-dimensional system, PEGASO Fit For Future (PEGASO F4F), which exploits sophisticated game mechanics involving smartphone applications, a smartphone game and activity sensors to motivate teenagers to take an active role in adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Regular physical activity modulates perceived visual speed when running in treadmill-mediated virtual environments.

In virtual reality, visual speed is usually underestimated relative to locomotor speed. Here we investigated how physical activity and fitness affect perceived visual speed when running in a treadmill-mediated virtual environment. Thirty healthy participants (ten sedentary individuals, ten team sport players and ten expert runners) ran on a treadmill at two different speeds (8, 12km/h) in front of a moving virtual scene.

Evaluation of the Tinetti score and fall risk assessment via accelerometry-based movement analysis.

Gait and balance disorders are among the main predisposing factors of falls in elderly. Clinical scales are widely employed to assess the risk of falling, but they require trained personnel. We investigate the use of objective measures obtained from a wearable accelerometer to evaluate the fall risk, determined by the Tinetti clinical scale.

Matching optical flow to motor speed in virtual reality while running on a treadmill.

We investigated how visual and kinaesthetic/efferent information is integrated for speed perception in running. Twelve moderately trained to trained subjects ran on a treadmill at three different speeds (8, 10, 12 km/h) in front of a moving virtual scene. They were asked to match the visual speed of the scene to their running speed-i.

Development and validation of new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in adults with overweight and obesity.

Background & Aims: Accurate predictive equations of resting energy expenditure (REE) are crucial in devising nutritional strategies to manage overweight/obesity, especially in countries where these are highly prevalent. REE is the most common measurement used to estimate energy requirements in the nutritional context; the most accurate method of measuring REE is indirect calorimetry (IC). However, this method is costly and often rarely feasible in many clinical settings.

Clinical, functional, behavioural and epigenomic biomarkers of obesity.

Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent conditions worldwide, linked to an increased risk for death, disability and disease due to metabolic and biochemical abnormalities affecting the biological human system throughout different domains. Biomarkers, defined as indicators of biological processes in health and disease, relevant for body mass excess management have been identified according to different criteria, including anthropometric and molecular indexes, as well as physiological and behavioural aspects. Analysing these different biomarkers, we identified their potential role in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

Automatic vs. clinical assessment of fall risk in older individuals: A proof of concept.

Falling in elderly is a worldwide major problem because it can lead to severe injuries, and even sudden death. Fall risk prediction would provide rapid intervention, as well as reducing the over burden of healthcare systems. Such prediction is currently performed by means of clinical scales.

Effects of muscle composition and architecture on specific strength in obese older women.

What is the central question of this study? Do obesity-specific factors affect skeletal muscle performance in older individuals? What is the main finding and its importance? Older obese women have a larger quadriceps femoris size but develop lower tension per unit of skeletal muscle than their normal-weight counterparts. Muscle impairment and excess body mass are very common among older people. Given that the effect of obesity on strength production has scarcely been studied in older individuals, we analysed functional and structural characteristics of quadriceps femoris (QF) in obese (OB) and normal-weight (NW) older women with comparable habitual physical activity.

Automatic muscle and fat segmentation in the thigh from T1-Weighted MRI.

Purpose: To introduce and validate an automatic segmentation method for the discrimination of skeletal muscle (SM), and adipose tissue (AT) components (subcutaneous adipose tissue [SAT] and intermuscular adipose tissue [IMAT]) from T1-weighted (T1 -W) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of the thigh.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen subjects underwent an MRI examination on a 1.5T Philips Achieva scanner.

PEGASO: A Personalised and Motivational ICT System to Empower Adolescents Towards Healthy Lifestyles.

Unhealthy alimentary behaviours and physical inactivity habits are key risk factors for major non communicable diseases. Several researches demonstrate that juvenile obesity can lead to serious medical conditions, pathologies and have important psycho-social consequences. PEGASO is a multidisciplinary project aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles among teenagers through assistive technology.

Skeletal muscle characteristics and motor performance after 2-year growth hormone treatment in adults with prader-willi syndrome.

Context: In adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), abnormal body composition with decreased lean body mass and skeletal muscle (SM) volume has been related to altered GH secretion and may possibly contribute to greatly reduced motor capacity.

Objective: The scope of the study was to test the hypothesis that GH treatment has favorable effects on SM characteristics and motor performance in adults with PWS.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Fifteen obese PWS subjects (nine males and six females; age range, 19-35 y; body mass index, 37.

Effect of mechanical and metabolic factors on motor function and fatigue in obese men and women: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Mechanical overload and poor quality of contractile elements related to metabolic abnormalities concur to motor disability of obesity. The independent contribution of these factors to motor dysfunction in obese individuals is scarcely defined.

Aim: Aim of the study is to test the hypothesis that metabolic factors may independently affect motor function in obesity.

Influence of body adiposity on structural characteristics of skeletal muscle in men and women.

The structure of skeletal muscle (SM) can be characterized by quantitative (size) and qualitative (composition) attributes, which are disparately reported to be influenced by body adiposity. This study tests the hypothesis that body adiposity exerts a systematic influence on these muscle characteristics and evaluates the possible functional implications for movements. Lower limb SM volume (VSM) and attenuation (ATTSM), an inverse measure of lipid infiltration in muscle, were determined with computed tomography in 21 men (BMI = 21-36 kg m(-2) ; age = 31-71 years.

Rationale for hospital-based rehabilitation in obesity with comorbidities.

Severely obese patients affected by two or more chronic conditions which could mutually influence their outcome and disability can be defined as "complex" patients. The presence of multiple comorbidities often represents an obstacle for being admitted to clinical settings for the treatment of metabolic diseases. On the other hand, clinical Units with optimal standards for the treatment of pathological conditions in normal-weight patients are often structurally and technologically inadequate for the care of patients with extreme obesity.

Ontology-supported clinical profiling for the evaluation of obesity and related comorbidities.

An ontology-supported e-knowledge base aimed to the evaluation of obesity and related co-morbidities is presented. The main goal of such a clinical profiling tool is to help determine the health status of a subject, supporting the knowledge transfer between medical researchers and general practitioners.

Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components among obese men and women in Italy.

Objective: Assessment of the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in Italian obese individuals.

Methods: Cross-sectional estimate of MetS prevalence using the IDF definition in 635 obese (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m(2)) individuals (286 men, 349 women) aged 19-78 years hospitalised for mass excess treatment.

Results: MetS prevalence was significantly (p < 0.