Background: The growth of urban dwelling populations globally has led to rapid increases of research and policy initiatives addressing associations between the built environment and physical activity (PA). Given this rapid proliferation, it is important to identify priority areas and research questions for moving the field forward. The objective of this study was to identify and compare research priorities on the built environment and PA among researchers and knowledge users (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can
March 2023
Introduction: Since 2015, there has been growing interest in Canada and beyond on the benefits of outdoor play for physical, emotional, social and environmental health, wellbeing and development, for adults as well as children and youth.
Methods: This scoping review aims to answer the question, "How, and in what context, is adult-oriented outdoor play being studied in Canada?" We conducted an electronic search for peer-reviewed articles on outdoor play published in English or French after September 2015 by authors from Canadian institutions or about Canadian adults. The 224 retrieved articles were organized according to eight priorities: health, well-being and development; outdoor play environments; safety and outdoor play; cross-sectoral connections; equity, diversity and inclusion; professional development; Indigenous Peoples and land-based outdoor play; and COVID-19.
Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can
January 2023
Introduction: Since 2015, interest in the benefits of outdoor play for physical, emotional, social and environmental health, well-being and development has been growing in Canada and elsewhere.
Methods: This scoping review aims to answer the question, "How, and in what context, is children's and youth's outdoor play being studied in Canada?" Included were studies of any type on outdoor play published after September 2015 in English or French by authors from Canadian institutions or assessing Canadian children and/or youth. Articles retrieved from MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus by March 2021 were organized according to eight priority areas: health, well-being and development; outdoor play environments; safety and outdoor play; cross-sectoral connections; equity, diversity and inclusion; professional development; Indigenous Peoples and land-based outdoor play; and COVID-19.
Background: A recent dialogue in the field of play, learn, and teach outdoors (referred to as "PLaTO" hereafter) demonstrated the need for developing harmonized and consensus-based terminology, taxonomy, and ontology for PLaTO. This is important as the field evolves and diversifies in its approaches, contents, and contexts over time and in different countries, cultures, and settings. Within this paper, we report the systematic and iterative processes undertaken to achieve this objective, which has built on the creation of the global PLaTO-Network (PLaTO-Net).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Public health restrictions varied by region during the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced opportunities for children to be physically active. The purpose of this study was to assess regional differences in movement behaviours of Canadian children and youth during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A national sample of Canadian parents (n=1568; 58% women) of children and youth (5-17 years of age) completed an online survey.
Background: Obesity and related comorbidities are the most common chronic conditions in North America where behavior modification including the adoption of physical activity (PA) and a healthful diet are primary treatment strategies. Patients are more likely to engage in behavior modification if encouraged by their physician; however, behavioral counseling in primary care rarely occurs due to lack of training and resources. A more effective method may be to refer patients from clinical settings to other health professionals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo reduce the spread of COVID-19, public health authorities across the country have recommended that Canadians keep their distance, wash their hands, and stay home. To enforce these measures, restrictions on outdoor behaviour have been implemented, limiting access to parks and recreational outdoor spaces. New evidence shows that COVID-19 restrictions are associated with an overall lower amount of time spent in outdoor play among Canadian children and youth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Sci Sports Exerc
July 2020
Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether change in estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (eCRF) is associated with change in measured cardiorespiratory fitness (mCRF) independent of exercise amount and intensity over 24 wk.
Methods: Participants were 163 sedentary adults with abdominal obesity (mean ± SD waist circumference, 109.9 ± 11.
Objective: To evaluate the relationship between change in submaximal cardiorespiratory fitness (sCRF) and all-cause mortality risk in adult men and women.
Patients And Methods: A prospective study with at least 2 clinical visits (mean follow-up time, 4.2±3.
Aim: To determine the separate effects of exercise amount and intensity on the rate of response for glucose and insulin variables, where rate of response was defined as the number of individuals with improvement in glucose and insulin values that was beyond the day-to-day variability of measurement.
Methods: Participants were 171 sedentary, middle-aged abdominally obese adults who completed a 24-week intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to (1) no-exercise control (n = 51), (2) low-amount, low-intensity exercise (LALI, n = 38), (3) high-amount, low-intensity exercise (HALI, n = 52), or (4) high-amount, high-intensity exercise (HAHI, n = 30).
Med Sci Sports Exerc
April 2017
Introduction: Adoption of physical activity (PA) consistent with current guidelines does not improve maximal cardiorespiratory fitness (mCRF; V˙O2peak) beyond the error of measurement for approximately 30% of adults. Whether PA improves measures of exercise tolerance at submaximal levels (submaximal cardiorespiratory fitness [sCRF]) independent of change in mCRF is unknown. Here we assessed the relationship between exercise-induced changes in mCRF and sCRF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the separate effects of exercise intensity and amount on interindividual cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) response.
Participants And Methods: Participants were 121 (75 females, 62%) sedentary, middle-aged (mean [SD] age, 53.2 [7.
Health authorities worldwide recommend weight loss as a primary endpoint for effective obesity management. Despite a growing public awareness of the importance of weight loss and the spending of billions of dollars by Americans in attempts to lose weight, obesity prevalence continues to rise. In this report we argue that effective obesity management in today's environment will require a shift in focus from weight loss as the primary endpoint, to improvements in the causal behaviors; diet and exercise/physical activity (PA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew sequence data on CRF family members from a number of genomes has led to the modification of our understanding of CRF evolution in the Metazoa. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family of peptides include four paralogous lineages in jawed vertebrates; CRF, urotensin-I/urocortin/sauvagine, urocortin 2 (Ucn2) and urocortin 3 (Ucn3). CRF and the urotensin-I/urocortin/sauvagine group represent a gene duplication from one lineage, whereas Ucns 2 and 3 are the result of a gene duplication in the other paralogous lineage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAP) are found at the extracellular face in C-terminal region of the teneurin transmembrane proteins. One of these peptides, TCAP-1 is independently transcribed as a smaller bioactive peptide that possesses a number of stress response-attenuating activities. The teneurin-TCAP system appears to be the result of a horizontal gene transfer from a prokaryotic proteinaceous polymorphic toxin to a choanoflagellate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany neuropsychiatric conditions have a common set of neurological substrates associated with the integration of sensorimotor processing. The teneurins are a recently described family of proteins that play a significant role in visual and auditory development. Encoded on the terminal exon of the teneurin genes is a family of bioactive peptides, termed teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAP), which regulate mood-disorder associated behaviors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe co-evolution of peptides and early cells some 3.7 billion years ago provided bioactive peptides with a long history for the proliferation and refinement of peptide hormones. Central to the adaptation and evolution of cell types in metazoans is the development of peptide signaling systems that regulate stress mechanisms.
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