General activity and wellness

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Sleep and exercise influence each other through complex, bilateral interactions that involve multiple physiological and psychological pathways. Physical activity is usually considered as beneficial in aiding sleep although this link may be subject to multiple moderating factors such as sex, age, fitness level, sleep quality and the characteristics of the exercise (intensity, duration, time of day, environment). It is therefore vital to improve knowledge in fundamental physiology in order to understand the benefits of exercise on the quantity and quality of sleep in healthy subjects and patients...

BACKGROUND: The effect of multifaceted lifestyle interventions on clinically oriented outcomes across a spectrum of metabolic risk factors and abnormal glucose is unclear. PURPOSE: To systematically review the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions on minimizing progression to diabetes in high-risk patients or progression to clinical outcomes (such as cardiovascular disease and death) in patients with type 2 diabetes. DATA SOURCES: 5 electronic databases (1980 to June 2013), reference lists, and gray literature...

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BACKGROUND: Physical activity improves bone strength and reduces the risk for osteoporotic fractures. However, there are substantial gaps in our knowledge as to when, how and how much activity is optimal for bone health. PURPOSE: In this cohort study, we examined developmental trajectories of objectively measured physical activity from childhood to adolescence to discern if moderate-and-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) predicts bone strength. METHODS: Starting at age 5 and continuing at 8, 11, 13, 15 and 17 years, Iowa Bone Development Study participants (n=530) wore an accelerometer for 3-5 days...

This article describes major topics discussed from the 'Economics of Physical Inactivity Consensus Workshop' (EPIC), held in Vancouver, Canada, in April 2011. Specifically, we (1) detail existing evidence on effective physical inactivity prevention strategies; (2) introduce economic evaluation and its role in health policy decisions; (3) discuss key challenges in establishing and building health economic evaluation evidence (including accurate and reliable costs and clinical outcome measurement) and (4) provide insight into interpretation of economic evaluations in this critically important field...

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BACKGROUND: Prolonged television (TV) viewing time is unfavourably associated with mortality outcomes, particularly for cardiovascular disease, but the impact on life expectancy has not been quantified. The authors estimate the extent to which TV viewing time reduces life expectancy in Australia, 2008. METHODS: The authors constructed a life table model that incorporates a previously reported mortality risk associated with TV time. Data were from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, a national population-based observational survey that started in 1999-2000...

With non-communicable conditions accounting for nearly two-thirds of deaths worldwide, the emergence of chronic diseases as the predominant challenge to global health is undisputed. In the USA, chronic diseases are the main causes of poor health, disability, and death, and account for most of health-care expenditures. The chronic disease burden in the USA largely results from a short list of risk factors--including tobacco use, poor diet and physical inactivity (both strongly associated with obesity), excessive alcohol consumption, uncontrolled high blood pressure, and hyperlipidaemia--that can be effectively addressed for individuals and populations...

Despite a large volume of evidence supporting its cardioprotective properties and its other numerous established health benefits, physical activity is not a serious prescription option for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, health services increasingly focus on pharmacological prevention without considering properly the long-term consequences of medication. Ethical and feasibility considerations suggest that evidence on the protective value of physical activity may need to be evaluated using criteria different from those applying to pharmacological trials...