The UK Local Government Association yesterday issues a top-10 list of break-time games to get pupils running around and burning off excess calories to combating obesity. Imagine Marbles are one of them. Nice try!
Archive for category Physical Activity
The number of bike-related deaths among children younger than 16 fell by more than half after a Canadian bike-helmet law went into effect, a new study shows.
Adults with memory problems who participated in a home-based physical activity program experienced a modest improvement in cognitive function, compared to those who did not participate in the program, according to a study in the September 3 issue of JAMA.
Nicola T. Lautenschlager from University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial to test whether 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week would reduce the rate of cognitive decline among 138 adults age 50 years and older at increased risk of dementia. The most frequently recommended type of activity was walking.
The researchers found that participants in the exercise group had better scores on an Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale than those in the control group. Participants in the physical activity group also had lower Clinical Dementia Rating scores.
This trial is the first to demonstrate that exercise improves cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
School-based intervention programs provide the best results for reducing prevalence of childhood obesity if they are performed with involvement of stakeholders and political support. In this context physical activity education in schools, reducing television viewing and nutritional education are examples of interventions that have been successful.
Children burn more than four times as many calories per minute playing an active video game than playing a seated game, and their heart rate is also significantly higher with the active game, according to a new report in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
The gaming industry has begun producing active “extertainment” gaming systems. “A recent active gaming concept that allows players to experience various activities (e.g., bowling, fishing, tennis, golf) in a virtual world is the XaviX gaming system. “In addition to the exercise gaming modalities, the XaviX system includes a gaming mat that allows participants to travel the streets of Hong Kong at a walk or a run, avoiding obstacles and stamping out ninjas.”
Researchers at University of Hong Kong measured heart rate and calorie expenditure in 18 children age 6 to 12 during a 25-minute gaming protocol. Participants rested for five minutes, then played a seated computer bowling game, an active bowling game and the action/running game for five minutes each, with five minutes of rest between active games.
Compared with resting, children burned 98 percent more playing active bowling and 451 percent more during the action/running game. “This translates into a more than four-fold increase in energy expenditure for the gaming mat. Preventing weight gain requires an energy adjustment of approximately 150 kilocalories per day. The four-fold increase in energy expenditure when playing on the gaming mat would fill the proposed energy gap, if this game were played for 35 minutes a day.
A small Swiss study released on Monday showed that walking up and down stairs for three months, without recourse to the lift, increased levels of fitness dramatically.
Women who want to lose weight – and keep it off – need to be exercising for 60 – 90 minutes a day. The latest research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine journal, confirms that women who did maintain the 10% loss over time were those who reported doing more exercise, on average 275 minutes per week.
The addresses of 1554 sixth-grade girls were mapped. Distance from home to school was compared to physical activity level. Distance to school was inversely associated with weekday PA. For every mile the girls lived from their schools, they engaged in an average of 13 fewer minutes of PA per week. Distance to school is inversely associated with PA. Time spent commuting could explain reduced time for physical activity.
Childrens physical activity levels during recess were quantified at 22 English schools. 15 schools received 20,000 UK pounds to improve playgrounds. The results suggest that a playground redesign, which utilizes multicolor playground markings and physical structures, is a suitable stimulus for increasing children’s school recess physical activity levels.
This is a focus group study. Spouse’s and friend’s health behaviour and support, poor neighbourhood aesthetics, safety concerns and access to facilities, availability of fruits and vegetables at home was perceived as important. Lower socioeconomic groups expressed more price concerns.