The sports club is seen as a new relevant setting to promote health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) among inactive population groups. Little is known about the effectiveness of strategies and activities implemented in the sports club setting on increasing HEPA levels. This study investigated the effects of Start2Bike, a six-week training program for inactive adults and adult novice cyclers, on HEPA levels of participants in the Netherlands. To measure physical activity, the Short QUestionnaire to ASsess Health-enhancing physical activity was used (SQUASH). Start2Bike participants were measured at baseline, six weeks and six months. A matched control group was measured at baseline and six months. The main outcome measure was whether participants met the Dutch Norm for Health-enhancing Physical Activity (DNHPA: 30 min of moderate-intensity activity on five days a week); Fit-norm (20 min of vigorous-intensity activity on three days a week); and Combi-norm (meeting the DNHPA and/or Fit-norm). Other outcome measures included: total minutes of physical activity per week; and minutes of physical activity per week per domain and intensity category. Statistical analyses consisted of McNemar tests and paired t-tests (within-group changes); and multiple logistic and linear regression analyses (between-group changes).
Background: Although the general assumption is that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have decreased levels of physical activity, no review has addressed whether this assumption is correct. Methods: Our objective was to systematically review the literature for physical activity levels and aerobic capacity (VO2max). in patients with (RA), compared to healthy controls and a reference population. Studies investigating physical activity, energy expenditure or aerobic capacity in patients with RA were included. Twelve studies met our inclusion criteria. Results: In one study that used doubly labeled water, the gold standard measure, physical activity energy expenditure of patients with RA was significantly decreased. Five studies examined aerobic capacity. Contradictory evidence was found that patients with RA have lower VO2max than controls, but when compared to normative values, patients scored below the 10th percentile. In general, it appears that patients with RA spend more time in light and moderate activities and less in vigorous activities than controls. Conclusion: Patients with RA appear to have significantly decreased energy expenditure, very low aerobic capacity compared to normative values and spend less time in vigorous activities than controls
The aim of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a school-centered multicomponent PA intervention, called ‘Active Living’, on children's daily PA levels. A quasi-experimental design was used including 9 intervention schools and 9 matched control schools located in the Netherlands. The baseline measurement took place between March–June 2013, and follow-up measurements were conducted 12 months afterwards. Accelerometer (ActiGraph, GT3X +) data of 520 children aged 8–11 years were collected and supplemented with demographics and weather conditions data. Implementation magnitude of the interventions was measured by keeping logbooks on the number of implemented physical environmental interventions (PEIs) and social environmental interventions (SEIs). Multilevel multivariate linear regression analyses were used to study changes in sedentary behavior (SB), light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) between baseline and follow-up. Finally, effect sizes (ESs) were calculated using Cohen's d. No pooled effects on PA and SB were found between children exposed and not exposed to Active Living after 12 months. However, children attending Active Living schools that implemented larger numbers of both PEIs and SEIs engaged in 15 more minutes of LPA per weekday at follow-up than children in the control condition (ES = 0.41; p < .05). Moreover, children attending these schools spent less time in SB at follow-up (ES = 0.33), although this effect was non-significant. No significant effects were found on MVPA. A school-centered multicomponent PA intervention holds the potential to activate children, but a comprehensive set of intervention elements with a sufficient magnitude is necessary to achieve at least moderate effect sizes.
MULTIFILE
