Effectiveness of health and fitness smartphone applications to improve dietary habits and physical activity in Omani adults

Abstract Background The coronavirus pandemic has transformed and continues to transform and affect the daily lives of communities worldwide, particularly due to the lockdown restrictions. Therefore, this study was designed to understand the changes in dietary and lifestyle behaviours that are major determinants of health during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire using a convenience sample of 415 adults living in Kuwait (age range 18–73 years). Results The rate of skipping breakfast remained consistent, with a slight increase during the pandemic. Lunch remained the main reported meal before and during COVID-19. Compared to before COVID-19, people were much more likely have a late-night snack or meal during COVID-19 (OR = 3.57 (95% CI 1.79–7.26), p < 0.001). Moreover, there was a drastic decrease in the frequency of fast-food consumption during COVID-19, up to 82% reported not consuming fast food (p < 0.001). There was a significant increase in the percentage of participants who had their main meal freshly made (OR = 59.18 (95% CI 6.55–1400.76), p = 0.001). Regarding food group patterns, no significant differences were found before and during the pandemic in terms of the weekly frequency of consumption, except in the case of fish and seafood. There were no remarkable changes in beverage consumption habits among participants before and during the pandemic, except for Americano coffee and fresh juice. Furthermore, there was a great reduction in physical activity and an increase in the amount of screen time and sedentary behaviours. A notable increase was detected in day-time sleep and a decrease in night-time sleep among participants. Conclusion In general, this study indicates some changes in daily life, including changes in some eating practices, physical activity and sleeping habits during the pandemic. It is important that the government considers the need for nutrition education programmes and campaigns, particularly during this critical period of the pandemic in Kuwait.

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Can Health-Promoting Schools Contribute to Better Health Behaviors? Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Dietary Habits among Israeli Adolescents

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18031183 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 1183

Author(s):

Hila Beck ◽

Riki Tesler ◽

Sharon Barak ◽

Daniel Sender Moran ◽

Adilson Marques ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Health Behavior ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Dietary Habits ◽

Group Differences ◽

Time Behavior ◽

Health Promoting ◽

The Mean

Schools with health-promoting school (HPS) frameworks are actively committed to enhancing healthy lifestyles. This study explored the contribution of school participation in HPS on students’ health behaviors, namely, physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and dieting. Data from the 2018/2019 Health Behavior in School-aged Children study on Israeli adolescents aged 11–17 years were used. Schools were selected from a sample of HPSs and non-HPSs. Between-group differences and predictions of health behavior were analyzed. No between-group differences were observed in mean number of days/week with at least 60 min of PA (HPS: 3.84 ± 2.19 days/week, 95% confidence interval of the mean = 3.02–3.34; non-HPS: 3.93 ± 2.17 days/week, 95% confidence interval of the mean = 3.13–3.38). Most children engaged in screen time behavior for >2 h/day (HPS: 60.83%; non-HPS: 63.91%). The odds of being on a diet were higher among more active children (odds ratio [OR] = 1.20), higher socio-economic status (OR = 1.23), and female (OR = 2.29). HPS did not predict any health behavior. These findings suggest that HPSs did not contribute to health behaviors more than non-HPSs. Therefore, health-promoting activities in HPSs need to be improved in order to justify their recognition as members of the HPS network and to fulfill their mission.

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Assessment of Dietary Habits, Physical Activity and Lifestyle in Medical University Students

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063572 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3572

Author(s):

Lavinia-Maria Pop ◽

Magdalena Iorga ◽

Iulia-Diana Muraru ◽

Florin-Dumitru Petrariu

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Medical Students ◽

Fast Food ◽

Dietary Habits ◽

Healthy Life ◽

Related Data ◽

The Third ◽

Health Related ◽

Medical University ◽

Busy Schedule

A busy schedule and demanding tasks challenge medical students to adjust their lifestyle and dietary habits. The aim of this study was to identify dietary habits and health-related behaviours among students. A number of 403 students (80.40% female, aged M = 21.21 ± 4.56) enrolled in a medical university provided answers to a questionnaire constructed especially for this research, which was divided into three parts: the first part collected socio-demographic, anthropometric, and medical data; the second part inquired about dietary habits, lifestyle, sleep, physical activity, water intake, and use of alcohol and cigarettes; and the third part collected information about nutrition-related data and the consumption of fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, fish, and sweets. Data were analysed using SPSS v24. Students usually slept M = 6.71 ± 1.52 h/day, and one-third had self-imposed diet restrictions to control their weight. For both genders, the most important meal was lunch, and one-third of students had breakfast each morning. On average, the students consumed 1.64 ± 0.88 l of water per day and had 220 min of physical activity per week. Data about the consumption of fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, fish, sweets, fast food, coffee, tea, alcohol, or carbohydrate drinks were presented. The results of our study proved that medical students have knowledge about how to maintain a healthy life and they practice it, which is important for their subsequent professional life.

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Individual Diet Modification Reduces the Metabolic Syndrome in Patients Before Pharmacological Treatment

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13062102 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 2102

Author(s):

Małgorzata Elżbieta Zujko ◽

Marta Rożniata ◽

Kinga Zujko

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Fatty Acids ◽

Waist Circumference ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Dietary Habits ◽

Fasting Glucose ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Control Group ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome

Modification of lifestyle, including healthy nutrition, is the primary approach for metabolic syndrome (MetS) therapy. The aim of this study was to estimate how individual nutrition intervention affects the reduction of MetS components. Subjects diagnosed with MetS were recruited in the Lomza Medical Centre. The study group consisted of 90 participants and was divided into one intervention group (individual nutrition education group (INEG)) and one control group (CG). The research was conducted over 3 months. The following measurements were obtained during the first visit and after completion of the 3 months intervention: body mass, waist circumference, body composition, blood pressure, fasting glucose, and blood lipids. Dietary assessments were performed before and post-intervention using 3-day 24-h dietary recalls. Dietary knowledge was evaluated with the KomPAN questionnaire. The total polyphenol content of the diet was calculated. Sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics were collected from a self-reported questionnaire. The physical activity was assessed by the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). It was found that the individual nutrition education was an effective method to improve the knowledge, dietary habits, and physical activity of the study participants. The modification of the diet in terms of higher intake of polyphenols (flavonoids and anthocyanins), fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), PUFA n-3, and lower intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA) had a significant impact on the improvement of some MetS risk factors (waist circumference, fasting glucose, and HDL-cholesterol).

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Long-Term Dietary and Physical Activity Interventions in the School Setting and Their Effects on BMI in Children Aged 6–12 Years: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9040396 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 396

Author(s):

Purificación Cerrato-Carretero ◽

Raúl Roncero-Martín ◽

Juan D. Pedrera-Zamorano ◽

Fidel López-Espuela ◽

Luis M. Puerto-Parejo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Dietary Habits ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Controlled Clinical Trials ◽

Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

School Based ◽

School Based Interventions

Preventive actions and potential obesity interventions for children are mainly researched throughout the school period, either as part of the school curricula or after regular school hours, via interventions mostly lasting less than 12 months. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis on randomized controlled clinical trials to evaluate the evidence of the efficacy of long-term school-based interventions in the management of childhood obesity in terms of BMI from a dietary and physical activity-based approach. Eleven randomized controlled clinical trials were examined using the random effects model, and the results showed that there were no significant effects associated with physical activity + nutrition intervention in school children aged 6–12 years, with a pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) (95% CI) of −0.00 (−0.05, 0.04). No effects were observed after subgroup analysis based on the intervention length. The findings from our study indicate that long-term school-based interventions on physical activity and dietary habits received by children aged 6–12 years seem to have no effect on BMI. However, the promotion of such interventions should not be discouraged, as they promote additional positive health outcomes for other domains of children’s health.

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Supporting active ageing before retirement: a systematic review and meta-analysis of workplace physical activity interventions targeting older employees

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045818 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. e045818

Author(s):

Dafna Merom ◽

Fiona Stanaway ◽

Klaus Gebel ◽

Joanna Sweeting ◽

Anne Tiedemann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Low Socioeconomic Status ◽

Injury Risk ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽

Active Ageing ◽

Older Employees ◽

Health And Fitness

ObjectiveWith the growing representation of older adults in the workforce, the health and fitness of older employees are critical to support active ageing policies. This systematic review aimed to characterise and evaluate the effects on physical activity (PA) and fitness outcomes of workplace PA interventions targeting older employees.DesignWe searched Medline, PreMedline, PsycInfo, CINAHL and the Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials (CENTRAL) for articles published from inception to 17 February 2020. Eligible studies were of any experimental design, included employees aged ≥50 years, had PA as an intervention component and reported PA-related outcomes.ResultsTitles and abstracts of 8168 records were screened, and 18 unique interventions were included (3309 participants). Twelve studies were randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Seven interventions targeted multiple risk factors (n=1640), involving screening for cardiovascular disease risk factors, but had a non-specific description of the PA intervention. Four interventions targeted nutrition and PA (n=1127), and seven (n=235) focused only on PA. Interventions overwhelmingly targeted aerobic PA, compared with only four interventions targeting strength and/or balance (n=106). No studies involved screening for falls/injury risk, and only two interventions targeted employees of low socioeconomic status. Computation of effect sizes (ESs) was only possible in a maximum of three RCTs per outcome. ESs were medium for PA behaviour (ES=0.25 95% CI −0.07 to 0.56), muscle strength (ES=0.27, 95% CI −0.26 to 0.80), cardiorespiratory fitness (ES=0.28, 95% CI −22 to 0.78), flexibility (ES=0.50, 95% CI −0.04 to 1.05) and balance (ES=0.74, 95% CI −0.21 to 1.69). Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria-rated quality of evidence was ‘low’ due to high risk of bias, imprecision and inconsistency.ConclusionsThe lack of high-quality effective workplace PA interventions contrasts the importance and urgency to improve the health and fitness in this population. Future interventions should incorporate strength and balance training and screening of falls/injury risk in multi risk factors approaches.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018084863. (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=84863).

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Associations between lifestyle behaviour changes and the optimal well-being of middle-aged Japanese individuals

BioPsychoSocial Medicine ◽

10.1186/s13030-021-00210-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Toshihiro Takao ◽

Naoki Sumi ◽

Yoshiyuki Yamanaka ◽

Sohachi Fujimoto ◽

Tomoari Kamada

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Dietary Habits ◽

Chronic Renal Disease ◽

Well Being ◽

Regular Physical Activity ◽

World Health ◽

Positive Health ◽

Lifestyle Behaviour ◽

Lifestyle Behaviours

Abstract Background Psychological well-being has been associated with reduced mortality rates in both healthy and diseased populations. However, there is considerably less evidence on the effect of lifestyle behaviours on positive health outcomes such as well-being. This study examines the association between lifestyle behaviours and optimal well-being. Methods From a total of 4324 Japanese individuals who participated in an annual health check-up in 2017, this study recruited 2295 participants (mean age: 49.3 ± 8.4 years; female: 54.3%) without a history of cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, or chronic renal disease and not on medication for hypertension, diabetes, or dyslipidaemia. The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) scores were compared to self-reported scores on each of the following items: dietary habits, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and sleep quality. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between optimal well-being (the top quartile of WHO-5 scores) and individual lifestyle behaviours. The association between change in dietary habits and physical activity from 2016 to 2017 and optimal well-being was also investigated. Results Good dietary habits and regular physical activity were associated with higher raw WHO-5 scores and were positively associated with optimal well-being after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and sleep quality. Raw WHO-5 scores were significantly higher in those who maintained good dietary and physical activity behaviours than in those who did not. Furthermore, maintaining regular physical activity for two years was positively associated with optimal well-being, after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and sleep quality. Conclusion These results demonstrate that not only currently practising good dietary and physical activity behaviours but also maintaining such behaviours over time is associated with optimal well-being. Maintaining good lifestyle behaviours, particularly regarding physical activity, could potentially improve people’s well-being.

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