Physical activity of daily life of Bundeswehr soldiers: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2021-001865
Author(s):  
Christin Schilz ◽  
S Sammito

IntroductionActivity of daily life is an important key to maintaining and improving the health status. This is especially important for people in physically demanding jobs, such as firefighters, military and police.MethodsIn order to record the actual state of activity of daily life among soldiers, a step count measurement with a pedometer was carried out on 196 soldiers of the German Armed Forces over 7 days and supplemented by a questionnaire on lifestyle factors.ResultsThe subjects exceeded the recommended 7000–8000 steps per day, with the rank and file moving the least and the commissioned officers the most. It was also striking that the soldiers in the study moved an average of 2600 steps less per day on weekends than on weekdays.ConclusionsBased on these findings, targeted physical activity measures can be established for the identified target groups within the framework of corporate health management in order to ensure the physical fitness of soldiers on routine duty and on deployment.

Author(s):  
Christin Schilz ◽  
Stefan Sammito

Abstract Purpose High physical fitness and good health are not only essential for the civilian population but also for persons working in physically and psychologically demanding professions, such as armed forces personnel. To date there is no scientific summary of studies dealing with the physical activity of daily life in armed forces personnel, but this is necessary for a targeted intervention. Methods A systematic review was performed in the PubMed database (target date: 24 May 2020), using the search terms “military personnel” and “exercise” or “(physical) activity of daily life” including the assigned MESH words. Results Seven original papers have focused on the daily physical activity of military personal, and they were all conducted in different countries. The activity of daily life was on average 11,540 steps per day. Conclusions It could be shown that soldiers performed more physical activity than the civilian population and that the recommended 10,000 steps per day were slightly exceeded on average. However, the number of steps performed was very low in fields of activity with limited physical activity options, such as on board a ship. Altogether, it thus seems that additional health-promoting physical activity programs are not required for most of the soldiers, but that, in contrast, corresponding offers for physical activity alternatives, e.g., in the form of fitness equipment, are urgently required in specific task areas (e.g., on board ships).


Author(s):  
Marcel Ballin ◽  
Peter Nordström ◽  
Anna Nordström

In this cross-sectional study, the authors investigated the associations of objectively measured physical activity (PA) with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in older adults. Accelerometer-derived light-intensity PA, moderate to vigorous PA, and steps per day were measured in (N = 4,652) 70-year-olds in Umeå, Sweden, during May 2012–November 2019. The MetS was assessed according to the American Heart Association/ National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute criteria. The prevalence of MetS was 49.3%. Compared with the reference, the odds ratios for MetS in increasing quartiles of light-intensity PA were 0.91 (0.77–1.09), 0.75 (0.62–0.89), and 0.66 (0.54–0.80). For moderate to vigorous PA, the corresponding odds ratios were 0.79 (0.66–0.94), 0.67 (0.56–0.80), and 0.56 (0.46–0.67). For steps per day, the odds ratios were 0.65 (0.55–0.78), 0.55 (0.46–0.65), and 0.45 (0.36–0.55). In summary, this study shows that greater amounts of PA, regardless of intensity, are associated with lower odds of MetS. With the limitation of being an observational study, these findings may have implications for the prevention of MetS in older adults.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-50
Author(s):  
WHYE LIAN CHEAH ◽  
HELMY HAZMI ◽  
CHING THON CHANG

Background: This study aimed to describe the patterns of physical activities both at weekends and on weekdays and to identify their associated factors. Material/Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among secondary school students aged 13-15 years old in Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic information and to measure perceived barriers, self-efficacies and social influences. Anthropometric measurements were taken and used to determine BMI-for-age, while pedometers were used to assess the physical activity levels. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: A total of 474 students from six secondary schools participated. About 16% of the respondents were overweight and obese, majority of them males. The mean BMI was 21.21 ±12.93, higher among males. The mean steps per day were 6251.37±3085.31, with weekends recorded a higher number of steps. The number of steps among males was higher than among females. On weekdays, self-motivation scores significantly predicted the participants’ number of steps/physical activity rate (b = 521.43, 95% CI -72.78 to 1050.19). At weekends, lack of interest and knowledge scores (b = -427.82, 95% CI -837.72 to 17.92) and making choices scores (b = 737.41, 95% CI -197.94 to 1276.88) were significant to predict the number of steps/physical activity levels. Conclusions: These findings indicated the importance of investigating predictors of physical activity for weekdays and weekends. Thus, efforts should focus on how to motivate adolescents to be more physically active targeting the identified predictors for weekdays and week ends.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Yang ◽  
Jiadong Wu ◽  
Xiaoxiao Mo ◽  
Yaqin Chen ◽  
Shanshan Huang ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Mobile health applications are emerging as a novel platform to obtain data pertinent to wellness and disease diagnosis, prevention, and management. As the future general trend of medical informatization, mobile health is an indispensable way to promote universal medical care to reduce disease burden. The features of these mHealth apps in China is unclear, so we collected a wide range of application information to evaluate these apps effectively. OBJECTIVE We aim to provide a landscape of mHealth apps on the existing market in China. We expect that based on the actual state, this study can give future development directions of mHealth apps. METHODS We searched mHealth apps from five android app stores (Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Tencent, and 360), Apple App Store (IOS), and Baidu search engine up to October 25, 2019. We also searched the inventory of the top 100 Chinese hospitals in 2018 and four online shopping sites (Tmall, JD, Pinduoduo, and Suning) to identify apps of Internet hospitals and intelligent devices, respectively. RESULTS We identified 2425 mHealth apps (93.3% android, 69.2% iPhone) in the primary analysis, whose intentional users were ordinary consumers (Android 1808/2262, 79.9%; IOS 1350/1677, 80.5%). 56.1% (1168/2081) of app developers were Internet companies. More than 90% of apps were available free of cost (Android 2111/2262, 93.3%; IOS 1615/1677, 96.3%), but in-app purchases accounted for more than 60% (Android 1397/2262, 61.8%; IOS 1189/1677, 70.9%). Of the 1285 public available apps, 1248 were for health management, of which 26.3% (328/1248) were related to bodybuilding, and 13.7% (171/1248) were related to women's health. The other 697 apps were used for medical support, and 289 of them were related to inquiries. The permissions required by the apps include claiming the network (2081/2107), reading the status and identity of the phone (1881/2107) , and location (1799/2107). CONCLUSIONS With the increasing condition of the paid and membership system, rising profit of mHealth app drives various industries to move forward. This study guides research designs of future apps in mHealth field. The prospect of mHealth app is bright, but there exists a critical condition in claiming excessive permissions, security, and legal management, which need to be further strengthened.


2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Martins Coelho ◽  
Larissa Almeida Campos ◽  
Fabiana Oliveira Pereira ◽  
Ranieri Monteiro Cardoso ◽  
Lucas Mendes Nascimento ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-196
Author(s):  
Richard Larouche ◽  
Joel D. Barnes ◽  
Sébastien Blanchette ◽  
Guy Faulkner ◽  
Negin A. Riazi ◽  
...  

Purpose: Children’s independent mobility (IM) may facilitate both active transportation (AT) and physical activity (PA), but previous studies examining these associations were conducted in single regions that provided limited geographical variability. Method: We recruited 1699 children (55.0% girls) in 37 schools stratified by level of urbanization and socioeconomic status in 3 regions of Canada: Ottawa, Trois-Rivières, and Vancouver. Participants wore a SC-StepRx pedometer for 7 days and completed a validated questionnaire from which we derived a 6-point IM index, the number of AT trips over a week, and the volume of AT to/from school (in kilometer per week). We investigated relationships among measures of IM, AT, and PA employing linear mixed models or generalized linear mixed models adjusted for site, urbanization, and socioeconomic status. Results: Each unit increase in IM was associated with 9% more AT trips, 19% higher AT volume, and 147 more steps per day, with consistent results across genders. Both measures of AT were associated with marginally higher PA when pooling boys’ and girls’ data. Children in Vancouver engaged in more AT. PA did not vary across site, urbanization, or socioeconomic status. Conclusion: IM was associated with more AT and PA regardless of where children lived, underscoring a need for IM interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Duarte Santos ◽  
Rui César das Neves ◽  
Ruy M. Ribeiro ◽  
Cátia Caneiras ◽  
Fátima Rodrigues ◽  
...  

Physical inactivity may be a consequence of chronic diseases but also a potential modifiable risk factor. Therefore, it should be clinically assessed as a vital sign of patients’ general physical condition prior to any exercise-based intervention. This cross-sectional study describes physical activity in the daily life of 100 chronic respiratory patients before pulmonary rehabilitation, comparing subjective and objective measures. The assessment combined the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and 4-day accelerometer and oximeter telemonitoring with SMARTREAB technology, assessing heart rate, transcutaneous oxygen saturation and activity-related energy expenditure by metabolic equivalent of task (MET). According to IPAQ, 49% of patients had a moderate level of physical activity in daily life (PADL), a weekly mean level of 2844 ± 2925 MET.min/week, and a mean sedentary time of 5.8 ± 2.7 h/day. Alongside this, SMARTREAB telemonitoring assessed maximum activity ranging from 1.51 to 4.64 METs, with 99.6% daytime spent on PADL below 3 METs and 93% of patients with daily desaturation episodes. Regardless of the self-reported IPAQ, patients spend at least 70% of daytime on PADL below 2 METs. SMARTREAB was demonstrated to be an innovative methodology to measure PADL as a vital sign, combining oximetry with accelerometry, crossmatched with qualitative patient data, providing important input for designing patient-tailored pulmonary rehabilitation.


Author(s):  
Sharifah Wajihah Wafa ◽  
Nur Nadzirah Aziz ◽  
Marhasiyah Rahim

A major health threat for children in the 21st century is physical inactivity in conjunction with the elevated prevalence of obesity. In Malaysia, low physical activity among children is a major concern. The objective of the study was to analyze the day to day variation of step count in a sample of obese children using the activPALTM monitor. This was a cross sectional study conducted in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. The sample compromised 41 boys and 24 girls between the ages of 9-11 years. Number of steps was objectively measured using an activPALTM accelerometer over a period of 4-7 days and had their height and weight measured. Mean step count from this sample of obese children was 8861 ± 3157steps. Steps per day were significantly higher for boys compared to girls (p=0.034). Obese children took significantly more steps at weekdays than on weekends (p=0.001). Steps/hour were significantly higher in weekday compared to weekend between 0600 to 0700 (p<0.001), 0700 to 0800 (p<0.001), 0800 to 0900 am (p<0.001), 0900 to 1000 (p=0.032), 1000 to 1100 (p=0.046), 1100 to 1200 (p<0.001), 1300 to 1400 (p=0.002), 1400 to 1500 (p<0.001), 1800 to 1900 (p=0.026) and 2000 to 2100 (p=0.019). Detailed daily patterns of physical activity are required to fully understand the differences across days that help future interventions to target those falling short particularly during weekend.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13998
Author(s):  
Gema Díaz-Quesada ◽  
Cecilia Bahamonde-Pérez ◽  
José María Giménez-Egido ◽  
Gema Torres-Luque

Physical activity recommendations for early childhood are gradually being met to a lesser extent today. The objectives of the study were: (i) to assess the degree of compliance with physical activity (PA) recommendations by gender; and (ii) to analyze the level of PA and steps in different periods over a week. This study was an observational cross-sectional study. Sixty-three young children (33 boys and 30 girls) aged two years (2.15 ± 0.35) were recruited for this study. Participants wore a “Garmin vivofit® jr.” activity tracker for seven days, collecting minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and step volume (Out-of-School Time and School Time). The results show a 50% compliance of the 120 min/day MVPA and 13,000 steps per day. No gender differences were detected. The findings in the analysis indicated a trend towards higher PA and steps at the Weekend. Moreover, participants reached higher PA and steps values “Out-of-School Time” than “School Time” (MVPA) (min/day). This study can provide strategies and motivational PA guidelines at school to enhance well-being at an early age. These activity trackers could stimulate more sustainable forms of urban mobility, such as walking, as the environment would accompany the child to meet daily PA recommendations.


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