scholarly journals Free Time For Wellness: a co-designed intervention utilizing social networks to encourage physical activity for cancer prevention among low resourced mothers

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren C. Houghton ◽  
Marley P. Gibbons ◽  
Jeanette Shekelle ◽  
Ingrid Oakley-Girvan ◽  
Jessica L. Watterson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Free Time ◽  
External Support ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Design Workshop ◽  
Wellness Intervention ◽  
Washington Heights

Abstract Background Physical activity is central to chronic disease prevention. Low resource mothers face structural barriers preventing them from increasing their physical activity to reduce their chronic disease risk. We co-designed an intervention, with the ultimate goal of building social cohesion through social media to increase physical activity for low resourced mothers in urban settings. Methods In 2019, we interviewed 10 mothers of children (< 12 years) living in Washington Heights, Manhattan. The interviews were transcribed and coded for themes that guided the creation of a co-design workshop. Washington Heights-based mothers (n = 16) attended a co-design workshop to generate the blueprint for the Free Time for Wellness intervention. Results Mothers in our sample had limited time, external support and resources, which hindered them from increasing their physical activity; we learned that in addition to physical health, mental health was a concern for participants. Participants had varying degrees of self-efficacy and trust in social media. Bringing mothers and researchers together in a co-design workshop, we identified types of physical activities they would enjoy participating in, the ideal time to do so, the kind of childcare they needed, and their preferences for communication with the community champion. The interviews and workshop highlighted the need for a community space that mothers and children could co-occupy. The intervention was designed to be 3 months’ worth of sample programming with one activity per week, rotating between dance, yoga, food pantry visits and group playdates. Participants were invited to bring their children to a space with one room for the ‘participants only’ activity and a second room in which professional childcare providers supervised the children. Conclusions Through this two-phased co-design process, we created an intervention with mothers in an urban community with the goal of using social media to bring them together for wellness, primarily through increased physical activity. Despite the co-design of this intervention with a specific community, there are some universal applications of our findings, and of the use of co-design workshops, to other settings.

scholarly journals Sedentarism and chronic disease risk in COVID 19 lockdown – a scoping review

2020 ◽  
pp. 003693302094633
Author(s):  
Baskaran Chandrasekaran ◽  
Thiru Balaji Ganesan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Sedentary Behaviour ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽  
Chronic Disease Risk ◽  
Critical Measure ◽  
Obesity Hypertension

Background & Aims Though viewed as a critical measure to prevent the spread of the virus, a prolonged homestay may result in unfavourable sedentary behaviour and chronic disease risk. This systematic review focuses on sedentary behaviour resulting from this quarantine period which may elevate the cardiovascular disease risk, obesity, hypertension, cancer and mental health illness. Methods Evidence of breaking sedentary behaviour and global recommendations were investigated. Potential unanswered questions regarding sedentary behaviour and physical activity during lockdown were explored. Results Five systematic reviews and six prospective trials explored the effect of sedentarism affecting chronic disease through potential pathophysiological mechanisms. Sedentary behaviour especially prolonged sitting is found to be a pleiotropic risk factor with altered energy expenditure, adipogenic signalling, immunomodulation, autonomic stability and hormonal dysregulation perpetuating underlying chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health disorders. Conclusion Breaking sitting and physical activity are found to reverse the adverse effects associated with excessive sitting during the lockdown.

Pregnancy, Physical Activity and Weight Control to Prevent Obesity and Future Chronic Disease Risk in Both Mother and Child

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle F. Mottola
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Maternal Obesity ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Weight Retention ◽  
Chronic Disease Risk

Maternal obesity is accelerating world-wide and may be partly due to excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) and weight retention so that women begin a subsequent pregnancy with extra weight. Excessive GWG has been linked to chronic disease risk in the mother and also to an unhealthy foetal environment with downstream consequences for offspring health with risk for childhood obesity. Weight control during pregnancy and prevention of excessive GWG is an important issue for both mother and developing child. A healthy lifestyle through healthy eating and physical activity are key to prevention. Weight management for non-pregnant individuals has been evaluated for over 30 years, and lessons learned may assist in planning interventions for preventing excessive GWG. Many systematic reviews and meta-analyses analyzing the same studies on GWG report very different results. Recently, 10 intervention trials to prevent excessive GWG were published and only 6 of them were successful. Significant association between maternal exercise and GWG guidelines were reported, however, “one size does not fit all”. The failed trials did not have extra faceto- face sessions, were educational based and adherence was <50%. Accountability, face-to-face exercise sessions, and pedometers may motivate pregnant women to increase step counts to 10,000, which, when combined with nutrition control, prevents excessive GWG. Community walking programs that include family members and children may assist pregnant women of all body mass index categories to overcome potential barriers to promote a healthy lifestyle that will benefit them and their families for weight control and prevention of future chronic disease risk.

Skeletal muscle TLR4 and TACE are associated with body fat percentage in older adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 446-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle L. Timmerman ◽  
Ian D. Connors ◽  
Michael A. Deal ◽  
Rachael E. Mott
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Fasting Blood Glucose ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Percent Body Fat ◽  
Chronic Disease Risk

Elevated skeletal muscle expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) has been linked to increased inflammation in clinical populations. TNFα converting enzyme (TACE), which cleaves membrane-bound TNFα (mTNFα) to its soluble (sTNFα) and more bioactive form, has been linked to chronic disease. In contrast, higher physical activity level is associated with decreased chronic disease risk and inflammation. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between physical activity and skeletal muscle TLR4, TACE, and TNFα in older adults. In 26 older adults (age = 68 ± 4 years, body mass index = 26 ± 3 kg·m−2), self-reported physical activity (kcal·week−1), estimated maximal oxygen consumption, and body composition (air plethysmography) were measured. TLR4, TACE, mTNFα, and sTNFα were measured in skeletal muscle biopsies (vastus lateralis) using western blot analyses. Pearson product-moment correlations were run between variables. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Skeletal muscle TACE was directly associated with sTNFα (r = 0.53, p < 0.01). Linear regression modeling showed that mTNFα and TACE expression were predictive of sTNFα expression. No correlations were observed between physical activity and TLR4, TACE, or sTNFα. Percent body fat was directly associated with skeletal muscle TLR4 (r = 0.52, p < 0.01) and TACE (r = 0.50, p < 0.01), whereas fasting blood glucose was directly associated with TACE and sTNFα. In conclusion, we found that percent body fat was directly associated with TLR4 and TACE expression in skeletal muscle of older adults. These findings suggest that elevated skeletal muscle expression of TLR4 and TACE may contribute to the augmented inflammation and chronic disease risk observed with increased adiposity.

Evaluation of a rural community pharmacy-based Waist Management Project: bringing the program to the people

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Kellow
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Waist Circumference ◽  
Community Pharmacy ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Disease Development ◽  
Chronic Disease Risk

Time constraints and lack of awareness of risk factors for future chronic disease development prevent many young adults from accessing lifestyle programs offered by local health services. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a rural pharmacy-based multidisciplinary healthy lifestyle pilot program on reducing risk factors for chronic disease development among young adults. Individuals under the age of 50 with chronic disease risk factors were referred to the program. All subjects were provided with free after-hours nutritional counselling from a dietitian at the local community pharmacy, a comprehensive medication review conducted by the pharmacist, gym membership and access to cooking classes and supermarket tours. Selected participants also received bulk-billed GP appointments and assistance with establishing a home vegetable garden. Body weight, waist circumference, fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity were assessed at baseline and after program conclusion. Forty participants regularly attended the program between March 2009 and March 2010. At program conclusion, mean body weight was reduced by 3.8 ± 6.7 kg (P < 0.001) and waist circumference reduced by 3.9 ± 6.5 cm (P < 0.001). Fruit consumption increased by 1.2 ± 0.2 serves/day (P < 0.001) and vegetable intake increased by 1.6 ± 1.0 serves/day (P < 0.001). Participants also spent an average of 88.0 ± 47.7 more min/week (P < 0.001) engaged in physical activity on completion of the program. The community pharmacy provided an accessible location for the delivery of a successful chronic disease risk reduction program targeting young adults in a rural area.

scholarly journals Changes in Health Behaviours in Adults At-Risk of Chronic Disease: Primary Outcomes From The My Health for Life Program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charrlotte Seib ◽  
Stephanie Moriarty ◽  
Nicole McDonald ◽  
Debra Anderson ◽  
Joy Parkinson
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Waist Circumference ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable

Abstract Background Chronic disease is the leading cause of premature death globally, and many of these deaths are preventable by modifying some key behavioural and metabolic risk factors. This secondary data analysis examines changes in health behaviours among men and women at risk of diabetes or cardiovascular disease (CVD) who participated in a 6-month lifestyle intervention called the My health for life program. Methods My health for life is a government-funded multi-component program designed to reduce chronic disease risk factors amongst at-risk adults. The intervention comprises six sessions over a 6-month period, delivered by a trained facilitator or telephone health coach. The analysis presented in this paper stems from 9,372 participants who participated in the program between July 2017 and December 2019. Primary outcomes included fruit and vegetable intake, consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and take-away, alcohol and tobacco smoking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC). Variables were summed to form a single Healthy Lifestyle Index (HLI) ranging from 0 to 18, with higher scores denoting healthier behaviours. Longitudinal associations between lifestyle indices, assessed using Gaussian Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) models with an identity link and robust standard errors. Results Improvements in HLI scores were noted between baseline (Md = 10.0; IQR = 8.3, 11.7] and 26-weeks (Md = 11.7; IQR = 10.0, 13.2] which corresponded with increases in fruit and vegetable consumption and decreases in takeaway frequency, and weight indices (p < .01 for all) but not risky alcohol intake. Modelling showed higher average HLI among those aged 45 or older (β = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.81, 1.13, p < .01) with vocational educational qualifications (certificate/diploma: β = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.19, 0.76, p < .01; bachelor/post-graduate degree β = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.76, 1.34, p < .01) while being male, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background, or not currently working conferred lower average HLI scores (p < .01 for all). Conclusions While participants showed improvements in many healthy lifestyle indices including BMI, waist circumference, physical activity, and dietary indicators, changes in alcohol consumption were less amenable to the program. There is a need for additional research to understand the multi-level barriers and facilitators of behaviour change in this context to tailor the intervention for more-difficult-to-treat groups.

scholarly journals AGRITOURISM AS A WAY OF SPENDING FREE TIME OF URBAN FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN

2019 ◽  
Vol XXI (3) ◽  
pp. 532-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Zawadka
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Urban Families ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Free Time ◽  
Literature Analysis ◽  
Families With Children ◽  
The Village ◽  
Walking Tours

The aim of the study is to present agritourism as a way of spending free time with families with children living in cities. The article presents, among others, preferences, behaviour and expectations regarding stay and rest in agritourism farms of this group of visitors. The research was carried out by means of literature analysis and a diagnostic survey using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was disseminated on social media. The number of respondents was 195. Respondents chose several shorter stays rather than one long one. The most popular were farms located on a lake or river, in mountainous or coastal areas. They were popular mainly in summer. The village was visited mainly due to the possibility of rest in peace and quiet and its pro-health qualities. When selecting a particular object, respondents mainly considered the price. During their stay in the village, respondents were willing to undertake physical activity - bike and walking tours prevailed. Respondents were satisfied with their stay at an agritourism farm. Almost everyone declared that they would like to use this form of tourism again and would be ready to recommend it to their family or friends with children.

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