scholarly journals Physical Activity and Sports—Real Health Benefits: A Review with Insight into the Public Health of Sweden

Sports ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christer Malm ◽  
Johan Jakobsson ◽  
Andreas Isaksson

Positive effects from sports are achieved primarily through physical activity, but secondary effects bring health benefits such as psychosocial and personal development and less alcohol consumption. Negative effects, such as the risk of failure, injuries, eating disorders, and burnout, are also apparent. Because physical activity is increasingly conducted in an organized manner, sport’s role in society has become increasingly important over the years, not only for the individual but also for public health. In this paper, we intend to describe sport’s physiological and psychosocial health benefits, stemming both from physical activity and from sport participation per se. This narrative review summarizes research and presents health-related data from Swedish authorities. It is discussed that our daily lives are becoming less physically active, while organized exercise and training increases. Average energy intake is increasing, creating an energy surplus, and thus, we are seeing an increasing number of people who are overweight, which is a strong contributor to health problems. Physical activity and exercise have significant positive effects in preventing or alleviating mental illness, including depressive symptoms and anxiety- or stress-related disease. In conclusion, sports can be evolving, if personal capacities, social situation, and biological and psychological maturation are taken into account. Evidence suggests a dose–response relationship such that being active, even to a modest level, is superior to being inactive or sedentary. Recommendations for healthy sports are summarized.

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 246.2-246
Author(s):  
F. Milatz ◽  
M. Niewerth ◽  
J. Klotsche ◽  
J. Hörstermann ◽  
S. Hansmann ◽  
...  

Background:Physical activity (PA), including sport participation is essential for children throughout their growth and maturation. It improves physiological and psychosocial health and limits the risk of developing metabolic disorders. The beneficial effect of PA specifically in patients with JIA has also been linked to its potential regulatory effect on the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory responses [1].Objectives:The study aimed i) to quantify the frequency of PA and participation in (organised) sports compared to the general population, ii) to determine self-reported reasons for not practicing sports, and iii) to identify clinical parameters associated with non-participation in sports.Methods:Data from children and adolescents with JIA recorded in the National Paediatric Rheumatological Database (NPRD) in the year 2019 were considered for the analyses. In accordance with the methodology used in the general population survey (KIGGS) [2], achievement of the WHO recommendations on PA for at least 60 minutes per day as well as sport-related data were determined on the basis of self-reported outcomes in individuals aged 3 to 17 years. In order to compare PA-related data with the general population, a sex- and age-matched sample was drawn. A logistic regression model was used to explore the association between non-participation in sports and patients’ clinical outcomes.Results:Data of 5.333 matched-pairs (mean age 11.0 ± 4.3 years, female 67%, patients’ disease duration 4.8 ± 3.8 years, persistent oligoarthritis 43%) were available for evaluation. Almost 38% of patients aged 3 to 17 years met the recommended PA amount (76% aged 3 to 6; 48% aged 7 to 10; 30% aged 11 to 13; 15% aged 14 to 17). In matched controls, 21% fulfilled the WHO recommendations on PA (41% aged 3 to 6; 23% aged 7 to 10; 17% aged 11 to 13; 10% aged 14 to 17). Largest differences across JIA categories were found in persistent oligoarthritis (43%) and enthesitis-related arthritis (22%). 64% of patients and 74% of controls reported participating in sports, of which 72% of patients and 58% of controls stating to participate in a formally organised way. In both groups, boys indicated organised sports participation more often than girls. Among those who declared not participating in sports, “no interest” (patients 27% vs. controls 29%), “no suitable offer nearby” (patients 25% vs. controls 31%), “health restrictions” (patients 22% vs. controls 4%) and “no time” (patients 15% vs. controls 23%) were the most frequently mentioned reasons (multiple responses possible). CJADAS-10 (OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.00-1.04), CHAQ (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.50-2.14), DMARD use (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.15-1.53) and disease duration (OR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.95-0.99) were significantly associated with non-participation in sports.Conclusion:Based on self-reported data, children and adolescents with JIA meet the WHO recommendation on PA more often than general population controls. Patients are less frequently engaged in sports, but more often involved in formally organised forms. In order to bring joyful, interesting PA opportunities in line with WHO recommendations, further components (e.g. intensity), facilitators and barriers to PA and sports need to be addressed in the future while controlling for JADAS and CHAQ.References:[1]Rochette E et al. JIA and physical activity: possible inflammatory and immune modulation and tracks for interventions in young populations. Autoimmun Rev 2015;14:726–734.[2]Finger JD et al. Körperliche Aktivität von Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland - Querschnittergebnisse aus KiGGS Welle 2 und Trends. Journal of Health Monitoring 2018;3:24-31.Acknowledgements:The National Paediatric Rheumatological Database has been funded by AbbVie, Chugai, Novartis and GSK.Disclosure of Interests:Florian Milatz: None declared, Martina Niewerth: None declared, Jens Klotsche: None declared, Jana Hörstermann: None declared, Sandra Hansmann: None declared, Tilmann Kallinich: None declared, Christoph Rietschel: None declared, Ralf Trauzeddel: None declared, Joachim Peitz: None declared, Matthias Hartmann: None declared, Hermann Girschick: None declared, Kirsten Minden Speakers bureau: Pfizer, AbbVie, Consultant of: Novartis.


Author(s):  
David Rojas-Rueda

Background: Bicycling has been associated with health benefits. Local and national authorities have been promoting bicycling as a tool to improve public health and the environment. Mexico is one of the largest Latin American countries, with high levels of sedentarism and non-communicable diseases. No previous studies have estimated the health impacts of Mexico’s national bicycling scenarios. Aim: Quantify the health impacts of Mexico urban bicycling scenarios. Methodology: Quantitative Health Impact Assessment, estimating health risks and benefits of bicycling scenarios in 51,718,756 adult urban inhabitants in Mexico (between 20 and 64 years old). Five bike scenarios were created based on current bike trends in Mexico. The number of premature deaths (increased or reduced) was estimated in relation to physical activity, road traffic fatalities, and air pollution. Input data were collected from national publicly available data sources from transport, environment, health and population reports, and surveys, in addition to scientific literature. Results: We estimated that nine premature deaths are prevented each year among urban populations in Mexico on the current car-bike substitution and trip levels (1% of bike trips), with an annual health economic benefit of US $1,897,920. If Mexico achieves similar trip levels to those reported in The Netherlands (27% of bike trips), 217 premature deaths could be saved annually, with an economic impact of US $45,760,960. In all bicycling scenarios assessed in Mexico, physical activity’s health benefits outweighed the health risks related to traffic fatalities and air pollution exposure. Conclusion: The study found that bicycling promotion in Mexico would provide important health benefits. The benefits of physical activity outweigh the risk from traffic fatalities and air pollution exposure in bicyclists. At the national level, Mexico could consider using sustainable transport policies as a tool to promote public health. Specifically, the support of active transportation through bicycling and urban design improvements could encourage physical activity and its health co-benefits.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (s2) ◽  
pp. S284-S290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Delisle Nyström ◽  
Christel Larsson ◽  
Bettina Ehrenblad ◽  
Hanna Eneroth ◽  
Ulf Eriksson ◽  
...  

Background:The 2016 Swedish Report Card on Physical Activity (PA) for Children and Youth is a unique compilation of the existing physical and health related data in Sweden. The aim of this article is to summarize the procedure and results from the report card.Methods:Nationally representative surveys and individual studies published between 2005–2015 were included. Eleven PA and health indicators were graded using the Active Healthy Kids Canada grading system. Grades were assigned based on the percentage of children/youth meeting a defined benchmark (A: 81% to 100%, B: 61% to 80%, C: 41% to 60%, D: 21% to 40%, F: 0% to 20%, or incomplete (INC).Results:The assigned grades were Overall Physical Activity, D; Organized Sport Participation, B+; Active Play, INC; Active Transportation, C+; Sedentary Behaviors, C; Family and Peers, INC; School, C+; Community and the Built Environment, B; Government Strategies and Investments, B; Diet, C-; and Obesity, D.Conclusions:The included data provides some support that overall PA is too low and sedentary behavior is too high for almost all age groups in Sweden, even with the many national policies as well as an environment that is favorable to the promotion of PA.


Author(s):  
Liam Kelly ◽  
Michael Harrison ◽  
Noel Richardson ◽  
Paula Carroll ◽  
Tom Egan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Physical activity (PA) interventions capable of producing health benefits cost effectively are a public health priority across the Western world. ‘Men on the Move’ (MOM), a community-based PA intervention for men, demonstrated significant health benefits up to 52-weeks (W) post-baseline. This article details the economic evaluation of MOM with a view to determining its cost-effectiveness as a public health intervention to be rolled out nationally in Ireland. Methods Cost-effectiveness was determined by comparing the costs (direct and indirect) of the programme to its benefits, which were captured as the impact on quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). For the benefits, cost–utility analysis was conducted by retrospectively adapting various health-related measures of participants to generate health states using Brazier et al.’s (2002) short form-6D algorithm. This in turn allowed for ‘utility measures’ to be generated, from which QALYs were derived. Results Findings show MOM to be cost-effective in supporting an ‘at risk’ cohort of men achieves significant improvements in aerobic fitness, weight loss and waist reduction. The total cost per participant (€125.82 for each of the 501 intervention participants), the QALYs gained (11.98 post-12-W intervention, or 5.3% health improvement per participant) and estimated QALYs ratio costs of €3723 represents a cost-effective improvement when compared to known QALY guidelines. Conclusions The analysis shows that the cost per QALY achieved by MOM is significantly less than the existing benchmarks of £20 000 and €45 000 in the UK and Ireland respectively, demonstrating MOM to be cost-effective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1187-1195
Author(s):  
Nathanial J. Kapsal ◽  
Theresa Dicke ◽  
Alexandre J.S. Morin ◽  
Diego Vasconcellos ◽  
Christophe Maïano ◽  
...  

Background: The physical and psychosocial benefits of physical activity for typically developing youth are well established; however, its impact on youth with intellectual disabilities is not as well understood. The aims of this review and meta-analysis were to synthesize the literature and quantify the effects of physical activity on the physical and psychosocial health of youth with intellectual disabilities. Method: Studies meeting the inclusion criteria were grouped by their focus on physical health and/or psychosocial health outcomes. Meta-analyses were performed using 3-level, random effects and mixed effects models. Results: One hundred nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Physical activity had a large effect on physical health (g = 0.773, P < .001) and a moderately large effect (g = 0.682, P < .001) on psychosocial health. Participant age, intellectual disability level, other developmental disabilities, outcome type, and intervention type moderated the effects of physical activity on physical health, whereas study design, risk of bias, other developmental disabilities, outcome type, and intervention type were moderators on psychosocial health. Conclusions: Physical activity has positive effects on the physical and psychosocial health of youth with intellectual disabilities. Although resistance training shows the most physical benefits, teaching movement and sports skills appear to benefit their physical and psychosocial health.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0256546
Author(s):  
Arran J. Davis ◽  
Pádraig MacCarron ◽  
Emma Cohen

There is growing academic, civic and policy interest in the public health benefits of community-based exercise events. Shifting the emphasis from competitive sport to communal activity, these events have wide appeal. In addition to physical health benefits, regular participation can reduce social isolation and loneliness through opportunities for social connection. Taking a broad evolutionary and social psychological perspective, we suggest that social factors warrant more attention in current approaches to physical (in)activity and exercise behavior. We develop and test the hypothesis that social reward and support in exercise are associated with positive exercise experiences and greater performance outputs. Using a repeated-measures design, we examine the influence of social perceptions and behavior on subjective enjoyment, energy, fatigue, effort, and objective performance (run times) among a UK sample of parkrun participants. Social factors were associated with greater subjective enjoyment and energy. Higher subjective energy, in turn, was associated with faster run times, without any corresponding increase in perceived effort. No significant main effects of social factors on fatigue, performance or effort were detected. The role of social structural factors has long been recognized in public health approaches to physical activity. Our results indicate that there should be greater research attention on how positive and rewarding social behaviors and experiences—particularly subjective enjoyment and energy, and perceptions of community social support and belonging—influence exercise-related behavior, psychology and physiology, and promote health through collective physical activity. The research also supplements traditional emphases on social facilitation and team sport that have dominated sport and exercise psychology and offers new avenues for understanding the deep connections among psychological, social and physical function in everyday health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4477
Author(s):  
Javier Fernandez-Rio ◽  
Sixto González-Víllora ◽  
Alfonso Valero-Valenzuela ◽  
Alejandro Anton-Candanedo ◽  
Juan Andrés Merino-Barrero ◽  
...  

Amateur football is played by millions of individuals worldwide, but it has been scarcely researched (almost no studies have targeted this sport). There seems to be a need to fill this gap, because it has an impact in these individuals’ health status. The aim of our research was to uncover amateur football players’ physical and psychological traits to understand the impact of this sport in their health (physical, mental, and social well-being). Two-hundred footballers (17–40 years) from four regions in Spain (north, central, southwest, southeast), enrolled in 16 different football teams participated. They completed a questionnaire to assess their motives for sport participation, their intention to continue playing football, and their exercise addiction. To objectively measure their physical activity levels, accelerometers were used during practice sessions. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were obtained from coaches prior to and after every practice session and players at the end of every practice. Results showed a mean 140.1 moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)/minutes/week. Players’ RPE scores were similar in the “fairly light” range (6–20 scale) at pre (11.38 ± 1.64) and post training (11.83 ± 1.39), and it was not different between players and coaches (11.50 ± 1.52). Enjoyment was the highest-ranked motive to practice amateur football (6.34 ± 0.67; 1–7 range), followed by fitness (5.68 ± 0.97; 1–7 range), social (4.80 ± 0.85; 1–7 range), and appearance (4.04 ± 1.21; 1–7 range). Players had some symptoms of exercise addiction (21.09 ± 4.53; 1–30 range) and their intentions to continue playing were very high (4.31 ± 1.08; 1–5 range). Moreover, enjoyment was the strongest predictor of these intentions (R2 = 0.260). In conclusion, a weekly amateur football practice almost allows players to meet international MVPA recommendations for health benefits. Enjoyment was their strongest motive to practice, and the players showed some symptoms of exercise addiction. These two variables were the strongest predictors of the participants’ intention to continue playing amateur football. This sport could be considered adequate to help adults maintain an active, healthy lifestyle.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arran Davis ◽  
Pádraig MacCarron ◽  
Emma Cohen

Abstract Background: There is growing academic, civic and policy interest in the public health benefits of community-based exercise events. Shifting the emphasis from competitive sport to communal activity, these events have wide appeal, including among those new to sport or exercise. In addition to health benefits of physical activity, regular participation can reduce social isolation and loneliness through opportunities for social connection. Taking a broad evolutionary and social psychological perspective, we suggest that social factors warrant more attention in current approaches to physical (in)activity and exercise behaviour. We develop and test the hypothesis that social reward and support in exercise are associated with positive exercise experiences and greater performance outputs. Methods: Using a repeated-measures survey design, we examine the influence of social behaviour (e.g., attending with others, pre-event socialising) and perceptions of social support and belonging on subjective enjoyment, energy, fatigue, effort, and objective performance (run times) among a UK sample of parkrun participants.Results: Social factors were associated with greater subjective enjoyment and energy. Higher subjective energy, in turn, was associated with faster run times, without any corresponding increase in perceived effort. No significant main effects of social factors on fatigue, performance or effort were detected. Conclusions: The role of social structural factors has long been recognised in public health approaches to physical activity. Our results motivate greater research attention on how positive and rewarding social behaviours and experiences – particularly subjective enjoyment and energy, and perceptions of community social support and belonging - influence exercise-related behaviour, psychology and physiology, and promote health through collective physical activity. Approaching community exercise as a powerful context for social collaboration, reward and belonging also supplements the traditional focus on social facilitation and team sport that has dominated social psychological approaches within the sport and exercise sciences, and offers new avenues for understanding the deep connections among psychological, social and physical function in everyday health.


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