Fitness center use and subsequent achievement of exercise goals. A prospective study on long-term fitness center members

Background Knowledge on the relationship between fitness center use and long-term members’ subsequent goal achievement is limited. Therefore, the aim was to investigate the prospective association between the use of fitness centers during 18 months and subsequent self-reported goal achievement among long-term members. Methods This was a registry- and survey-based longitudinal study of 2851 people who had been members at a Norwegian fitness center chain for more than two years. Fitness center use from December 2016 to June 2018 was obtained from registry data. Subsequent goal achievement was measured in a survey in June 2018, assessed by a 1–100 visual analogue scale, and a score between 0 and 50 was defined as low goal achievement. Results Visiting the fitness center frequently and regularly, and having frequent group activity bookings were associated with higher subsequent self-reported goal achievement. Participants with fewest visits (1–57 days) during 18 months were more likely to report low goal achievement than participants with most visits (118–543 days) (OR = 8.5; 95% CI 6.3–11.4). Fitness trainer bookings was not clearly associated with subsequent goal achievement. Conclusions Frequent and regular long-term fitness center use were associated with higher subsequent self-reported goal achievement.

Implementation of preventive care in a fitness center: Medical and social aspects

Objectives to evaluate the possibility of organizing a preventive care service in a modern fitness center through the analysis of visitor's motivation to attend the center. Material and methods. The visitors of three large fitness centers filled in a questionnaire, the results of the survey were further processed using cluster analysis. Results. In 43.11.6% of cases, the main motive for visiting a fitness center was improving health. The goal of "prevention and treatment of diseases" was chosen by 23.41.4% of visitors. A motive for weight reduction was registered in 29.41.5% of cases. Visitors' ranking of the goals to attend a fitness center showed that in most cases they consider improving health (5.79 points) to be the most important task, in second place keeping fit (5.69 points). Cluster analysis allowed us to divide visitors into 8 groups, the three largest groups can be the target audience for the prevention of noncommunicable socially significant diseases. Conclusion. Some categories of fitness center visitors can be the essential target segment for emphasizing preventive activities against non-infectious socially significant diseases.

Covid-19 transmission in fitness centers in Norway - a randomized trial

Background Closed fitness centers during the Covid-19 pandemic may negatively impact health and wellbeing. We assessed whether training at fitness centers increases the risk of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. Methods In a two-group parallel randomized controlled trial, fitness center members aged 18 to 64 without Covid-19-relevant comorbidities, were randomized to access to training at a fitness center or no-access. Fitness centers applied physical distancing (1 m for floor exercise, 2 m for high-intensity classes) and enhanced hand and surface hygiene. Primary outcomes were SARS-CoV-2 RNA status by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after 14 days, hospital admission after 21 days. The secondary endpoint was SARS-CoV-2 antibody status after 1 month. Results 3764 individuals were randomized; 1896 to the training arm and 1868 to the no-training arm. In the training arm, 81.8% trained at least once, and 38.5% trained ≥six times. Of 3016 individuals who returned the SARS-CoV-2 RNA tests (80.5%), there was one positive test in the training arm, and none in the no-training arm (risk difference 0.053%; 95% CI − 0.050 to 0.156%; p = 0.32). Eleven individuals in the training arm (0.8% of tested) and 27 in the no-training arm (2.4% of tested) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (risk difference − 0.87%; 95%CI − 1.52% to − 0.23%; p = 0.001). No outpatient visits or hospital admissions due to Covid-19 occurred in either arm. Conclusion Provided good hygiene and physical distancing measures and low population prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, there was no increased infection risk of SARS-CoV-2 in fitness centers in Oslo, Norway for individuals without Covid-19-relevant comorbidities. Trial registration The trial was prospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov on May 13, 2020. Due to administrative issues it was first posted on the register website on May 29, 2020: NCT04406909.

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Its Association with the Level of Physical Activity in Fitness Center Users: Croatian-Based Study

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is based on the traditional cuisine of south European countries, and it is considered one of the healthiest dietary patterns worldwide. The promotion of combined MD and physical activity has shown major benefits. However, the association between physical activity and the MD in regular fitness center users is still insufficiently investigated. This cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted on 1220 fitness center users in Croatia. The survey consisted of three parts: general information, the Mediterranean Diet Serving Score (MDSS) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF). The results showed that 18.6% of fitness center users were adherent to the MD, and there was a significant positive correlation between the level of physical activity and the MDSS score (r = 0.302, p < 0.001). Moreover, after dividing the sample into tertiles based on the IPAQ-SF score, the third tertile (MET > 3150 min/wk) had the most fitness center users (34.4%) adherent to the MD, while the first tertile (MET < 1750 min/wk) had the least (6.1%). These outcomes emphasize the importance of physical activity as they imply that, with higher levels of physical activity, people are also possibly more aware of the importance that a healthy and balanced diet has on their well-being.

Disordered eating symptoms in Austrian men of different ages in the context of fitness centers

Purpose To assess eating behavior and associated factors in male fitness-center attendees. Methods An anonymous questionnaire was administered to male fitness center members of Innsbruck (Austria), aged 18–80 years to assess socio-demographic features, weight history, sports activity, eating behavior including disordered eating based on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and DSM-5 key symptoms for eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, binge eating, bulimia nervosa, purging disorder) and body image. Three age groups (younger—middle-aged—older men) were compared regarding the variables described above. Results A total of 307 men included displayed high rates of disordered eating as described by EDE-Q cutoff scores (5–11%) as well as by DSM-5 eating disorder symptoms (10%). While EDE-Q cutoff scores did not differentiate between the groups, the prevalences of DSM-5 eating disorder symptoms yielded significant differences indicating a clear decrease with increasing age. Binge eating and bulimic symptoms with excessive exercising as the purging method were the most often reported symptoms. Conclusion Although described as typically female, disordered eating does occur in male fitness-gym attendees across all ages. The older the men, the less prevalent are the symptoms. Awareness of disordered eating and possible negative effects need to be addressed for attendees and trainers of the gym. Level of evidence V—descriptive survey study.

NCOG-38. PREDICTORS OF COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY BRAIN TUMORS: AN ANALYSIS OF BRAIN FITNESS CENTER (BFC) AT WALTER REED NATIONAL MILITARY MEDICAL CENTER

INTRODUCTION Although developed initially for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), cognitive rehabilitation training (CRT) has expanded its use to include patients suffering from a variety of neurocognitive disorders including neurologic malignancies. The Brain Fitness Center (BFC) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) is a cognitive rehabilitation clinic that offers computer-based cognitive training programs as an adjunctive rehabilitation resource for a diverse patient population with cognitive complaints. METHODS Using a retrospective analysis of data from the BFC at WRNMMC, our study analyzed forty patients with primary brain tumors who had completed both symptom self-report questionnaires and cognitive assessments at the BFC. Self-report questionnaires included the neurobehavioral symptom inventory (NSI) and headache symptom inventory (HIT-6) while cognitive assessments were done using the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM). Our study examined the relationship between subjective cognitive complaints, headache severity, neuropsychiatric symptoms and objective cognitive performance before and after initial CRT. The influence of high vs low grade tumors was also evaluated. RESULTS Our analysis demonstrated that increased number of affective symptoms, particularly self-reported irritability, were the strongest predictors of baseline, objective cognitive performance (r= -.377, p=0.008). Patient self-reported forgetfulness, but not overall subjective cognitive complaints, was also negatively correlated with objective cognitive performance (r= - 0.353, p= 0.020). A mean difference in objective cognitive performance between high grade and low grade tumors was also found (p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS Our results point to potential patient-level factors which could predict benefit from CRT including self-reported irritability, self-reported forgetfulness, and tumor grade. Further prospective studies will help to examine the true benefit of sustained CRT, and the subset of patients with CNS neoplasms most likely to benefit from this training.