abstract childhood and adolescence are critical periods for the skeleton. mechanical load has then been shown to be one of the best stimuli to enhance not only bone mass, but also structural skeletal adaptations, as both contributing to bone strength. exercise prescription also includes a window of opportunity to improve bone strength in the late pre- and early peri-pubertal period. there is so...

BACKGROUND AND AIM There is a widely held and influential view that physical activity begins to decline at adolescence. This study aimed to identify the timing of changes in physical activity during childhood and adolescence. METHODS Longitudinal cohort study (Gateshead Millennium Study) with 8 years of follow-up, from North-East England. Cohort members comprise a socioeconomically representa...

We sought to determine whether the M235T angiotensinogen (AGT) polymorphism, either interacting with habitual physical activity (PA) levels or independently, was associated with cardiovascular (CV) hemodynamics during maximal and submaximal exercise. Sixty-one healthy postmenopausal women (16 sedentary, 21 physically active, and 24 endurance athletes) had heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), c...

We hypothesized that the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) would be poorer in physically inactive older adults. This was tested in a sample of 73 male and 108 female free-living healthy Japanese participants, age 65-85 years. We measured accelerometer step counts and their metabolic equivalents (METs) throughout each 24-hr period for 1 year. At the end of the year, HRQOL was assessed. Phys...

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible influence of childhood physical fitness on physical activity level and some of its psychosocial determinants as an adult. Childhood (age 10-12 years) data from the longitudinal Trois-Rivières Growth and Development Study (body mass index, Physical Work Capacity (PWC170)), number of sit-ups/min, left + right hands grip strength) were correlat...

PURPOSE Simple instruments are needed to assess habitual physical activity (PA) in obese subjects. In a multicenter European obesity project, we tested whether PA assessments by two questionnaires were correlated and similarly associated to selected obesity-related variables. METHODS A total of 757 obese subjects (75% female; age 37.1 [7.9] yr, BMI 35.5 [4.9] kg.m(-2), mean [SD]) completed th...

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of physical activity on the level of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The serum BDNF level in trained men who have participated in regular sport activity (n=12) was compared to that in sedentary subjects (n=14). The physical activity levels expressed as total energy expenditure, move-related energy expenditure and walking count ...