BACKGROUND To explore the level of physical activity in a population based sample of older adults; to analyze the influence of pain characteristics and fear-avoidance beliefs as predictors of physical activity among older adults reporting chronic pain. METHODS Demographics, pain characteristics (duration, intensity), physical activity, kinesiophobia (excessive fear of movement/(re) injury), s...

OBJECTIVE To examine physical activity (PA) prevalence in individuals with arthritis in comparison with those with other chronic diseases. METHODS Descriptive analyses were based on cross-sectional self-reported data for adults over age 18 from the Canadian Community Health Survey administered in 2005 (N = 132,221) for the following groups: arthritis, back problems, other physical chronic con...

Childhood obesity is an increasing health problem because of its strong associations with chronic health problems in children and adults. Obesity during childhood commonly persists into adulthood and is resistant to interventions that involve only recommendations to decrease caloric intake and to increase caloric expenditure through increased physical activity. The challenge with this approach ...

Physical inactivity has reached epidemic levels in developed countries and is being recognized as a serious public health problem. Recent evidence shows a high percentages of individuals worldwide who are physically inactive, i.e. do not achieve the WHO's present recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity per week in addition to usual activities. Living in sedentary lifesty...

BACKGROUND Studies have established that levels of fatigue vary between different patient groups. It is less clear whether the nature, as opposed to severity of fatigue differs between groups. OBJECTIVE To examine descriptions of fatigue by patients with a range of chronic diseases and determine the relationship between symptom domains. DESIGN Retrospective review of Fatigue Impact Scale (F...

Among the various diagnostic strategies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), physical diagnosis is the quickest and requires no extra cost. Rapid physical diagnosis of COPD in primary care practice can lead to earlier actions of preventive measures and counseling for patients. Further, rapid physical diagnosis of COPD in an emergency department is also crucial for timely use of pote...

New research into physical activity suggests that it is no longer sufficient just to meet minimum levels recommended by health guidelines in order to reduce cardiovascular risk. Both physical inactivity and sedentary behavior have their own health hazards and need to be addressed separately, in order to explore their different deleterious mechanisms. The aim of this review was to define and to ...