779 Research on sedentary behavior in youth has focused on the relation between television watching and body composition. Few studies have examined other sedentary behaviors that may contribute to inactivity. We examined the factor structure of 7 sedentary behaviors in 1626 11-13 yr. youth from 24 middle schools using a 7-day recall checklist (response rate = 72%). Test-retest reliability estimates (ICC) for the sedentary behaviors ranged from R = 0.3 to 0.96. Additional correlates of sedentary behavior were also examined. The sample was comprised of 58% girls, with 53% white, 16% Latino, 12% multi-ethnic, 11% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 7% African-American. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation yielded a 3 component solution that explained 57% of the variance in youth sedentary behavior. Sedentary Entertainment (watching TV/video, playing video games) explained the largest variance (21%), followed by Socializing (18%; talking on phone, talking with friends), and Educational Activities (18%; homework, computer/internet use, reading). Girls engaged in more Socializing than boys (1.8 vs. 1.1 hrs/day, respectively; p<.001), less Entertainment (1.6 vs. 2.3 hrs/day, p<.001), and similar amounts of Educational activity (1.6 vs. 1.5 hrs/day). Adjusting for household education, total physical activity (PA) correlated positively with all 3 components of sedentary behavior in boys, but only Educational activities and Socializing in girls. For girls, liking of school physical education was negatively correlated with sedentary Entertainment (r = −.12, p<.001). Sedentary Socializing was also associated with selected unhealthful dietary habits of boys and girls. Middle school students spend a large amount of time in sedentary behaviors (mean = 4.73 hrs/day), and 3 factors were identified. Surprisingly high correlations with PA were found, suggesting either that there is time for both sedentary behavior and PA, or there is a response bias. Supported by NIH HL54564
We investigated the aggregation of blood pressure within 95 Anglo-American and 111 Mexican-American families. Degree of genetic relatedness was evaluated by calculating separate correlations for spouses and for each spouse with both same-sex and opposite-sex offspring. In addition, sibling correlations were evaluated. These analyses were performed separately for Anglo-American and Mexican-American families. Replicating earlier findings, correlations between blood pressures of Anglo spouses were nonsignificant. However, there were significant spousal correlations in the Mexican-American group. For Anglo-American families, there were significant associations between blood pressures of fathers and sons and between blood pressures of mothers and daughters. Correlations between blood pressures for opposite-sex parent-child pairs were nonsignificant. In the Mexican-American group, there were significant correlations between fathers' blood pressures and those of both male and female offspring. For mothers, blood pressures were weakly correlated with all other family members. These relationships remained after adjustment for age, body mass index, and measures of dietary habits and activity levels. In general, blood pressure aggregation was greater in Mexican-American families.
The authors provide a conceptual model of a healthy nutrition environment, then review the types of measures required to assess various aspects of this environment. Measures fall into priority categories of consumer and community environments.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades play an important role in transducting environmental stimuli to the transcriptional machinery in the nucleus by virtue of their ability to phosphorylate and regulate the activity of various transcription factors. Originally found to be activated in response to occupancy of cell surface receptors for polypeptide hormones, cytokines, and growth factors, MAPK cascades were recently found to be activated by a variety of stresses including ischemia reperfusion, neuronal injury, osmotic shock, and exposure to UV irradiation. Therefore, MAPK cascades are likely to be important regulatory elements in a variety of stress responses.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Previous studies have not used both self-report and objective measures to assess sex and ethnic differences in children’s physical activity. In the present study, 187 Mexican American and Anglo American children, aged 11 to 12 years, were assessed by two 7-day physical activity recall interviews and up to 8 days of accelerometer (Caltrac) monitoring over a 6-month period. Compared to Anglo American boys, accelerometer data showed Mexican American boys, Anglo American girls, and Mexican American girls to be 95,81, and 75% as active, respectively. Activity recall data showed that, compared to Anglo American boys, Mexican American boys, Anglo American girls, and Mexican American girls were 95,95, and 90% as active, respectively. The extent of sex and ethnic differences in children’s physical activity depend on the measure used.
Creating healthy and sustainable cities should be a global priority. Some cities prioritize 15-minute cities as a planning approach with co-benefits for health, climate change mitigation, equity, and economic recovery from COVID-19. Yet, as our recent Lancet Global Health series on “Urban Design, Transport, and Health” showed, many cities have a long way to go to achieve this vision. This policy guideline summarizes the main findings of the series, which assessed health and sustainability indicators for 25 cities in 19 countries. We then outline steps governments can take to strengthen policy frameworks and deliver more healthy, equitable, and sustainable built environments. The Lancet Global Health series provided clear evidence that cities need to transform urban governance to enable integrated planning for health and sustainability and commit to policy implementation. Evidence-informed indicators should be used to benchmark and monitor progress. Cities need policy frameworks that are comprehensive and consistent with evidence, with measurable policy targets to support implementation and accountability. The series provided evidence-informed thresholds for some key urban design and transport features, which can be embedded as policy targets. Policies and interventions must prioritize identifying and reducing inequities in access to health-supportive environments. Governments should also invest in open data and promote citizen-science programmes, to support indicator development and research for public benefit. We provide tools to replicate our indicators and an invitation to join our 1000 Cities Challenge via the Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities.
Physical activity can help people to prevent numerous physical and mental health conditions, yet most Americans do not meet recommended levels of physical activity. Some built environment attributes are associated with higher levels of physical activity. Youths, adults, and older adults living in mixed-use communities with walkable destinations do more total physical activity than do their counterparts living in residential-only neighborhoods. Comprehensive interventions that include environmental changes, education, and other components have increased active transport to schools and overall use of bicycles in cities. Living close to parks, trails, and recreation facilities is related to greater use of facilities and more recreational physical activity. Adding or improving recreation facilities may not be enough to lead to their increased use. Activity programs and marketing may also be needed. Access to recreation facilities, quality and safety of pedestrian facilities, and aesthetics are poorer in areas with mostly low-income and racial or ethnic minority populations.
