̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - physical activity

Young adults generally more active after starting work, but sleep less – unless working from home

cjb250 — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 00:01:41 +0000

̽��ֱ��increase in physical activity was mainly seen in those doing semi-routine occupations such as bus driving or hairdressing, and routine occupations such as cleaning or waiting, or technical jobs. There was little change seen among people entering managerial or professional occupations.

People who work from home saw a decrease in levels of physical activity – though their sleep levels did not change when they started work.

Young adulthood – ages 16 to 30 years – is an important time in terms of health. Although we are typically at our peak physical health, it is also a time when many risk factors for long term diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer begin to develop.

Health guidelines recommend young adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, engage in 150 minutes or more of moderate physical activity per week, and consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

Young adulthood is also the time when most people start work, which changes their daily routines and activities, resources such as time and money, and social and physical environments – all of which affect health behaviours and health in later life.

To quantify the impact that starting work has on health-related behaviours, a team led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge examined repeated data taken over time from more than 3,000 participants in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. All the participants were aged 16–30 years and started work for the first time between 2015 and 2023.

̽��ֱ��results are published today in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Dr Eleanor Winpenny, who was based at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge when she carried out the work, but is now at Imperial College London, said: “We know about physical activity and sleep patterns among young people while they’re at school, but very little about what happens when they start work. Given the impact that work can have on our lives – and the lasting impacts this can have on our health – it’s important to try and understand what happens at this transition.”

̽��ֱ��analysis showed that when people started work, their physical activity increased by an amount equivalent to around 28 min of moderate activity (such as cycling) per day on average – but then decreased each year after starting work by around 7 min per day.

̽��ֱ��biggest increase was among males – up by an equivalent of around 45 min of moderate activity per day compared to an increase of around 16 min for females. People who did not have a university degree also showed a greater increase in physical activity compared to those with a university degree – equivalent to around a 42 min increase of moderate physical activity per day compared to 15 min per day.

Working from home, however, appeared to be associated with an initial decrease in physical activity, equivalent to around 32 min of moderate activity per day.

When young adults started work, the amount of time they slept per night dropped immediately by almost 10 minutes and remained stable at this level over time; however, people without a degree showed a continuing decrease of about 3 minutes of sleep per night each year after starting work, while those with a degree slowly increased back to their pre-work sleep levels.

There was little change in the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed after starting work.

Alena Oxenham, from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, said: “Beginning work can have a profound impact on our lifestyles and on behaviours that might make a difference to our health, if not immediately then later in life.

“Although we found that people tend to do more physical activity when they begin work, which is good news, these are averages, and some people – particularly those who work from home and, to a lesser degree, those with office-based jobs – may do less.

“If we want to stay healthy throughout our lives, we need to remember that keeping active is an important way of helping us achieve this goal. Those working at home might want to consider incorporating physical activity into their day, for example by going for a walk before or after work, or during a lunch break.”

Dr Winpenny added: “Workplaces provide an opportunity to create environments and cultures that support healthier diets, more physical activity and better sleep for young adults. This could result in healthier employees and fewer sick days in the immediate term, but also have long term benefits, helping prevent health issues in later life.”

̽��ֱ��research was funded by the MRC and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Reference
Oxenham, AF, et al. New job, new habits? A multilevel interrupted time series analysis of changes in diet, physical activity and sleep among young adults starting work for the first time. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity; 28 Jan 2025; DOI: 10.1186/s12966-024-01682-8

When young adults start working, the amount of daily physical activity they do increases sharply, only to fall away again over the next few years, while the amount of sleep they get falls slightly, according to new research led by scientists at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

If we want to stay healthy throughout our lives, we need to remember that keeping active is an important way of helping us achieve this goal

Alena Oxenham

Roman Koester

Cyclist in London

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Children switch to walking and cycling to school after introduction of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone

cjb250 — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 23:01:29 +0000

Car travel contributes to air pollution, a major cause of heart and lung diseases including asthma attacks. Beyond this, it limits children's opportunities for physical activity, hindering their development and mental health, and increasing their risk of obesity and chronic illnesses.

Despite UK guidelines recommending a daily average of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for school-aged children and adolescents, less than half (45%) of children aged 5-16 met these levels in 2021. One in three children aged 10-11 in the UK are overweight or obese.

In April 2019, London introduced the ULEZ to help improve air quality by reducing the number of vehicles on the road that do not meet emissions standards. According to Transport for London, the central London ULEZ reduced harmful nitrogen oxides by 35% and particulate matter by 15% in central London within the first 10 months of its introduction.

In a study published on 5 September in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, a team led by researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Queen Mary ̽��ֱ�� of London examined the impact of the ULEZ on how children travelled to school. ̽��ֱ��research was part of the CHILL study (Children’s Health in London and Luton).

̽��ֱ��study examined data from almost 2,000 children aged 6 to 9 years attending 84 primary schools in London and the control area, Luton. 44 schools were located with catchment areas within or bordering London’s ULEZ, and these were compared to a similar number in Luton and Dunstable (acting as a comparison group). ̽��ֱ��inclusion of the comparison site enabled the researchers to draw more robust conclusions and increased confidence in attributing the observed changes to the introduction of the ULEZ.

̽��ֱ��researchers collected data from the period June 2018 to April 2019, prior to ULEZ implementation, and again in the period June 2019 to March 2020, the year after implementation of the ULEZ but prior to COVID-19-related school closures.

Among those children in London who travelled by car prior to the introduction of the ULEZ, 4 in 10 (42%) switched to active modes, while one in 20 (5%) switched from active to inactive modes.

In contrast, only one in 5 (20%) children in Luton swapped from car travel to active modes, while a similar number (21%) switched from active to car travel. This means that children in London within the ULEZ were 3.6 times as likely to shift from travelling by car to active travel modes compared to those children in Luton and far less likely (0.11 times) to switch to inactive modes.

̽��ֱ��impact of the ULEZ on switching to active travel modes was strongest for those children living more than half a mile (0.78km) from school. This was probably because many children who live closer to school already walked or cycled to school prior to the ULEZ and therefore there was more potential for change in those living further away from their school.

̽��ֱ��study’s first author, Dr Christina Xiao from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “ ̽��ֱ��introduction of the ULEZ was associated with positive changes in how children travelled to school, with a much larger number of children moving from inactive to active modes of transport in London than in Luton.

“Given children's heightened vulnerability to air pollution and the critical role of physical activity for their health and development, financial disincentives for car use could encourage healthier travel habits among this young population, even if they do not necessarily target them.”

Joint senior author Dr Jenna Panter from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “ ̽��ֱ��previous Government was committed to increasing the share of children walking to school by 2025 and we hope the new Government will follow suit. Changing the way children travel to school can have significant effects on their levels of physical activity at the same time as bringing other co-benefits like improving congestion and air quality, as about a quarter of car trips during peak morning hours in London are made for school drop-offs.”

After ULEZ was introduced in Central London, the total number of vehicles on the roads fell by 9%, and by one-third (34%) for vehicles that failed to meet the required exhaust emission standards, with no clear evidence of traffic moving instead to nearby areas.

Joint senior author Professor Chris Griffiths from the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary ̽��ֱ�� of London, said: “Establishing healthy habits early is critical to healthy adulthood and the prevention of disabling long term illness, especially obesity and the crippling diseases associated with it. ̽��ֱ��robust design of our study, with Luton as a comparator area, strongly suggests the ULEZ is driving this switch to active travel. This is evidence that Clean Air Zone intervention programmes aimed at reducing air pollution have the potential to also improve overall public health by addressing key factors that contribute to illness.”

Due to the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions in late March 2020, the study was paused in 2020/2021 and results are only reported for the first year of follow-up. However, as both London and Luton, the study areas, were similarly affected, the researchers believe this disruption is unlikely to have affected the results. ̽��ֱ��study has restarted following up with the children to examine the longer-term impacts of the ULEZ. This will identify if the changes they observed in the year following the introduction of the ULEZ persist.

̽��ֱ��study was conducted in collaboration with Queen Mary ̽��ֱ�� of London, Imperial College, ̽��ֱ�� of Bedfordshire, ̽��ֱ�� of Edinburgh, ̽��ֱ�� of Oxford and ̽��ֱ�� of Southern California and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Public Health Research (NIHR), NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North Thames, and Cambridge Trust.

Reference
Xiao, C et al. Children’s Health in London and Luton (CHILL) cohort: A 12-month natural experimental study of the effects of the Ultra Low Emission Zone on children’s travel to school. IJBNPA; 5 Sept 2024; DOI: 10.1186/s12966-024-01621-7

Four in ten children in Central London who travelled to school by car switched to more active modes of transport, such as walking, cycling, or public transport, following the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), according to new research. In the comparison area with no ULEZ, Luton, only two in ten children made this switch over the same period.

Changing the way children travel to school can have significant effects on their levels of physical activity at the same time as bringing other co-benefits like improving congestion and air quality

Jenna Panter

Matt Brown

ULEZ signs (cropped)

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Mums’ activity levels may depend on number and ages of children

cjb250 — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 19:00:29 +0000

Physical activity – particularly when it is moderate to vigorous – has many health benefits, decreasing the risk of a wide range of diseases from cancer to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as helping maintain a healthy weight and better mental health.

Evidence suggests physical activity can help parents cope with the daily challenges of being a parent and strengthen relationships with children if they are active together. However, parents tend to be less active than non-parents.

To examine how family composition affected the amount of physical activity mothers engaged in, researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and ̽��ֱ�� of Southampton analysed data from 848 women who participated in the UK Southampton Women’s Survey. ̽��ֱ��women, aged 20-34 years, were recruited between 1998 and 2002 and followed up over subsequent years. They were given accelerometers to assess their levels of activity. ̽��ֱ��results are published today in PLOS ONE.

Women with school-aged children did on average around 26 mins* of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, whereas mothers with only younger children (aged four years or under) managed around 18 mins* per day.

Having more than one child meant mothers managed only around 21 mins* of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, but interestingly, mums with multiple children all under five years old did more light intensity activity than those with children of school-age.

Less than 50% of mothers met the recommended levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (150 minutes per week), regardless of the ages of their children.

Dr Kathryn Hesketh from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge said: “When you have small children, your parental responsibilities can be all-consuming, and it’s often hard to find the time to be active outside of time spent caring for your children. Exercise is often therefore one of the first things to fall by the wayside, and so most of the physical activity mums manage to do seems to be of a lower intensity.

“However, when children go to school, mums manage to do more physical activity. There are a number of possible reasons why this might be the case, including more opportunities to take part in higher intensity activities with their children; you may return to active commuting; or feel more comfortable using time to be active alone.”

Rachel Simpson, a PhD student in the MRC Epidemiology Unit, added: “There are clear benefits, both short term and long term, from doing more physical activity, particularly if it increases your heart rate. But the demands of being a mother can make it hard to find the time. We need to consider ways not only to encourage mums, but to make it as easy as possible for busy mums, especially those with younger children, to increase the amount of higher intensity physical activity they do.”

Professor Keith Godfrey from the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre and the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre said: “It is perhaps not unexpected that mothers who have young children or several children engage in less intense physical activity, but this is the first study that has quantified the significance of this reduction. More needs to be done by local government planners and leisure facility providers to support mothers in engaging in physical activity.”

*Note: these are mean averages

Reference
Simpson, RF et al. ̽��ֱ��association between number and ages of children and the physical activity of mothers: cross-sectional analyses from the Southampton Women’s Survey. PLOS ONE; 16 Nov 2022; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276964

Less than half of mums meet the recommended levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity – and mothers of younger children manage to do the least, Cambridge and Southampton researchers have found.

When you have small children, your parental responsibilities can be all-consuming, and it’s often hard to find the time to be active outside of time spent caring for your children

Kathryn Hesketh

triloks (Getty Images)

Family playing frisbee

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Physical activity may help to close the wealth gap in school attainment by improving self-control

tdk25 — Thu, 20 May 2021 08:32:58 +0000

̽��ֱ��study, which analysed data from more than 4,000 children in England, suggests that those who do more physical activity are likely to have stronger ‘self-regulation’ – the ability to keep themselves in check – and in particular may find it easier to control their emotions at an earlier age. Physical activities which promote self-control in this way, such as swimming or ball sports, also have positive, knock-on effects for academic attainment.

This pattern of association, through which physical activity indirectly influences progress at school by supporting self-regulation, was found to be particularly pronounced among disadvantaged children. ̽��ֱ��authors of the study, which is published in the journal PLoS ONE, suggest that this may in part be because less-advantaged children often have fewer opportunities to participate in organised recreation and sports, and therefore experience stronger benefits when they do so.

̽��ֱ��study was the first ever long-term analysis of the connections between physical activity, self-regulation and academic achievement. Researchers used data captured at three stages during childhood and adolescence: ages seven, 11 and 14.

Fotini Vasilopoulos, who led the study while a research student at the Faculty of Education, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “Research examining the links between physical activity and attainment has produced mixed findings, but there is a positive, indirect relationship because of the impact on mental processes like self-control. This may be particularly important for children from families who find it harder to access sports clubs or other forms of physical activity outside school.”

Dr Michelle Ellefson, Reader in Cognitive Science at the Faculty of Education and a co-author, said: “In the context of COVID in particular, there may be a real temptation to encourage schools to maximise classroom time to stop children falling behind. This study is saying ‘think again’, because playtime and PE lessons benefit the mind in ways that children really need in order to do their best.”

̽��ֱ��research used a subset of data covering pupils’ physical activity from the Millennium Cohort Study, which is following the lives of around 19,000 young people born between 2000 and 2002 in the UK.

Researchers also used measures of the children’s behavioural regulation (their ability to manage their behaviour to achieve certain goals) and emotional regulation (control over thoughts and feelings). Standardised test scores and teacher reports were used to measure academic attainment, and a survey of standard risk factors, taken when the children were very young, to establish socio-economic status.

Vasilopoulos and Ellefson then conducted a statistical analysis in two broad stages. First, they examined the direct relationship between physical activity and self-regulation. Next, they examined how far this had an indirect, knock-on effect on achievement. In both cases, they produced a set of correlations which indicated how strong the relationship was, and whether it was positive or negative.

Overall, children who engaged in more physical activity had better emotional regulation – meaning fewer mood swings or emotional outbursts – although there was no corresponding impact on their behavioural regulation.

When the researchers factored in low socio-economic status, however, this positive association was lost. This suggests the direct connection between physical activity and children’s ability to self-regulate is actually being shaped by advantage and wealth. For example, it may reflect the fact that children from disadvantaged settings are known to struggle with emotional regulation. Equally, less-advantaged children often have fewer opportunities to join sports clubs, to participate in activities like swimming and dance lessons, or to access safe, open spaces for games and exercise.

̽��ֱ��nature of the indirect pathway through which physical activity, by influencing self-regulation, also has knock-on effects for young people’s attainment, was found to vary between age groups. At age seven, the researchers found a positive relationship with academic progress through emotional control; by age 11, it was physical activity’s impact on behavioural regulation that principally led to any resulting academic benefits.

In both cases, these effects were measurably stronger when low socio-economic status was taken into account. This may be because physical activity has added value for children who might otherwise experience it less. Research by the Social Mobility Commission has, for example, suggested that 34% of disadvantaged children participate in sport less than once a week, compared with 13% of their better-off counterparts.

“ ̽��ֱ��attainment gap is a really complex problem, but we know that some of it is linked to less-advantaged children having poor self-regulation skills early in childhood,” Vasilopoulos said. “Physical activities that help them to do things like focus on a task or maintain attention could be part of the way to bridge that gap.”

In general, the findings indicate that activities which influence emotional control – such as games that involve co-operation, or encourage children to take responsibility for their actions – could be particularly important during early childhood, while those which shape behavioural control may be more important later on. ̽��ֱ��authors also suggest that schools could build links with sports clubs to create targeted programmes for children experiencing early disadvantage.

“Even giving children less-structured opportunities to run around outside could be of real developmental importance,” Ellefson added. “We really need to ensure that physical activity does not become an area schools feel they can legitimately sacrifice to drive up academic attainment. It has a crucial part to play.”

Reference:
Fotini Vasilopoulos, Michelle R. Ellefson. 'Investigation of the associations between physical activity, self-regulation and educational outcomes in childhood.' PLoS ONE (2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250984

Guaranteeing every child the opportunity to participate in certain types of physical activity could support their academic attainment and help to close the achievement gap between wealthy and less-advantaged pupils, new research indicates.

In the context of COVID in particular, there may be a real temptation to encourage schools to maximise classroom time to stop children falling behind. This study is saying ‘think again’, because playtime and PE lessons benefit the mind in ways that children really need in order to do their best.

Michelle Ellefson

Image by 14995841 from Pixabay

Children running

Yes

Desk-based jobs may offer protection against poor cognition in later life

cjb250 — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 07:37:28 +0000

Lack of physical activity and exercise are known risk factors for major health conditions, including cognitive impairments such as memory and concentration problems. However, evidence as to whether physical activity actually protects against cognitive decline has often been mixed and inconclusive.

Researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge examined patterns of physical activity among 8,500 men and women who were aged 40-79 years old at the start of the study and who had a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and educational attainment. ̽��ֱ��individuals were all part of the EPIC-Norfolk Cohort. In particular, the team were able to separate physical activity during work and leisure to see if these had different associations with later life cognition.

“ ̽��ֱ��often used mantra ‘what is good for the heart, is good for the brain’ makes complete sense, but the evidence on what we need to do as individuals can be confusing,” said Shabina Hayat from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. “With our large cohort of volunteers, we were able to explore the relationship between different types of physical activity in a variety of settings.”

As part of the study, participants completed a health and lifestyle questionnaire, including information on the level of physical activity during both work and leisure, and underwent a health examination. After an average 12 years, the volunteers were invited back and completed a battery of tests that measured aspects of their cognition, including memory, attention, visual processing speed and a reading ability test that approximates IQ.

While many studies have only been able to report cross-sectional findings, the ability to follow up EPIC-Norfolk participants over a long period allowed the researchers to examine data prospectively. This helped them rule out any bias resulting from people with poor cognition – possibly as a result of cognitive impairment or early dementia – being less likely to be physically active due to poor cognition, rather than poor cognition being a result of physical inactivity.

Among their findings, published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the researchers report:

Individuals with no qualifications were more likely to have physically active jobs, but less likely to be physically active outside of work.
A physically inactive job (typically a desk-job), is associated with lower risk of poor cognition, irrespective of the level of education. Those who remained in this type of work throughout the study period were the most likely to be in the top 10% of performers.
Those in manual work had almost three times increased risk of poor cognition than those with an inactive job.

“Our analysis shows that the relationship between physical activity and cognitive is not straightforward,” explained Hayat. “While regular physical activity has considerable benefits for protection against many chronic diseases, other factors may influence its effect on future poor cognition.

“People who have less active jobs – typically office-based, desk jobs – performed better at cognitive tests regardless of their education. This suggests that because desk jobs tend to be more mentally challenging than manual occupations, they may offer protection against cognitive decline.”

It was not possible to say conclusively that physical activity in leisure time and desk-based work offer protection against cognitive decline. ̽��ֱ��researchers say that to answer this question, further studies will be required to include a more detailed exploration of the relationship of physical activity with cognition, particularly on inequalities across socio-economic groups and the impact of lower education.

̽��ֱ��research was supported by the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research.

Reference
Hayat, SA et al. Cross-sectional and prospective relationship between occupational and leisure time inactivity and cognitive function in an ageing population. ̽��ֱ��European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) Study. International Journal of Epidemiology; 7 Jul 2020; DOI: 10.17863/CAM.51130

People who work in jobs that require less physical activity – typically office and desk-based jobs – are at a lower risk of subsequent poor cognition than those whose work is more physically active, suggests new research from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��often used mantra ‘what is good for the heart, is good for the brain’ makes complete sense, but the evidence on what we need to do as individuals can be confusing

Shabina Hayat

StockSnap

Man working in an office

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Children who walk to school less likely to be overweight or obese, study suggests

sc604 — Mon, 20 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Based on results from more than 2000 primary-age schoolchildren from across London, the researchers found that walking or cycling to school is a strong predictor of obesity levels, a result which was consistent across neighbourhoods, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. ̽��ֱ��results are reported in the journal BMC Public Health.

̽��ֱ��study, led by researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, is the first to assess the impact of physical activity on childhood overweight and obesity levels for primary schoolchildren by simultaneously relating two of the main types of extracurricular physical activity: daily commuting to school and frequency of participation in sport.

Instead of using Body-mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity, the researchers measured body fat and muscle mass and assessed how these were correlated with physical activity levels. BMI is the most commonly-used metric to measure obesity levels due to its simplicity, however, it is limited as BMI looks at total weight, including ‘healthy’ muscle mass, rather than fat mass alone.

“Both BMI itself and the points at which high BMI is associated with poor health vary with age, sex and ethnicity,” said Lander Bosch, a PhD candidate in Cambridge’s Department of Geography, and the study’s first author. “While adjustments have been made in recent years to account for these variations, BMI remains a flawed way to measure the health risks associated with obesity.”

̽��ֱ��current research is based on data from the Size and Lung Function in Children (SLIC) study, carried out at ̽��ֱ�� College London between 2010 and 2013. More than 2000 London primary schoolchildren, from a range of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, were included in the study, which looked at their physical activity levels, body composition and socioeconomic status.

Close to half of children in the study took part in sport every day, and a similar proportion actively commuted to school, travelling on foot, by bicycle or scooter. ̽��ֱ��researchers found that children who actively commuted to school had lower body fat, and therefore were less likely to be overweight or obese.

Paradoxically, using conventional BMI percentiles, children who took part in sport every day appeared more likely to be overweight or obese than those who engaged in sport less than once a week. However, when looking at fat mass and muscle mass separately, children who engaged in sport every day had significantly more muscle development, while their fat mass did not significantly differ.

“ ̽��ֱ��link between frequent participation in sport and obesity levels has generated inconsistent findings in previous research, but many of these studies were looking at BMI only,” said Bosch. “However, when looking at body fat instead, we showed there was a trend whereby children who were not active were more likely to be overweight or obese. It’s likely that when looking at BMI, some inactive children aren’t classified as obese due to reduced muscle mass.”

̽��ֱ��researchers say that it is vital to understand the relationship between obesity levels and different types of physical activity in order to develop informed policy measures that could contribute to the reversal of the childhood obesity epidemic.

“Our findings suggest that interventions promoting regular participation in sports, and particularly active commuting to school could be promising for combating childhood obesity – it’s something so easy to implement, and it makes such a big difference,” said Bosch.

̽��ֱ��research was funded in part by the Wellcome Trust, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.

Reference:
Lander S.M.M. Bosch et al. ‘Associations of extracurricular physical activity patterns and body composition components in a multi-ethnic population of UK children (the Size and Lung Function in Children study): a multilevel modelling analysis.’ BMC Public Health (2019). DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-6883-1

Children who regularly walk or cycle to school are less likely to be overweight or obese than those who travel by car or public transport, a new study suggests.

̽��ֱ��link between frequent participation in sport and obesity levels has generated inconsistent findings in previous research, but many of these studies were looking at BMI only

Lander Bosch

Ivy Dawned

Walking to school

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Physical activity, even in small amounts, benefits both physical and psychological well-being

sc604 — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 10:54:03 +0000

A new study, based on reports from more than 10,000 individuals, has found that physical activity, whether or not it is classified as exercise, can have a positive effect on emotional well-being. ̽��ֱ��results, by researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and the ̽��ֱ�� of Essex, are reported in the journal PLOS ONE, and demonstrate how smartphones can be used to collect large-scale data to examine psychological, behavioural and health-related phenomena as they occur in everyday life.

Using data gathered from users of a mood tracking app for Android phones, the researchers found that modest levels of physical activity – even if it couldn’t be classified as exercise – can increase a person’s reported emotional well-being, regardless of their baseline level of happiness. They also found that people reported being happier when they were physically active.

Earlier studies in this area have focused on the relationship between exercise and happiness, with mixed results. Some studies have found that happier people report exercising more, while others have found no relationship between happiness and exercise. Much of this past research has relied solely on retrospective self-reports, on data collected at only one time period, and on small samples.

For the new study, data on physical activity was passively gathered from smartphone accelerometers, and participants were also sent a short survey at two random intervals throughout the day which asked questions about their emotional state. Users reported their emotional state on a grid, based on how positive or negative, and how energetic or sleepy, they were feeling. Users were also asked a handful of questions about how their mood compared to normal.

̽��ֱ��activity data was then averaged over the course of the day, so while the researchers could not pinpoint what participants were doing at any given time, they found that participants who had higher levels of activity throughout the day reported a more positive emotional state.

“Our data show that happy people are more active in general,” said the paper’s senior author Dr Jason Rentfrow, from Cambridge’s Department of Psychology and a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College. “However, our analyses also indicated that periods of physical activity led to increased positive mood, regardless of individuals’ baseline happiness. There have been many studies about the positive psychological effects of exercise, but what we’ve found is that in order to be happier, you don’t have to go out and run a marathon – all you’ve really got to do is periodically engage in slight physical activity throughout the day.”

“Most of us don’t keep track of all of our movements during the day,” said study co-author Dr Gillian Sandstrom from the Department of Psychology at the ̽��ֱ�� of Essex. “A person might track whether they went for a walk or went to the gym, but when asked, most of them probably wouldn’t remember walking from the desk to the photocopier, or from the car to the office door.”

“This study shows how mobile and wearable technology really can allow social psychologists to perform large longitudinal studies as well as open a direct and permanent connection with the users for advice and intervention,” said study co-author Professor Cecilia Mascolo from Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory.

̽��ֱ��research was supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Research Council’s UBhave (Ubiquitous and Social Computing for Positive Behaviour Change) project.

Reference:
Lathia, N. Sandstrom, G.M., Mascolo, C., & Rentfrow, P.J. ‘Happier people live more active lives: Using smartphones to link happiness and physical activity.’ PLOS ONE (2016). https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0160589

̽��ֱ��largest-ever smartphone-based study examining the relationship between physical activity and happiness has found that even minimal levels of activity can have a positive effect on happiness.

In order to be happier, you don’t have to go out and run a marathon.

Jason Rentfrow

Walking

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Lack of exercise responsible for twice as many deaths as obesity

cjb250 — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 19:00:00 +0000

Physical inactivity has been consistently associated with an increased risk of early death, as well as being associated with a greater risk of diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Although it may also contribute to an increased body mass index (BMI) and obesity, the association with early death is independent of an individual’s BMI.

To measure the link between physical inactivity and premature death, and its interaction with obesity, researchers analysed data from 334,161 men and women across Europe participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study. Between 1992 and 2000, the researchers measured height, weight and waist circumference, and used self-assessment to measure levels of physical activity. ̽��ֱ��participants were then followed up over 12 years, during which 21,438 participants died. ̽��ֱ��results are published today in the American Journal of Clinical Exercise.

̽��ֱ��researchers found that the greatest reduction in risk of premature death occurred in the comparison between inactive and moderately inactive groups, judged by combining activity at work with recreational activity; just under a quarter (22.7%) of participants were categorised as inactive, reporting no recreational activity in combination with a sedentary occupation. ̽��ֱ��authors estimate that doing exercise equivalent to just a 20 minute brisk walk each day – burning between 90 and 110 kcal (‘calories’) – would take an individual from the inactive to moderately inactive group and reduce their risk of premature death by between 16-30%. ̽��ֱ��impact was greatest amongst normal weight individuals, but even those with higher BMI saw a benefit.

Using the most recent available data on deaths in Europe the researchers estimate that 337,000 of the 9.2 million deaths amongst European men and women were attributable to obesity (classed as a BMI greater than 30): however, double this number of deaths (676,000) could be attributed to physical inactivity.

Professor Ulf Ekelund from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, who led the study, says: “This is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive. Although we found that just 20 minutes would make a difference, we should really be looking to do more than this – physical activity has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our daily life.”

Professor Nick Wareham, Director of the MRC Unit, adds: “Helping people to lose weight can be a real challenge, and whilst we should continue to aim at reducing population levels of obesity, public health interventions that encourage people to make small but achievable changes in physical activity can have significant health benefits and may be easier to achieve and maintain.”

Reference
Ekelund, U et al. Activity and all-cause mortality across levels of overall and abdominal adiposity in European men and women: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study (EPIC). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 14 Jan 2015

A brisk 20 minute walk each day could be enough to reduce an individual’s risk of early death, according to new research published today. ̽��ֱ��study of over 334,000 European men and women found that twice as many deaths may be attributable to lack of physical activity compared with the number of deaths attributable to obesity, but that just a modest increase in physical activity could have significant health benefits.

This is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive

Ulf Ekelund

Thomas Leuthard

Walk Alone...

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