Background Humans have an innate connection and attraction to nature, often referred to as ‘biophilia.’ Exposure to nature has been reported to have a positive impact on health, and several studies have documented that engaging in physical activity outdoors improves mental health and well being. Exact mechanisms remain unknown but ...
Background Due to concern about United States (US) levels of physical activity among youth, in 2009 the American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement promoting environments and policies favoring physical activity, such as consideration of easier access to parks and open space. Parks provide free or low cost public space ...
A problem exists in applying the kinetic energy equation KE mv2 to estimates of energy expenditure based on activity counts over long epochs. The instantaneous velocity should be obtained over short time periods (on the order of 0.1 second) and squared to obtain the instantaneous kinetic energy. The instantaneous KE is ...
Background Increasing understanding of environmental and social correlates of physical activity can inform environmental and policy changes that help create active communities for youth. An emerging body of research suggests that all youth may not have the same level of access to physical activity resources and this may explain socioeconomic ...
Background The local build environment is believed to play an important role in youth physical activity (PA) as their independent mobility is restricted. To be able to target interventions to promote PA among youth knowledge about objectively measured PA patterns is important. We would like to be able to answer ...
Background Regular PA is thought to have positive effects on well-being, which might also be explained by anti-inflammatory processes. Previous research has shown that PA is inversely associated with inflammatory responses to stress but this work has been cross-sectional. Given the pivotal role of stress in promoting inflammation and depression, ...
Background Accelerometers measure levels of physical activity (PA) objectively, and they are being increasingly used to obtain information on PA in children. Functional Data Analysis (FDA) is a statistical method that can be used to better characterise continuous activity patterns and their variation over time. The objective of this study ...
Background The study aim was to investigate whether it is possible to use the accelerometer of mobile phones as a valid and reliable tool for monitoring the physical activity. Method A specific mobile phone application to gather and record time varying acceleration was developed. The accelerometer integrated within two mobile ...
Background/Aims Proponents of the Daylight Saving Bill currently under consideration in the UK parliament have hypothesised that extending afternoon daylight would promote child physical activity. Our aim was to investigate the relative contribution of day length and weather to children's physical activity, and the behavioural mediators underlying these effects. ...
Background The mechanisms underlying the cardia-protective effects of physical activity in older adults remain poorly understood. We examined the relationship between objectively measured physical activity during free-living and novel cardiac risk markers, including coronary artery calcium (CAC) and pericardial fat (PF). Methods Participants were 446 healthy men and women (mean age=66±6 ...