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Sedentary Behaviour as a Risk Factor for Chronic Disease

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A special issue of European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education (ISSN 2254-9625).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 14640

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kazuhiro P. Izawa

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Guest Editor

Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka Suma, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Interests: exercise; adherence; physical activity; disease management; sedentary behavior; health related quality of life; mortality; mobidity; environment; cost effectiveness
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has been pointed out that obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, pollination of alcohol, etc. increase the number of various affected people. In addition, malnutrition tends to cause physical activity reduction, weight loss, muscle weakness, body fat reduction, and eventually infectious diseases. On the other hand, maintenance and improvement of physical activities are effective not only for the prevention and improvement of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, infectious diseases, but also for preventing prevention and deterioration of falling into a state requiring nursing care. However, even if physical activity is performed periodically, those with sedentary behavior (too much sitting) may increase various health risks (total death, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.).

This Special Issue is not only looking for papers reporting original data from epidemiologic studies, but also systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Dr. Kazuhiro P. Izawa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

frailty
sarcopenia: Covid-19
exercise training
adherence
physical activity
disease management
sedentary behavior
chronic disease
health-related quality of life
mortality
morbidity
environment
apathy
cost-effectiveness
cognitive function

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 1326 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of an Online Course Promoting Health and Wellbeing for University Students and Employees

by Federico Ricci, Alberto Modenese, Fabriziomaria Gobba and Isabella Morlini

Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2022, 12(9), 1369-1390; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe12090096 - 12 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2090

Abstract

Published studies dealing with health promotion activities, such as the improvement of physical activity and healthy eating, for workers and students prove the effectiveness of these preventive interventions. The consequent benefits include better prevention of cardiovascular risk and an improvement in quality of life. Considering this, an intervention aimed at promoting healthy eating and non-sedentary lifestyles has been implemented within an Italian university: the aim of the present research is to evaluate its effectiveness. The intervention consisted of a targeted asynchronous e-learning two-hour course on healthy eating and non-sedentary lifestyles. The attendants were 2004 university students and employees. We conducted two surveys before and after the training intervention, and, through the responses obtained, we evaluated the effectiveness of the intervention. We applied different statistical methods, including unpaired t-tests and nonparametric tests, principal components and cluster analysis. Our results indicate that the post-training knowledge has been significantly improved, compared to that pre-training (7.3 vs. 8.7, p < 0.001). Moreover, the whole sample showed an improved awareness of the importance of healthy behaviors, and perception of the University as an institution promoting a healthy lifestyle. Through the principal components analysis, we identified a unidimensional latent factor named “health and behaviors”. The cluster analysis highlighted that the sub-group reporting the lowest scores at the survey before the training was the one with the highest improvement after the intervention. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Italian study testing, before and after a health promotion intervention, the knowledge and the attitudes and behaviors towards healthy lifestyles of a group of students and workers. Moreover, we also evaluated the pre- and post-intervention perceived health status, as well as the level of engagement of the attendants, with respect to their colleagues and management in an educational institution promoting wellbeing. The conclusions of our study support the need for further adoption of health promotion training interventions, similar to the one we performed, in order to improve healthy eating and non-sedentary behaviors among workers and students. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sedentary Behaviour as a Risk Factor for Chronic Disease)

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11 pages, 2085 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Self-Declared Physical Activity Levels and Self-Reported Physical Fitness in a Sample of Italian Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Alessandro Gatti, Lorenzo Pugliese, Vittoria Carnevale Pellino, Marco Del Bianco, Matteo Vandoni and Nicola Lovecchio

Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2022, 12(6), 655-665; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe12060049 - 18 Jun 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2251

Abstract

Only 20% of children worldwide reach the suggested physical activity (PA) levels, and the COVID-19 restrictions seemed to have worsened this situation. In addition, physical fitness (PF) is a crucial marker of health and combined with PA could predict future health status. The aim of this study was to compare reported PA and PF levels in a sample of Italian adolescents. We administered the International PA Questionnaire and International Fitness Enjoyment Scale to 208 adolescents aged 16.0 ± 1.5 (N = 166 females, 16 ± 2.0 years) recruited from a high school in the province of Milan (Italy). The majority of the subjects were “Minimally active” but reported adequate PF levels. In particular, subjects who reported a “Very good” PF perception, had a lower PA level. The misperception of reported PA and PF from our sample could reduce the future PA level in adolescents and lead to a negative spiral of disengagement in PA. These findings should lead to more attention on and improvements to PA promotion in the adolescent population after the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sedentary Behaviour as a Risk Factor for Chronic Disease)

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13 pages, 2515 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Differences in Health-Related Quality of Life in Older People with and without Sarcopenia Covered by Long-Term Care Insurance

by Masahiro Kitamura, Kazuhiro P. Izawa, Kodai Ishihara, Peter H. Brubaker, Hiroaki Matsuda, Soichiro Okamura and Koji Fujioka

Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2022, 12(6), 536-548; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe12060040 - 26 May 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2562

Abstract

Background: As a result of the increase in older people covered by long-term care insurance (LTCI), prevention of sarcopenia and maintenance and improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have become important themes. This study aimed to clarify both the differences in HRQOL in older people with and without sarcopenia covered by LTCI and the correlation between HRQOL and physical function. Methods: Participants were 101 older people with LTCI at a daycare center in Japan. We investigated clinical factors using the EuroQol five-dimension three-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L). Analysis was by unpaired t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, chi-square test, analysis of covariance, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Results: Compared to the no sarcopenia group (n = 40), the sarcopenia group (n = 24) had significantly lower body mass index, skeletal muscle mass index, gait speed, EQ-5D-3L, and adjusted EQ-5D-3L (p < 0.05). The EQ-5D-3L showed a significant correlation with handgrip strength in the sarcopenia group (p = 0.02) and significant correlations with gait speed and one-leg standing time (both, p = 0.01) in the no sarcopenia group. Conclusion: We clarified differences in HRQOL in older people with and without sarcopenia covered by LTCI. This information on the interrelationship between HRQOL and physical function may help maintain and improve HRQOL in these people. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sedentary Behaviour as a Risk Factor for Chronic Disease)

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9 pages, 609 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physical Activity and Sarcopenia in Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Long-Term Care Insurance

by Masahiro Kitamura, Kazuhiro P. Izawa, Kodai Ishihara, Hiroaki Matsuda, Soichiro Okamura and Koji Fujioka

Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2021, 11(4), 1610-1618; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe11040114 - 8 Dec 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3164

Abstract

The present study aimed to clarify the difference in physical activity (PA) due to sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults with long-term care insurance (LTCI). This was a cross-sectional study that investigated data of 97 consecutive community-dwelling older Japanese adults with LTCI who underwent rehabilitation at one day care center in Japan from November 2018 to May 2019. Sarcopenia was determined according to criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. Unpaired t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test and analysis of covariance were used to compare participant characteristics and clinical parameters between the older adults with and without sarcopenia. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to determine the cut-off value of PA for sarcopenia. The sarcopenia group (n = 20) had significantly lower body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle mass index, gait speed, and PA than those in the no sarcopenia group (n = 28) (p < 0.05). After adjustment for BMI and sex, the sarcopenia group showed significantly lower PA than the no sarcopenia group. Findings showed that the cut-off value of PA indicating sarcopenia by ROC curve analysis was 1494.4 steps/day (p < 0.05); this value may aid in identifying sarcopenia in older adults with LTCI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sedentary Behaviour as a Risk Factor for Chronic Disease)

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Review

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24 pages, 493 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Contribution of Exercise in Telemedicine Monitoring in Reducing the Modifiable Factors of Hypertension—A Multidisciplinary Approach

by Silvane Viana, Rogério Salvador, Pedro Morouço and Ricardo Rebelo-Gonçalves

Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2022, 12(4), 363-386; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe12040027 - 27 Mar 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3448

Abstract

The aim of this review was to explore the contribution of physical activity and exercise in the control and reduction of modifiable factors of arterial hypertension in telemedicine programs, assuming a multidisciplinary perspective. Searches were carried out following the PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses), and the research question defined using the PICOS approach (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes, Study design). The search strategy applied the following terms: blood pressure OR hypertension AND exercise OR physical activity AND telemedicine. The initial search identified 2190 records, but only 19 studies were considered eligible after checking for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The following training variables were generally included: heart rate and heart rate reserve, respiratory rate, rate of perceived exertion and oxygen consumption, but no resistance training variables were found. The significant improvements on blood pressure parameters of participants diagnosed with hypertension tended to be transient. The exercise prescription was commonly based on general instructions and recommendations for exercise and hypertension. On the other hand, most of the studies including patients in cardiac rehabilitation programs used a personalized training program based on a baseline assessment, particularly following a cardiopulmonary exercise test. The inclusion of exercise professionals in multidisciplinary teams could provide a more person-oriented approach and the long-term maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sedentary Behaviour as a Risk Factor for Chronic Disease)

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