by BJSM Social Media Editors Chloë Williamson and Jennifer Duncan The days are short, the pavements are treacherous, and cosying up on the sofa seems particularly appealing at this time of year. As a result, many people may find themselves lacking the motivation, energy, confidence or desire to get out and get moving. This means […]
Tag: physical activity
How much physical activity is needed to reduce the detrimental health consequences of sedentary time?
Keywords: physical activity, sedentary time, health risk. In this blog we describe our recent paper published in British Journal of Sports Medicine. This study took in total two years to complete, in which the work involved many steps for both planning, collecting data sources, harmonization and analysis of data, and finally the write up and […]
Designing resistance training programs for healthy adults
Authors: Brad S Currier, Jonathan C Mcleod, Stuart M Phillips This blog summarizes a recent publication in BJSM. Why is this study important, and what did we do? The strength and size of muscles are critical for physical function, metabolic health, and healthy aging. Resistance training (a.k.a. strength training or weightlifting) is the most effective […]
Can we predict who will respond positively to a physical activity intervention? A tool to enable personalisation of interventions
Authors Alex V Rowlands and Tom Yates It can be challenging to increase physical activity, particularly in people living with chronic disease. Our recent study aimed to develop methods that can enhance intervention efficacy by enabling better personalisation and targeting of interventions. Why is this study important? When people’s free-living physical activity is already placing them under […]
Unequal impacts of universal health policies: a systems-oriented view of physical activity levels in response to COVID-19 ‘lockdowns’
Authors Tessa Strain, Miriam Alvarado, Flora Jackson, Leandro Garcia, Michael P Kelly, and Paul Kelly Purpose of this blog The COVID-19 pandemic saw whole population health protection policies, such as containment strategies or vaccine roll-outs, implemented in many countries at an unprecedented scale. Sometimes these policies were enshrined in law, sometimes they were public health […]
Upcoming event in Scotland: Scottish Physical Activity Research Connections (SPARC) Conference 2023!
The 8th annual SPARC conference will take place at the University of Edinburgh, UK on Wednesday 8th November 2023 – the first in-person SPARC event since the pandemic. What is SPARC? The Scottish Physical Activity Research Connections (SPARC) was established in 2016 as a network of physical activity researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in Scotland. SPARC […]
Can digital health help solve the global pandemic of physical inactivity and chronic conditions?
Unveiling the pros and cons of digital health interventions for people with one or more chronic conditions This blog summarises a recent systematic review published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research titled Benefits and Harms of Digital Health Interventions Promoting Physical Activity in People With Chronic Conditions. The problem We face a pressing challenge […]
Yoga exercises for anxiety or depressive disorders
In this blog, we will explain how we synthesised evidence regarding the effectiveness of mind-body exercises on anxiety or depression symptoms in people diagnosed with anxiety or depressive disorders. Our study (recently published in BJSM) was conducted by some of the team members of the Uncertainty, Mindfulness, Self, and Spirituality (UMSS) research group, Seville, Spain. Why […]
Fighting off the genetic risk of type 2 diabetes through an active lifestyle
This blog provides a summary of a recent study published in BJSM. Why is this study important? Diabetes affects more than 10% of the world’s population and it is one of the most common chronic diseases in the 21st century (1). Diabetes can lead to serious disease complications, disabilities, and premature deaths (2), and burden […]
Are we working (too) comfortably?!: A toolkit for moving more during the work at home day
This blog provides a toolkit developed based on ongoing research from the University of Edinburgh exploring ways to help those working from home move more during their day. Shifting to working (too) comfortably Cast your mind back to early 2020 – the world went into a global lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19. We […]