Preventive medicine
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
ReviewDriving towards obesity: a systematized literature review on the association between motor vehicle travel time and distance and weight status in adults.
Higher levels of sedentary behavior are associated with adverse health outcomes. Over-reliance on private motor vehicles for transportation is a potential contributor to the obesity epidemic. The objective of this study was to review evidence on the relationship between motor vehicle travel distance and time and weight status among adults. ⋯ Multilevel interventions that make alternatives to driving private motor vehicles more convenient, such as walking and cycling, are needed to promote healthy weight in the adult population.
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
Is exercise used as medicine? Association of meeting strength training guidelines and functional limitations among older US adults.
To determine the association between meeting strength training guidelines (≥2 times per week) and the presence of functional limitations among older adults. ⋯ Strength training is uncommon among older adults and even less common among those who need it the most. The potential for strength training to improve the public's health is therefore substantial, as those who have the most to gain from strength training participate the least.
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
Neighborhood-level socioeconomic deprivation predicts weight gain in a multi-ethnic population: longitudinal data from the Dallas Heart Study.
The aim of this study is to examine a relationship between neighborhood-level socioeconomic deprivation and weight change in a multi-ethnic cohort from Dallas County, Texas and whether behavioral/psychosocial factors attenuate the relationship. ⋯ Living in more socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods over a longer time period was associated with weight gain in DHS.
-
Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
Bidirectional association between mental health and physical activity in older adults: Whitehall II prospective cohort study.
To investigate longitudinal and bidirectional associations between mental health and physical activity from midlife into old age. ⋯ From midlife to old age, greater physical activity is associated with better mental health and vice versa. These findings suggest persistent longitudinal and bidirectional associations between physical activity and mental health.
-
Electronic cigarettes (e-cig) are proliferating in the world's lucrative nicotine delivery market at an alarmingly fast pace. E-cig are aggressively marketed as an alternative to conventional tobacco cigarettes, although very little is known about the health consequences of e-cig use. Chemical analysis of e-cig vapor/liquid has shown that many toxicants and carcinogens present in cigarette smoke are also found, albeit generally in lower concentrations, in a wide range of e-cig products. ⋯ The ongoing research and future investigations on e-cig initiation, use, perceptions, dependence, and toxicity are expected to provide empirical evidence that can be used to inform the general public, scientific community, and regulatory authorities of the health risks/benefits associated with e-cig use. This information will help stimulate scientists in the field of tobacco research, as well as assist the regulatory agencies in making scientifically based decisions on the development and evaluation of regulations on tobacco products to protect the public's health. Finding the scientific underpinnings for the health risks/benefits of e-cig use can impact millions of people who are increasingly turning to e-cig as a replacement for or complement to conventional tobacco cigarettes.