Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2009
ReviewA systematic review of studies using pedometers to promote physical activity among youth.
While pedometers have an important role to play in the promotion of lifestyle activity among adults, less known is regarding their impact on behavior among youth (i.e. children and adolescents). The primary aim of this review was to identify the effectiveness of pedometers in promoting physical activity among youth. Secondary aims were to assess the quality of existing studies and examine the different ways that pedometers have been used to promote activity. ⋯ Pedometers have been used successfully in a variety of ways to promote activity among youth. Since there are so few studies at this time, there is ample need and opportunity to contribute to the knowledge base.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2009
Association of physical activity and neighborhood environment among Japanese adults.
Although environmental attributes related to physical activity is an emerging research topic, most studies have been reported from Western countries. This study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived environment and physical activity among Japanese adults. ⋯ Associations of physical activity with four environmental attributes emerged in this Japanese sample. These results support the generalizability of findings on physical activity environments across Western countries and Japan.
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The identification of spatial clusters of overweight and obesity can be a key indicator for targeting scarce public health resources. This paper examines sex-specific spatial patterns of overweight/obesity in Canada as well as investigates the presence of spatial clusters. ⋯ Findings reveal overweight/obesity clusters and underscore the importance of geographically focused prevention strategies informed by population-specific needs.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2009
Factors alleviating metabolic syndrome via diet-induced weight loss with or without exercise in overweight Japanese women.
Although a 5%-10% loss in the baseline weight has been associated with improvement in obesity-related disorders, only a few studies have explored the factors to alleviate metabolic syndrome (MS). This study aimed to determine the factors that alter MS components in overweight Japanese women. ⋯ These results suggest that moderate weight loss of 8%-13% contributes to improving the MS components in overweight Japanese women.
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Preventive medicine · Mar 2009
Resilience and patterns of health risk behaviors in California adolescents.
Assess whether adolescent health risk behaviors cluster, and whether resiliency factors are associated with observed clusters. ⋯ Health promoting interventions should address multiple health risk behaviors in an integrated fashion. Gender-specific, ethnically-targeted, family-centered strategies that address parenting, particularly parental supervision would be useful. Addressing depressiveness may be especially important for female adolescents.