450 research outputs found
Fitness Watches and Nutrition Apps: Behavioral Benefits and Emerging Concerns
No full textApply It! By reading this article, the health and fitness professional will be able to understand how fitness watches and nutrition apps can influence self-monitoring and thereby, in turn, behavior change; and be able to recognize some of the emerging risks and associations between using fitness watches and nutrition apps and certain disordered behaviors
Drive for Thinness Predicts Musculoskeletal Injuries in Division II NCAA Female Athletes
No full textThe female athlete triad is the interrelation of low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density. Previously, the components of the female athlete triad have been linked to bone stress injuries. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between drive for thinness, a proxy indicator of low energy availability, and musculoskeletal injuries. Fifty-seven female athletes, from an NCAA Division II college, were followed throughout their respective sport season for musculoskeletal injuries. Women were grouped based on a median split of the drive for thinness score (high drive for thinness (DT) vs. low DT). At the end of each sport season, injury data were compiled using an electronic medical record database. Forty-seven of the 57 women (82%) incurred 90 musculoskeletal injuries. The most prevalent injuries included: Low back pain/spasm/strain (n = 12), followed by shin splints/medial tibial stress syndrome (n = 9), general knee pain (n = 7), quadriceps strain (n = 6), and knee sprain (anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, and lateral collateral ligament sprains; n = 5). The number of in-season injuries in the High DT group (2.0 ± 0.3) was significantly higher than the Low DT group (1.2 ± 0.2, p = 0.026). A high drive for thinness is associated with an increased number of injuries during the competitive season
Commentary: Is Wearable Fitness Technology a Medically Approved Device? Yes and No
No full textWearable technologies, i.e., activity trackers and fitness watches, are extremely popular and have been increasingly integrated into medical research and clinical practice. To assist in optimizing health, wellness, or medical care, these devices require collaboration between researchers, healthcare providers, and wearable technology companies in order to clarify their clinical capabilities and educate consumers on the utilities and limitations of the wide-ranging wearable devices. Interestingly, activity trackers and fitness watches often track both health/wellness and medical information within the same device. In this commentary, we will focus our discussions regarding wearable technology on (1) defining and explaining the technical differences between tracking health, wellness, and medical information; (2) providing examples of health and wellness compared to medical tracking; (3) describing the potential medical benefits of wearable technology and its applications in clinical populations; and (4) elucidating the potential risks of wearable technology. We conclude that while wearable devices are powerful and informative tools, further research is needed to improve its clinical applications
Revisiting Heart Rate Target Zones Through the Lens of Wearable Technology
No full textApply It!: By reading this article, the health and fitness professional will understand how heart rate can be used to monitor exercise intensity, be given examples of some of the different heart rate zones that are promoted by different fitness technologies, and understand some of the limitations of technologies for measuring and monitoring heart rate
Disordered eating is not associated with musculoskeletal injury in university athletes
No full textAthletes have a greater risk of developing disordered eating (DE) behaviours than non-athletes. Literature suggests that DE is associated with injury in female athletes; however, these associations are understudied in both female and male athletes. Our objective was to examine the association between DE and injuries in varsity athletes. In this cross-sectional study, varsity student athletes attending a Canadian University completed an anonymous online survey. The survey included questions regarding demographics, injury occurrence, and the Disordered Eating Screen for Athletes (DESA-6; a score ≥ 3 is indicative of DE). Athletes were categorized by DE status and injury occurrence. Chi-Square tests were performed to assess the relationship between these variables. Musculoskeletal injury frequency was compared between DE and non-DE groups using a Mann-Whitney test. Fifty-six varsity athletes (N=37 females, 66.1%) with a mean age of 20.1±1.3 years participated in this study. DE was not associated with injury occurrence (p=0.73) and musculoskeletal injury frequency did not differ between DE and non-DE groups (p=0.50). However, both injury and DE were prevalent as 73.2% of participants reported injuries and 33.9% had positive DESA-6 scores. These findings highlight the need to address DE and injuries in athletes and could encourage the implementation of strategies to reduce their prevalence in sport.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
Sedentary Behavior and the Use of Wearable Technology: An Editorial
No full textGlobally, we continue to face a mounting issue of obesity combined with inactivity; sedentary behaviour is independently associated with poor health outcomes including disease and mortality. As such, exploring ways to try to reduce sedentary behaviour and decrease the risk of diseases is an important area of consideration. The role of wearable technology, such as fitness trackers, to encourage and subsequently increase physical activity is relatively well documented. These devices have been successful at encouraging populations to increase daily activity levels. While time being sedentary is often correlated with physical activity participation, this is not always the case. Therefore, it may be just as important to consider the activity an individual is not doing when evaluating health and well-being. This Editorial will summarize the importance of distinguishing between physical activity and sedentary behaviour. It will also discuss how wearable technology, in the form of fitness trackers, may be used to encourage someone to break up sedentary bouts more often. Finally, we will consider important future research directions
Menstrual Irregularities and Energy Deficiency in Physically Active Women: The Role of Ghrelin, PYY and Adipocytokines
No full textRevisiting heart rate target zones through the lens of wearable technology
No full textExercise prescription is fundamental in creating exercise programs that help clients to achieve optimal fitness outcomes. The FITT-VP principal outlines guidelines for considering frequency, intensity, time, type, volume and progression when designing exercise programs. A popular way to monitor intensity is with heart rate. This article will review how heart rate can be used to monitor exercise intensity, explore the different heart rate zones that are promoted by fitness technology companies, and help fitness professionals to understand some of the limitations of technologies for measuring and monitoring heart rate.</div
Perceived Exertion during Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity While Mask Wearing: A Quantitative and Qualitative Pilot Study
No full textThere is limited research examining the perception of exertion during exercise while wearing a facemask. The current study examined if mask usage during moderate or vigorous physical activity (MVPA) changed the self-reported perception of exertion. Seventy-two adults (18 years and older) who were physically active before the COVID-19 pandemic completed a questionnaire that assessed exercise habits and perceptions of mask wearing during MVPA. Participants reported their ratings of perceived exertion (RPE, on a scale of 1–10) while exercising. Wearing a mask resulted in higher RPE vs. no mask during both vigorous (8.4 ± 0.2 vs. 7.4 ± 0.1; p \u3c 0.001) and moderate PA (6.6 ± 0.2 vs. 5.6 ± 0.2; p \u3c 0.001). Qualitative analysis revealed mostly negative perceptions of exercising while wearing a mask, including respiratory issues, detriments to cardiovascular endurance, and general discomfort. A total of 40% of participants reported that they stopped exercising in an indoor/public setting because of a mask mandate in their region. Participants reported participating in less vigorous PA (4.7 ± 0.4 vs. 4.0 ± 0.4 h/week; p = 0.046), but not less moderate PA (3.3 ± 0.3 vs. 3.0 ± 0.3 h/week; p = 0.443) pre vs. during the pandemic. Our study suggests that facemask usage during MVPA causes an increase in RPE and may be one reason for a decrease in vigorous PA during the COVID-19 pandemic
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