1,720,975 research outputs found
Feasibility of using the Wii-Fit to improve balance in the elderly
Full text linkFalls are the most frequent source of injury and one of the most common reasons for hospitalization among seniors 65 and older. Unfortunately, many seniors who experience a fall never fully recover from the broken bones or fractures. Research indicates that incorrect shifting of body weight is the most common reason for falls among the elderly Improving balance and gait can play an important role in helping older people avoid falls and injury as well as improving their mobility confidence. Our ability to balance decreases naturally as we age—mainly because we lose muscle tone and reflex speed. With this in mind, balance training has become an integral part of a complete fitness programme for seniors geared towards improving balance which can significantly reduce one’s chance of falling.
The Wii-Fit is a Nintendo game used for aerobics, strength training, and balance activities. The Nintendo Wii gaming device includes a balance board that senses weight, postural sway movement and balance. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board collects data comparable to a force plate. The Wii board records movements and gives feedback on performance. Though originally designed as a video game controller, the Balance Board has become a proven tool for assessing centre of pressure displacement. It is proven to be both valid and reliable. Clark & Kraemer, (2009) performed a study to prove the validity and test-retest reliability of the use of a Wii balance board. Their study found the Wii Balance Board to be both valid and have high test-retest reliability. The Wii board has the added benefit of being a low-cost, simple to use, wireless and portable device.
Articles were retrieved through database searching of Google scholar, PubMed, SportDiscus, EBSCOhost, Medline and online e Journals. Keywords used were a combination of Nintendo Wii, exergaming, wiihab, paired with the elderly and balance. To be included in this review, studies were required to be peer-reviewed and have used the Wii as an intervention tool as a part of their study. A total of fifteen studies were used to establish the feasibility of using the Wii fit game to improve balance in the elderly.
Older people who played the games enjoyed an improvement in both static and dynamic balance. This approach proved to be a fun way of achieving these benefits in a novel, stimulating and cost-effective manner
RESISTANCE TRAINING AND CO-SUPPLEMENTATION WITH CREATINE AND PROTEIN IN OLDER SUBJECTS WITH FRAILTY
No full textAbstract: Background: Studies assessing the effects co-supplementation with creatine and protein, along with resistance training, in older individuals with frailty are lacking. Objectives: This is an exploratory trial from the Pro-Elderly study (“Protein Intake and Resistance Training in Aging”) aimed at gathering knowledge on the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of co-supplementation with creatine and protein supplementation, combined with resistance training, in older individuals with frailty. Design: A 14-week, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo controlled exploratory trial. Setting, participants: The subjects were randomly assigned to whey protein and creatine co-supplementation (WHEY+CR) or whey protein supplementation (WHEY) group. All subjects undertook a supervised exercise training program and were assessed at baseline and after 14 weeks. Measurements: Muscle function, body composition, blood parameters, and self-reported adverse events were assessed. Results: No interaction effects (between-group differences) were observed for any dependent variables (p > 0.05 for all). However, there were main time-effects in handgrip (WHEY+CR = 26.65 ± 31.29; WHEY = 13.84 ± 14.93 Kg; p = 0.0005), timed-up-and-go (WHEY+CR = -11.20 ± 9.37; WHEY = -17.76 ±
21.74 sec; p = 0.006), and timed-stands test (WHEY+CR = 47.50 ± 35.54; WHEY = 46.87 ± 24.23 reps; p = 0.0001), suggesting that WHEY+CR and WHEY were similarly effective in improving muscle function. All of the subjects showed improvements in at least two of the three functional tests, regardless of their treatments. Body composition and blood parameters were not changed (p > 0.05). No severe adverse effects were observed. Conclusions: Co-supplementation with creatine and whey protein was well-tolerable and free of adverse events in older subjects with frailty undertaking resistance training. Creatine supplementation did not augment the adaptive effects of resistance training along with whey protein on body composition or muscle function in this population
International Council for Physical Activity and Fitness Research (ICPAFR) Board Membership
Full text linkAIM
The aim of the Council is to make an effort to promote that quality of life most conducive to the realization of one's highest creative potential through the promotion of physical activity and fitness.
OBJECTIVES
- To encourage basic research in physical activity and physical fitness.
- To foster research in areas of physical activity, fitness, and nutrition.
- To standardize tests in physical fitness and the assessment and the measurement of physical activity.
- To encourage research based upon the standardized tests and measurements.
- To encourage research to enhance participation in physical activity and the improvement of physical fitness
Project vital: Community revitalization industry report
Full text linkViTAL (Vitality Through Active Living) FIJIAN PROJECT
The ViTAL project aims to aid in the reduction of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through investment in the health and well-being of women by increasing the level of participation in physical activity (PA) and health eating across the community. Women are agents of change in families, communities and countries. The ViTAL program aims to support, other community-based programs such as community gardens, healthy cooking classes, healthy cookbooks, walking groups and other ongoing physical activity programs
Project ViTAL ViTAL (Vitality Through Active Living) Fijian project
Full text linkPhysical inactivity, along with other lifestyle-related health risk factors such as an unhealthy diet, is becoming increasingly prevalent in developing countries which face rapid economic and social development, urbanization and industrialization. The importance of physical activity as a means of NCD prevention and control is recognized in developing countries, as well as the need for suitable programmes, policies and guidelines. However, the evidence on implementing physical activity interventions in a developing country context is sparse. It is evident from research findings that encouraging participation in health-enhancing physical activity is a public health issue of urgent concern. A healthy revitalised community is one that is concerned about the well-being of the community, protection of the environment and investing into future generations. Research stresses that physical activity interventions carried out in developing countries include strategies to:
• raise awareness of the importance and benefits of physical activity among the community,
• educate the whole population and/or specific community groups,
• conduct local physical activity programmes and initiatives;
• build capacity among individuals implementing local physical activity programmes through training of potential programme coordinators; and
• create supportive environments that facilitate participation in physical activity
Community revitalisation strategy
Full text linkAbstract of presentation :
The rising incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in western countries is reported as being driven by poor lifestyle choices, which include drops in adequate physical activity levels. Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) can impose large health, financial and economic costs on countries. In some countries, NCDs are responsible for more than 50% of health costs. The economic consequences of physical inactivity have been shown to be substantial for health care costs but even greater on indirect costs, which include the value of economic output lost because of illness, disease-related work disability and premature death. In response to the growing burden of chronic NCDs and in order to reduce the impact of major risk factors such as unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, the New Zealand Ministry of Health funded a community- and primary healthcare-based physical activity intervention called Green Prescription. Green prescriptions have been shown to be effective in increasing population physical activity levels. Green Prescriptions are available nationwide, through the partnership with general practitioner groups, sport trusts and funding from the Ministry of Health. The Green prescription initiative has been recognized as smart and cost-effective way to help people stay healthy thus alleviating health costs.
The purpose of this presentation is to highlight good practice that has stemmed from effective working relationships between health, local government agencies and sport trusts, to support people in adopting healthier lifestyles
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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