Ana Naia

Prevalence of adult overweight and obesity in 20 European countries, 2014

Background Monitoring obesity and overweight prevalence is important for assessing interventions aimed at preventing or reducing the burden of obesity. This study aimed to provide current data regarding the prevalence of overweight and obesity of adults, from 20 European countries. Methods Participants were 34 814 (16 482 men) adults with mean age 50.8 ± 17.7. Data from European Social Survey round 7, 2014, were analysed. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from self-reported height and weight. Results The proportion of underweight was only 2%, and 44.9% for normal weight. Overweight and obese accounted for 53.1%. More men than women were overweight (44.7% vs. 30.5%). Older adults were significantly more overweight (42.4%) and obese (20.9%) than middle age and younger adults. Retired people account for a greater proportion of overweight (42.0%) and obese (21.5%), when compared with employed, unemployed and students. People from rural areas were significantly more overweight (39.1 vs. 36.1%) and obese (17.0 vs. 15.3%) than those who lived in urban areas. The estimates indicate that the highest prevalence of overweight was in Czech Republic (45.2%), Hungary (43.7%) and Lithuania (41.7%). For obesity, Slovenia (20.8%), Estonia (19.7%) and the United Kingdom (19.2%) were the countries with the highest prevalence. Conclusion Even though data was self-reported, and individuals tend to overestimate their height and underestimate their weight, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is considered high. More than half of the European population is overweight and obese. This study strengthens and updates the claims of an excessive weight epidemic in Europe.

Development and application of the opportunity identification competence assessment test (OICAT) in higher education

Abstract Developing and assessing individuals’ competence to identify business opportunities is of increasing importance in the current widespread introduction of entrepreneurship programmes in higher education worldwide. However, performance tests to assess opportunity identification competence (OIC) are scarce in the entrepreneurship education literature. This study elaborates on the development and application of such a performance assessment tool: the opportunity identification competence assessment test (OICAT). In the OICAT participants are asked to generate business ideas in the area of sustainable development. This study investigated how bachelor’s students, and master’s students following entrepreneurial courses, identify opportunities. The results suggest that the OICAT is successful in tracking individual differences in OIC. The OICAT could be used as a learning-oriented assessment, helping students find out both what they already can do and what they need for further improvement.

Entrepreneurship Education: A Selective Examination of the Literature

We build two different frameworks of analysis in order to examine recent literature on entrepreneurial education at two levels: (i) theoretical contributions, and (ii) emerging challenges and solutions in the entrepreneurial classroom. These simple frameworks are used to classify and analyze articles published on the subjects of entrepreneurship education, encompassing methodologies, theories, contents, frameworks and evaluation of programs/subjects, selected from a wide range of journals in the fields of Management and Education over the period 2000–2011.

Theory of planned behavior and entrepreneurial intentions of sport sciences students: Implications for curriculum

This study tests Ajzen’s1 Theory of Planned Behavior in sport sciences with the purpose of determining which variables most influence students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Although this theory has been employed to explain entrepreneurial intentions within different contexts, the context of sport sciences has not been addressed. A sample of 379 sport sciences students were administered the Entrepreneurial Intentions Questionnaire and results were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that both perceived attitudes and perceived behavior control have significant positive impacts on entrepreneurial intentions, while the impact of subjective norms is negative. Several suggestions to improve curriculum design and teaching in order to promote entrepreneurial intentions and behaviors are provided.