Teresa Bento

Portuguese adults' physical activity during different periods of the year

Abstract This study aims to describe the daily physical activity (PA) of a sample of adults over the course of 1 year and to examine if there are any changes in achieving PA recommendations when assessed at different periods of the year. Participants, 257 women (age: 58.99±18.93 years, BMI: 26.75±4.57 kg m−2) and 178 men (age: 49.22±20.39 years, BMI: 26.81±3.51 kg m−2), wore an accelerometer 4–7 days. Periods of data collection were defined as T1 (September to December), T2 (January to April) and T3 (May to July). From T1 and T2, men from 20 to 39 years significantly increased values of daily average ct.min−1 (U=506, p=0.012), due to an increase in moderate-to-vigorous PA by 15.96 min (U=455, p=0.003). Achievement of the two PA recommendations varied throughout the year and among the gender/age groups. Results from this study showed that women generally maintain their level of PA throughout the year, whereas men show some variation, and that there are periods of the year when individuals are more likely to be involved in PA, or perform lower-intensity activities, especially older age groups. Also, recommendations of minimum PA are not accomplished in a constant way throughout the year. PA interventions should be conducted while being mindful of the time of year in which they will take place in order to help maintain a consistent PA level throughout the year to ensure health benefits from PA.

Determinants and Reasons for Dropout in Swimming —Systematic Review

The present research aims to systematically review the determinants and reasons for swimming dropout. The systematic review was conducted through electronic searches on the Web of Knowledge and PsycInfo databases from 2 February to 29 July 2015, using the keywords dropout, withdrawal, motives, reasons, sport, framework-theories, motivation, swim*, review, attrition and compliance. Fifteen studies were found and six were fully reviewed and its data extracted and analysed. Most studies were undertaken in Canada and in the United States of America (USA), and one study was conducted in Spain. Most participants were female (65.74%), and the main reasons for dropout were ‘conflicts with their trainers’, ‘other things to do’, ‘competence improvements’ failure’, ‘parents, couples or trainers’ pressure’, ‘lack of enjoyment’ and ‘get bored’. This review contributes to the present knowledge on the understanding of dropout in swimming. However, it is necessary to continue researching on this topic, validating measurement instruments and studying the motivational processes related to dropout and persistence.

Functional Outcomes and Quality of Life After Ankle Fracture Surgically Treated: A Systematic Review.

CONTEXT Ankle fractures (AFs) are the most common fractures of the lower limbs found in emergency services. Approximately 53% of these fractures are unstable and treated surgically. OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review evaluating functional outcomes and quality of life of patients with AFs surgically treated. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Five electronic databases were searched, without any limit on publication dates. Only patients with an unstable AF that was surgically treated were included; functional outcomes and the quality of life were controlled by the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey instrument. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Five studies were included in the analysis, including 267 patients. The values of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale ranged between a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 7 points. Patients with surgically treated AF reported less functionality and physical capacity compared with the nonfractured population. Some patients experienced vitality, emotional, and mental health limitations for a long period. Most surgically treated patients reported no pain and a good health and social status. CONCLUSION Limitations in functionality and physical capacity represent the main threats to health-related quality of life in patients with surgically treated AFs.

Pubertal maturation and health risk behaviors in adolescents: a systematic review

Objective: The objective of this academic work is to demonstrate evidences available in literature about the association among the pubertal maturation and health risk behavior in adolescents. Methods: It was used the database from MEDLINE/Pubmed, Scopus, Lilacs and Web of Science. The terms used in the research, with its variations, were “puberty”, “maturation”, “maturity”, “risk behaviors”, “risk factors”, “adolescent” and “student”. Results: Out of 838 manuscripts found in the databases, after the sorting and applied the eligibility criteria, remained in this systematic review 13 articles. Early maturation was associated significantly with the use of alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs, early sexual initiation, sedentary behaviors and involvement in fights, where girls showed higher prevalence. Conclusions: Henceforth, the results from the current study indicates that the early maturation is associated with health risk behaviors in adolescents, especially with the use of alcohol and cigarettes.