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One Size Does Not Fit All: New Strategies to Improve Overall Health and Physical Activity Behavior in Vulnerable Populations

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A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Sports Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 3469

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gabriel Dias Rodrigues

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Guest Editor

Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy
Interests: respiratory muscle training; autonomic nervous system; cerebrovascular control; aging; rheumatologic diseases; environmental conditions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Marco Vicenzi

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Cardio-Thoracic-Vascular Diseases, Foundation IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20154 Milan, Italy
2. Dyspnea Lab, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
Interests: cardiopulmonary exercise testing; exercise physiology; cardiorespiratory physiology; cardiorespiratory rehabilitation; rehabilitation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sedentary behavior increases the risk for several cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. For vulnerable populations (e.g., older adults and chronic diseases), sedentarism has amplified deteriorative effects on several physiological systems. Hence, the scientific literature has been communicating strategies which would make people more active. However, the physical activity strategy should account for a clear outcome, population characteristics, environmental conditions, and participants' preferences. Thus, this challenge remains today, as one size does not fit all. This Special Issue aims to explore the bridge between ongoing physical activity/exercise strategies and therapeutic targets/overall health benefits in vulnerable populations.

This Research Topic welcomes review papers and original research regarding the following themes:

Breaks in the sedentary behavior and exercise promotion in chronic diseases;
Acute and chronic whole-body exercise and respiratory exercise strategies;
Environmental effects on cardiorespiratory responses and physical capacity.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in IJERPH.

Dr. Gabriel Dias Rodrigues
Dr. Marco Vicenzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

chronic diseases
vascular function
aging
sedentarism
active breaks
exercise
respiratory muscle training
hostile environments

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1447 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multicomponent Exercise Intervention for Preventing Falls and Improving Physical Functioning in Older Nursing Home Residents: A Single-Blinded Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

by Munseef Sadaqa, Wesam A. Debes, Zsanett Németh, Zsófia Bera-Baka, Marianna Vachtler-Szepesi, Loretta Nácziné Földes, Viktória Prémusz and Márta Hock

J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(6), 1577; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13061577 - 10 Mar 2024

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Abstract

Background: Older nursing home residents are at a greater risk of falling due to frailty. Exercise is effective at hampering frailty and related adverse events, including falls. Objectives: Our purpose was to evaluate the effect of a 12-week moderate-intensity multicomponent exercise programme on the number of falls and physical functioning among older nursing home residents. Also, we examined the association between the number of falls and demographics as well as physical and cognitive baseline data. Methods: The study protocol was registered on clinicaltrials.gov with the following identifier: NCT05835297. Older adults aged 65 years and over were recruited from a nursing home, and eligible and consenting residents were randomly allocated to two parallel groups: the intervention group, which performed a multicomponent exercise programme composed of strength, balance, and aerobic training (n = 12), and the control group, which received usual care (n = 12). Outcomes included falls, and measures of strength, balance, and mobility. Results: We had high adherence to exercise sessions, and no adverse events were recorded. We observed a non-significant reduction in falls (p = 0.34) and a significant improvement in Short Physical Performance Battery (p = 0.003) after the exercise programme. Falls were associated with being female and having diminished physical or cognitive function. Conclusions: Multicomponent exercise programmes should be implemented regularly in nursing homes for their effectiveness. Future studies with bigger samples, including participants with worse physical and cognitive impairments, as well as follow-up periods are required. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue One Size Does Not Fit All: New Strategies to Improve Overall Health and Physical Activity Behavior in Vulnerable Populations)

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15 pages, 928 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training Using the 3/7 Resistance Training Method on Metabolic Stress in People with Heart Failure and Coronary Artery Disease: A Randomized Cross-Over Study

by Alexis Gillet, Kevin Forton, Michel Lamotte, Francesca Macera, Ana Roussoulières, Pauline Louis, Malko Ibrahim, Céline Dewachter, Philippe van de Borne and Gaël Deboeck

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(24), 7743; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12247743 - 17 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1285

Abstract

The 3/7 resistance training (RT) method involves performing sets with increasing numbers of repetitions, and shorter rest periods than the 3x9 method. Therefore, it could induce more metabolic stress in people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) or coronary artery disease (CAD). This randomized cross-over study tested this hypothesis. Eleven individuals with HFrEF and thirteen with CAD performed high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for 30 min, followed by 3x9 or 3/7 RT according to group allocation. pH, HCO³⁻, lactate, and growth hormone were measured at baseline, after HIIT, and after RT. pH and HCO³⁻ decreased, and lactate increased after both RT methods. In the CAD group, lactate increased more (6.99 ± 2.37 vs. 9.20 ± 3.57 mmol/L, p = 0.025), pH tended to decrease more (7.29 ± 0.06 vs. 7.33 ± 0.04, p = 0.060), and HCO³⁻ decreased more (18.6 ± 3.1 vs. 21.1 ± 2.5 mmol/L, p = 0.004) after 3/7 than 3x9 RT. In the HFrEF group, lactate, pH, and HCO³⁻ concentrations did not differ between RT methods (all p > 0.248). RT did not increase growth hormone in either patient group. In conclusion, the 3/7 RT method induced more metabolic stress than the 3x9 method in people with CAD but not HFrEF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue One Size Does Not Fit All: New Strategies to Improve Overall Health and Physical Activity Behavior in Vulnerable Populations)

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19 pages, 880 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Effect of Resistance Exercise on Body Composition and Functional Capacity in Older Women with Sarcopenic Obesity—A Systematic Review with Narrative Synthesis

by Wesam A. Debes, Munseef Sadaqa, Zsanett Németh, Ahmad Aldardour, Viktória Prémusz and Márta Hock

J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(2), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13020441 - 13 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1107

Abstract

Background: Resistance exercise has shown effectiveness in reducing various risk factors related to sarcopenic obesity (SO) compared to other types of exercise, e.g., aerobic exercise. Objective: This systematic review evaluates the effect of resistance exercise on body composition, muscular strength, and functional capacity among older women with sarcopenic obesity aged ≥ 60 years. Methods: This systematic review is registered on PROSPERO (registration No. CRD42023394603) and follows the PRISMA guidelines. The following electronic databases were used to search the literature: Pedro, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science. We included only RCTs that investigated the effect of resistance exercise on body composition and functional capacity. Two independent reviewers conducted the process of study selection and data extraction. Results: The search strategy retrieved 687 results. One hundred and twenty-six records were deleted as duplicates. Consequently, 534 studies were excluded after the title/abstract assessment. After further detailed evaluation of twenty-seven full texts, seven RCTs were included; all the RCTs examined the isolated effect of resistance exercise in women with sarcopenic obesity. The included studies comprised 306 participants, with an average age of 64 to 72 years. We noticed a trend of improvement in the included studies among the intervention groups compared to the control groups among the different outcomes. The study protocol was inconsistent for the intervention settings, duration, and outcomes. Including a modest number of trials made it impossible to perform data meta-analysis. Conclusions: Heterogeneity among studies regarding training protocols and the outcome measures reported limited robust conclusions. Still, resistance exercise intervention can improve body composition and functional capacity among elderly women with sarcopenic obesity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue One Size Does Not Fit All: New Strategies to Improve Overall Health and Physical Activity Behavior in Vulnerable Populations)

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