Sport Participation and Subjective Outcomes of Health in Middle-Aged Men: A Scoping Review

Determinants of Engagement in Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Club Sports among University Students: A Large-Scale Study

Various socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle-related factors have been reported to be associated with physical activity (PA) habits. However, there exist insufficient data comparing different forms of engagement in PA, sports, and exercise. This study aimed to investigate potential factors associated with the engagement in leisure-time PA (LPA) and club sports (CSs) in a large sample of college/university students. This Austria-wide study followed a cross-sectional design with a final sample of 4508 participants (mean age: 24.9 years; 65.9% female) from 52 Austrian colleges/universities. A standardized survey was used to collect data on demographics, anthropometric characteristics, and a wide range of health-related lifestyle factors, including patterns of PA and underlying motivations for PA engagement as well as details of dietary habits, sleep routines, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Descriptive statistics, chi-squared, logistic regression, and MANCOVA were used for data analysis. Across the entire sample, 85.7% of participants reported regular participation in LPA, including 22.5% who were active members of sports clubs. Of the 36 potential motives listed in the questionnaire, "maintaining physical health", "feeling good", and "refreshing the mind" were the most commonly reported factors motivating students to engage in either LPA or CSs. Ten socio-demographic, dietary, or lifestyle factors were identified as predictors of CSs participation (p < 0.01), whereas only two variables (specifically sleep-related factors) were identified as predictors of LPA participation (p < 0.001). These findings emphasize the importance of considering the type of PA and sport participation and the associated determinants when designing tailored strategies to promote an active lifestyle.

Examining the relationship between different physical activities and health and well-being in middle-aged and older men: an isotemporal substitution analysis

Background

Well-being declines during men's middle years, and while physical activity (PA) can have a positive influence, the type of PA that provides the greatest benefit is not clear. This cross-sectional study explored how participation in different types of PA is associated with the well-being and self-rated health of middle-aged and older men.

Methods

A representative sample of South Australian adults completed a survey which assessed time spent in a variety of physical activities and self-rated health, life worth, life satisfaction and previous day happiness and anxiety. This study focused on a subsample of men≥35 years of age (n=1019). Partition and isotemporal substitution analyses were used to explore relationships between different types of PA and self-rated health and well-being outcomes.

Results

Weekly PA was positively associated with all outcomes among middle-aged men (35-64 years), but only with self-rated health and life satisfaction in older men (65+ years). Substituting out 30 mins of team sport participation with cycling, fitness/gym-based activities or other recreational activities was associated with higher self-rated health in middle-aged men. In older men, substituting 30 mins of dance with most other types of PA was related with greater self-rated health and life worth.

Conclusions

Total weekly PA was consistently related to the self-rated health and well-being of middle-aged men, but less so among older men. Despite some substitution effects for self-rated health, for the most part well-being was not influenced by activity substitution, particularly among middle-aged men.

Using self-reported health as a social determinants of health outcome: a scoping review of reviews

Reducing disease prevalence rather than promoting health has long been the objective of significant population health initiatives, such as the social determinants of health (SDH) framework. However, empirical evidence suggests that people with diagnosed diseases often answer the self-reported health (SRH) question positively. In pursuit of a better proxy to understand, measure and improve health, this scoping review of reviews examines the potential of SRH to be used as an outcome of interest in population health policies. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, it synthesizes findings from 77 review papers (published until 11 May 2022) and reports a robust association between SDH and SRH. It also investigates inconsistencies within and between reviews to reveal how variation in population health can be explained by studying the impact of contextual factors, such as cultural, social, economic and political elements, on structural determinants such as socioeconomic situation, gender and ethnicity. These insights provide informed hypotheses for deeper explorations of the role of SDH in improving SRH. The review detects several gaps in the literature. Notably, more evidence syntheses are required, in general, on the pathway from contextual elements to population SRH and, in particular, on the social determinants of adolescents' SRH. This study reports a disease-oriented mindset in collecting, analysing and reporting SRH across the included reviews. Future studies should utilize the capability of SRH in interconnecting social, psychological and biological dimensions of health to actualize its full potential as a central public health measure.

Masculine Ideals and Health in Older Men: Findings From the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

How do older men's masculine ideals affect their health? Are masculine activities involved in this relationship? Masculine identity upholds beliefs about masculine enactment. These beliefs can be detrimental to men and can lead to behaviors that can put undue stress on them. We examine how masculine ideals are associated with health and depressive symptomatology in older men. We used 2011 data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (n = 2,594) to investigate how masculine ideals inform older men's health and how participation in masculine activities might shape these outcomes. Findings from this study illustrate that traditional masculine ideals are associated with worse self-rated health (SRH), greater chronic illness, and depressive symptomatology. For masculine activities, doing repairs and car maintenance was associated with less chronic illness and depression. Belonging to a senior men's group was associated with worse SRH, greater chronic illness, and greater depression. Therefore, older men's greater endorsement of traditional masculine ideals was generally associated with worse health, though certain masculine activities affected this relationship. We posit that more gender-equitable beliefs may be useful for improving the "men's health gap."

Investigating External and Internal Loads in Male Older Adult Basketball Players during Official Games

This study aimed at assessing the external [Player Load (PL), acceleration (ACC), changes of direction (COD), JUMP, and their relative values (PL/min; ACC/min; COD/min and JUMP/min)] and internal [percentage of the peak heart rate (%HRpeak) and the training load calculated with the session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) method (sRPE-load)] loads of masters (senior citizen) basketball players during official games. Thirteen male basketball masters players (age: 66.6 ± 2.1 years; body mass: 89.9 ± 8.7 kg; stature: 183.7 ± 4.6 cm) were monitored during an official Lietuvos Krepsinio Veteranu Lyga (LKVL) 65-year game. Beside descriptive analysis, a chi-square goodness of fit test was adopted to assess the differences in the distribution within JUMP, ACC and COD classes of intensities (i.e., low, medium and high). The results revealed PL = 269.9 ± 83.3 AU and PL/min = 6.54 ± 1.29 AU/min. Moreover, significant differences (p < 0.001) in the distribution of the intensity classes were found for JUMP, ACC, and COD, with the lowest intensities as the most frequent. Finally, HRpeak = 81.7 ± 8.1% and sRPE-load = 148.9 ± 69.7 AU were found, with sRPE = ~3 AU. In conclusion, a low external load during an official basketball game was found compared to other basketball populations. Moreover, a high objective internal load did not correspond to a low perceived demand, which might increase the training adherence and motivation during long-term studies.