BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine - BMJ Group https://bmjgroup.com Helping doctors make better decisions Wed, 15 Oct 2025 11:29:03 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://bmjgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Favicon2_Orange.png BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine - BMJ Group https://bmjgroup.com 32 32 Ditch ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach to women’s running shoes, manufacturers urged https://bmjgroup.com/ditch-shrink-it-and-pink-it-approach-to-womens-running-shoes-manufacturers-urged/ Wed, 15 Oct 2025 11:29:03 +0000 https://bmjgroup.com/?p=13766

Women’s foot anatomy, biomechanics, life stages completely different from men’s
Female-based designs might boost women’s comfort, injury prevention, and performance

Sports footwear manufacturers need to ditch the ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach to women’s running shoes, because this is failing to differentiate their distinct anatomical and biomechanical needs across the life course from those of men, concludes a small qualitative study published in the open access journal BMJ Open Sports & Exercise Medicine.

Female-, rather than male-based, designs might not only boost women runners’ comfort, but also enhance injury prevention, and their performance, say the researchers.

Over the past 50 years, manufacturers have invested billions of dollars on developing running shoes that can prevent injury, maximise comfort, and improve runners’ performance.

Yet both industry and academic research to inform these advances has predominantly been designed for, and tested on, men and boys, point out the researchers.

Running shoes are designed by creating a three-dimensional foot-shaped mould called a ‘last, which is typically based on male foot anatomy, they explain.

Most brands use the same last for their entire range, and beyond making the shoes smaller and changing the colour—a process known as ‘shrink it and pink it’—often only minimal modifications are made to create women’s shoes, they add.

The researchers therefore wanted to hear from recreational and competitive women runners which features they prioritise in a running shoe and how these might differ across the lifespan, with a view to informing future shoe design.

They recruited 21 study participants via posters displayed at local running stores in Vancouver, Canada, with the aim of including a broad range of ages, running experience, and weekly running volume and frequency.

Eleven of the women were recreational runners who clocked up a weekly average of 30 km; and 10 were competitive runners, who averaged 45 km. Nine of the women ran during pregnancy or soon after giving birth. Their ages ranged from 20 to 70, and their years of running experience ranged from 6 to 58.

The women were asked to rank in order of importance the factors informing their choice of running shoes. The responses showed that their primary considerations were the comfort and feel of the shoe, injury prevention, and performance.

In terms of comfort, most of them said they wanted a wider toe box, a narrower heel, and more cushioning; competitive runners also wanted shoes incorporating performance enhancing features, such as a carbon plate, as long as these didn’t compromise comfort.

The women said that they actively sought out running shoes that they believed would help prevent running injuries, and with this in mind, both groups emphasised the high value they placed on buying shoes from trusted retailers or personnel.

They highlighted the need for different shoe designs or components to align with different running contexts—taking part in races, training, speed work, or running with an injury, for example.

And those who were mothers, reported needing a larger shoe size and wider fit as well as more support and cushioning during pregnancy and after giving birth. Competitive runners also said they needed added cushioning and support features in their footwear as they got older.

This study involved only a small number of participants, and the researchers acknowledge that participants came from a specific geographical area, which may limit the generalisability of the findings.

Nevertheless, they suggest: “Overall, our findings highlight a critical gap in the design of running footwear, which has been traditionally based on male anatomy and biomechanics.

“While participants did not always report an inability to find footwear, their narratives reflected a process of trial-and-error adaptation, often without guidance or purpose-built solutions. This suggests that their needs are not proactively addressed through current footwear design or communication.”

And they conclude: “We strongly recommend that the footwear industry should move beyond simply scaling down men’s shoes to fit women’s feet. Instead, there is a need for sex- and gender- specific designs that accommodate the distinct foot morphology of women and their social constructs and preferences, all of which evolve across the lifespan.”

14/10/2025

Notes for editors
Research “If a shoe had been designed from a woman’s foot, would I be running without getting the injuries?”: running footwear needs and preferences of recreational and competitive women runners across the lifespan Doi: 10.1136/ bmjsem-2025-002597

Journal: BMJ Open Sports & Exercise Medicine

External funding: Hettas Sport Ltd; Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada

Link to Academy of Medical Sciences press release labelling system http://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf

Externally peer reviewed? Yes
Evidence type: Qualitative
Subjects: Women

The post Ditch ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach to women’s running shoes, manufacturers urged first appeared on BMJ Group.

]]>
High prevalence of tooth and gum issues in teenage professional footballers in England https://bmjgroup.com/high-prevalence-of-tooth-and-gum-issues-in-teenage-professional-footballers-in-england/ Wed, 09 Apr 2025 15:35:21 +0000 https://bmjgroup.com/?p=10969

Inadequate oral hygiene, poor diet, infrequent visits to the dentist, all contributory factors
Good oral health essential for quality of life, long term health and sporting performance

The prevalence of tooth and gum issues among teenage (academy) professional footballers in England is high, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.

Inadequate oral hygiene, poor diet, and infrequent routine visits to the dentist, are all contributory factors, the findings suggest, prompting the researchers to call for remedial action to promote good oral health.

This is essential for wellbeing, quality of life, long term health, and ultimately sporting performance, they emphasise.

Previously published research indicates high levels of tooth and gum disease among professional senior team footballers in England and Wales. The researchers therefore wanted to find out if these problems start early in young professional academy footballers, with a view to informing preventive and health promotion strategies.

They invited players (all aged 16–18) from professional academy football clubs in England to undergo a full dental health screen and to fill in questionnaires on their dental and oral hygiene routines, frequency of sports/energy and fizzy drink consumption; and the perceived effects on their wellbeing, training, and sporting performance.

In all, 160 footballers out of a total of 179 from 10 English academy football clubs took part. Most (87%;139) were young men; just over 13% (21) were young women. On average, they were 16 years old.

Nearly 1 in 3 (31%; 50) needed fillings for tooth decay; and more than 3 out of 4 (77%;123) had inflamed gums (gingivitis). Around 1 in 4 (22.5%; 36) had irreversible periodontitis (chronic infection that damages the tissues and bone supporting the teeth).

Twenty five (15.5%) had moderate to severe tooth wear, affecting up to at least 50% of tooth structure and requiring treatment. This was somewhat surprising given the young age of the participants, say the researchers.

Tooth wear is caused by dietary acids, stress induced tooth clenching and grinding, eating disorders (bulimia), or acid reflux, they explain.

“This should be of concern given that in many instances these issues will go undetected until it becomes problematic to the player, affecting not just their dental health but their general health and wellbeing,” they comment.

More than a third (36%; 57) had broken/chipped incisors, 1 in 10 of whom (16) actively recalled that they received either a soft tissue injury (lips or tongue) or dental trauma during training or competition at the academy. No player said they wore a mouthguard during play.

Nearly 1 in 4 (23%; 37) said they drank sports/energy drinks every day; 14 (9%) said they drank fizzy drinks daily—risk factors for both tooth decay and wear.

Three quarters of participants (just over 76%;122) said they brushed their teeth twice a day, but 18 said they did so once or a day, or when they remembered. And around 1 in 5 (21%; 34) hadn’t been to the dentist for more than 2 years.

Participants generally felt that oral health issues affected their sporting performance: 22 (14%) said they had missed training/competition due to oral health issues and/or  cracked, chipped, or broken teeth.

The relatively small number of female participants is a limiting factor for the generalisability of this study, acknowledge the researchers.

But most of the tooth and gum issues identified in the dental screens can be prevented with simple, low cost, evidence based interventions, they point out, adding that poor oral health is disproportionately associated with levels of deprivation.

“The high levels of oral diseases in academy football[ers] will have long and consequential implications for these participants. In the short term, these will include impacts on life quality, confidence, and self-reported performance,” they write.

“Longer term, an additional lifelong burden of dental treatment and disadvantage can be expected, including negative effects on life quality, social mobility and risk of systemic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

They conclude: “Good oral health should be based on effective integrated health promotion. Knowledge alone is insufficient and behaviour change will be key. …Such health promotion can (and should be) delivered within existing academy resources. A further lynchpin should be regular dental screening to personalise preventative oral health advice based on dental need.”

09/04/2025

Notes for editors
Research
Disadvantage starts early: academy football has high levels of oral disease Doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2024-002245
Journal: BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

External funding: None declared

Link to Academy of Medical Sciences press release labelling system
http://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf

Externally peer reviewed? Yes
Evidence type: Observational
Subjects: Professional football players

The post High prevalence of tooth and gum issues in teenage professional footballers in England first appeared on BMJ Group.

]]>
Resistance exercise ‘activity breaks’ at night may improve sleep length https://bmjgroup.com/resistance-exercise-activity-breaks-at-night-may-improve-sleep-length/ Wed, 17 Jul 2024 15:15:02 +0000 https://bmjgroup.com/?p=7725

3-minute breaks every half hour for 4 hours may be all that’s needed, small study suggests
May be worth reviewing current recommendations which discourage exercise before bed

Resistance exercise ‘activity breaks’ at night may improve sleep length, suggest the findings of a small comparative study published in the open access journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.

Three-minute breaks every 30 minutes over a period of 4 hours may be all that’s needed, the findings indicate.

Current recommendations discourage intense exercise before going to bed, on the grounds that it increases body temperature and heart rate, which can result in poorer sleep quality, say the researchers.

While activity breaks can improve metabolism after a meal, it’s not clear if they have any impact on sleep. Poor sleep is associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders, such as coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes, explain the researchers.

To explore this further, the researchers recruited 30 non-smokers, aged 18 to 40, to their study. All of them reported clocking up more than 5 hours of sedentary time during the day at work and 2 hours in the evening.

To capture habitual physical activity and sleep patterns, participants wore an activity tracker worn continuously on their non-dominant wrist for 7 consecutive days. And they were asked to record the periods they didn’t wear it, the time they went to bed, and when they woke up.

They were also asked to record any physical activity when not wearing the activity tracker, such as swimming or contact sport, and to record activities known to be inaccurately identified by the tracker, such as stationary cycling or yoga.

Each participant completed two 4-hour sessions in a controlled laboratory environment on the same day of the week, starting at around 17:00-17:30 hours, and separated by a minimum period of 6 days.

In one session, participants remained seated for 4 hours; in the other, they did 3 minutes of simple resistance exercise every 30 minutes over the 4-hour period. Afterwards participants returned to their normal, real-life environment.

Each activity break included 3 rounds of 3 exercises: chair squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises with straight leg hip extensions for 20 seconds each, in time with a video recording of a person doing the same exercises.

The activity tracker data showed that before the experiment, participants spent an average of 7 hours 47 minutes asleep, 10 hours 31 minutes sitting down, and 4 hours 55 minutes engaged in vigorous physical activity a day.

Three out of four slept for the recommended 7 hours a night, while the rest slept either less than that (21%) or longer than 9 hours (4%).

The results, which are based on 28 participants, show that after the activity breaks, participants slept for an additional 27 minutes on average, compared with prolonged sitting.

The average sleep duration was 7 hours 12 minutes, compared with 6 hours and 45 minutes after prolonged sitting. And while the time at which participants attempted to go to sleep was more or less the same, average wake times differed. Participants woke, on average, at 7:35 am after the prolonged sitting intervention and 8:06 am after regular activity breaks.

What’s more, there were no significant differences in sleep efficiency—uninterrupted sleep—or the number of awakenings during the night between the 2 interventions, indicating that activity breaks didn’t disrupt subsequent sleep, say the researchers.

There were no statistically significant differences in activity patterns in the 24 hours following each intervention. But compared with prolonged sitting, regular activity breaks resulted in 18 fewer minutes of total physical activity—less than 2% of total wake time.

The researchers acknowledge various limitations to their findings. For example, the study involved small numbers of participants and was conducted in a laboratory setting, which may not reflect real life behaviour.

Further studies involving larger numbers of people in their normal home environment, and for a longer period, are therefore needed, emphasise the researchers.

But they nevertheless say: “These results add to a growing body of evidence that indicates evening exercise does not disrupt sleep quality, despite current sleep recommendations to the contrary.”

And they point out: “Adults accrue the longest periods of sedentary time and consume almost half their daily energy intake during the evening, added to which insulin sensitivity is lower at this time.”

By extending sleep duration, especially in those who sleep less than the recommended nightly total, activity breaks may potentially reduce cardiometabolic disease risk over the long term, they suggest.

The resistance exercises used in their study are simple to do, don’t require any equipment, and can even be done while streaming content, potentially increasing the chances of keeping up the routine, they add.

But they highlight: “While existing research indicates that evening exercise may not adversely impact sleep, the mechanisms by which [it] influences sleep quality remain unclear.”

17/07/2024

Notes for editors
Parts of this study were presented in abstract form at the Sleep in Aotearoa 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting, Dunedin, New Zealand, June 2023

ResearchEvening regular activity breaks extend subsequent free-living sleep time in healthy adults: a randomised crossover trial Doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001774
Journal: BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

External funding: Health Research Council of New Zealand

Link to Academy of Medical Sciences press release labelling system
http://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf

Externally peer reviewed? Yes
Evidence type: Randomised cross-over trial
Subjects: People

The post Resistance exercise ‘activity breaks’ at night may improve sleep length first appeared on BMJ Group.

]]>
Heavy resistance training around retirement preserves vital leg strength years later https://bmjgroup.com/heavy-resistance-training-around-retirement-preserves-vital-leg-strength-years-later/ Wed, 19 Jun 2024 09:44:25 +0000 https://bmjgroup.com/?p=7403

Depletion of this is strong predictor of death in older people, say researchers

Twelve months of heavy resistance training—exercise that makes muscles work against a force—around retirement preserves vital leg strength years later, show the follow up results of a clinical trial, published online in the open access journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.

Depletion of leg muscle strength is regarded as a strong predictor of death in older people, so is important to maintain, say the researchers.

Skeletal muscle mass and function naturally decline with advancing age, ultimately often interfering with mobility and autonomy in older people, note the researchers.

Resistance training, which can involve weights, body weight, or resistance bands, can help to counteract this loss, but most of the published research has involved relatively short periods of time (6-9 months) to monitor its effects.

The researchers therefore wanted to know whether a year of supervised resistance training with heavy loads would make any difference over the longer term.

They followed up participants of the LIve active Successful Ageing (LISA) study, a large randomised controlled trial, the results of which showed that strength can be maintained over 12 months after 1 year of heavy resistance training.

At the time, participants who had recently retired and were healthy and active were stratified by sex, weight (BMI), and the ability to get up from a chair without assistance.

They were randomly assigned either to 1 year of lifting heavy weights 3 times a week (149), or to moderate intensity training (154), involving circuits that incorporated body weight exercises and resistance bands 3 times a week, or to a comparison group (148), all of whom were encouraged to maintain their usual levels of physical activity.

Bone and muscle strength and levels of body fat were measured in all the participants at the start of the trial, and then again after 1, 2, and 4 years.

After 4 years, 369 participants were available for assessment: 128/149 of those who had done the heavy weights resistance training; 126/154 of those completing moderate intensity training; and 115/148 of those in the comparison group. Eighty two people had dropped out, primarily due to lack of motivation or illness.

On average, participants were aged 71 (range 64–75) at year 4; 61% were women; and they were still active based on their daily physical activity, which averaged nearly 10,000 steps, as recorded by activity tracker.

After 4 years, there was no difference among the three groups in leg extensor power—the ability to kick a pedal as hard and as fast as possible—handgrip strength (a measure of overall strength), and lean leg mass (weight minus body fat), with decreases in all 3 indicators across the board.

Leg strength, however, was still preserved at the same level in the heavy weights resistance training group, but fell in the moderate intensity training and comparison groups, possibly because of nervous system changes in response to resistance training, suggest the researchers. And this difference was statistically significant.

As to visceral fat—the fat that is stored internally around the organs—levels of this remained the same in the heavy weights resistance training and moderate intensity exercise groups, but increased in the comparison group.

This implies that some parameters may not depend on weight load or exercise intensity in the long term, suggest the researchers.

They acknowledge that the study participants were healthier and more active than average despite having at least one long term condition in 80% of cases, so aren’t necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

But they conclude: “This study provides evidence that resistance training with heavy loads at retirement age can have long-term effects over several years. The results, therefore, provide means for practitioners and policy-makers to encourage older individuals to engage in heavy resistance training.”

19/06/2024

Notes for editors
Research
: Heavy resistance training at retirement age induces 4-year lasting beneficial effects in muscle strength: a long-term follow-up of an RCT Doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2024-001899
Journal: BMJ Open Sports & Exercise Medicine

External funding: Lundbeck Foundation

Link to Academy of Medical Sciences press release labelling system
http://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf

Externally peer reviewed? Yes
Evidence type: Randomised controlled trial
Subjects: Older people

The post Heavy resistance training around retirement preserves vital leg strength years later first appeared on BMJ Group.

]]>
HIIT in water improves exercise capacity in adults with health conditions https://bmjgroup.com/hiit-in-water-improves-exercise-capacity-in-adults-with-health-conditions/ https://bmjgroup.com/hiit-in-water-improves-exercise-capacity-in-adults-with-health-conditions/#respond Wed, 15 Nov 2023 09:15:32 +0000 https://bmj.enviousdigital.co.uk/index.php/2023/11/15/22290/

Offers alternative exercise option for people unable to perform land based HIIT movements

High-intensity interval training in water, often called aquatic HIIT (AHIIT) improves exercise capacity in adults with chronic conditions and has a similar impact as land based training (LBHIIT), suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.

The researchers say AHIIT may provide a safe and valuable alternative for people with chronic conditions who are unable to perform LBHIIT.

HIIT is a type of interval training exercise that involves brief bursts of high intensity movements followed by short recovery periods of lower intensity movements.

HIIT is considered to have more health benefits than moderate-intensity exercise for people with and without chronic conditions. It increases aerobic capacity and endurance while being time efficient, making it an attractive exercise option.

Exercising in water can also help to relieve pressure on joints, allowing people to complete movements they cannot do on land, but there is conflicting evidence on its physiological benefits.

To investigate the effect of AHIIT, the researchers analysed 18 trials that compared how AHIIT improved participants’ exercise capacity (measured by oxygen consumption, walking tests and physical fitness tests) with LBHIIT, moderate-intensity exercise in water (AMICT) or a non-exercising control group.

The trials were of varying quality, but the researchers were able to assess the certainty of evidence using the recognised GRADE system.

Some 868 participants (74% women) were included who had a range of conditions including back pain, arthritis, chronic lung disease (COPD), type 2 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. Some participants had more than one chronic condition.

Differences between groups were expressed as standardised mean differences (SMD). Generally, an SMD of 0.2-0.5 indicates a small effect, 0.5-0.8 a moderate effect, and 0.8 or more a large effect.

The results show that AHIIT moderately improved participants’ exercise capacity compared with no exercise (SMD 0.78) and had a small beneficial effect compared with AMICT (SMD 0.45), but no difference in exercise capacity was seen for AHIIT compared with LBHIIT.

There were fewer adverse events reported in AHIIT than with LBHIIT, and adherence rates for AHIIT ranged from 84% to 100%.

This is an observational study, and the researchers acknowledge that some of the trials did not include a blind assessor, which may have affected results, and none of the studies looked at long term improvements on exercise capacity or quality of life. 

However, the detailed search strategy and inclusion of several chronic conditions, adverse events and adherence enabled a greater depth of understanding of AHIIT in a variety of populations.

“A key finding of this meta-analysis indicates that AHIIT may be as beneficial as LBHIIT, which gives people with chronic conditions another choice for effective HIIT or potentially a more successful environment to start and continue with high-intensity training,” say the researchers, adding that the natural support and buoyancy of water “may facilitate this effectiveness.”

And they suggest that future research should examine the link between exercise capacity and key patient-related outcomes, barriers to HIIT and the ongoing independent commitment to exercise.

[Ends]

15/11/2023 

Notes for editors
Research: Aquatic high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may be similarly effective to land based HIIT in improving exercise capacity in people with chronic conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001639
Journal:  BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

Funding: The Dam foundation

Link to AMS press release labelling system http://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf

Externally peer reviewed? Yes
Evidence type: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Subjects: People

The post HIIT in water improves exercise capacity in adults with health conditions first appeared on BMJ Group.

]]>
https://bmjgroup.com/hiit-in-water-improves-exercise-capacity-in-adults-with-health-conditions/feed/ 0
Sports medicine must up its game to break cycle of gender bias, urge doctors https://bmjgroup.com/sports-medicine-must-up-its-game-to-break-cycle-of-gender-bias-urge-doctors/ https://bmjgroup.com/sports-medicine-must-up-its-game-to-break-cycle-of-gender-bias-urge-doctors/#respond Wed, 10 May 2023 09:42:46 +0000 https://bmj.enviousdigital.co.uk/index.php/2023/05/10/21645/

Dearth of women in all roles hindering advancement of specialty and ‘normalising’ inequity 

Sports and exercise medicine must up its game to break the cycle of gender bias in the specialty, urge an international group of doctors in an editorial in the open access journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.

The dearth of women in all roles—from participants through to clinicians and researchers—is hindering the progress and scientific advancement of the specialty and helping to ‘normalise’ gender inequity for future generations, say the authors from across the Americas, Africa, Australasia, and Europe.

They cite a slew of evidence spelling out the lack of gender parity in the specialty.

Women make up less than 25% of senior authors on scientific research and leadership roles on editorial boards in sports sciences. And they account for less than 20% of team doctors in both collegiate and professional sports, the authors point out.

All-male conference panels and keynote speakers in sports and exercise medicine are still common, while female sports medicine doctors experience disrespect and sexual harassment, have their judgment questioned more often than their male counterparts, and have higher rates of death by suicide, they add.

There continue to be major knowledge gaps in key research areas, such as women’s sport performance, their cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health, and the impact of the reproductive cycle.

In a bid to address the gender imbalance in sports and exercise medicine practice and research, the authors recommend a series of strategies and actions for professional bodies and academic institutions in the specialty.

These include:

  • Building a culture of awareness, excellence, and inclusivity through education, training, and open discussion; family friendly policies; mentoring and professional development opportunities

  • Promoting female inclusion in sport medicine, by, among other things, holding leaders to account for driving business practices and clinics that improve diversity, including in hiring and promotion practices

  • Bolstering women’s inclusion and participation in research, publications, and conferences, by considering diversity at all stages of research and publication, including among peer reviewers; and by increasing the representation of women and gender diverse people as speakers and attendees

  • Recognising that greater diversity benefits both clinicians and patients, by bringing different qualities, skills, and experience to the table

  • Boosting the use of enabling technology to empower women

  • Distributing work equally

  • Implementing anonymous reporting platforms for microaggressions, bullying, harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and providing expert commentary to prevent perpetuation of these behaviours

“It is important that we acknowledge the underrepresentation, and work to break the cycle of gender bias through role models. The lack of female role models in sports and exercise medicine can perpetuate the cycle of gender bias,” write the authors.

“Breaking this cycle is essential to ensure that future generations do not perceive gender bias as normal and continue to pass it down to new practitioners joining the field.”

In so doing, “We believe that we can ensure that the brightest minds from all backgrounds can contribute to the advancement of science and enhance not only the sports medicine community but also society at large,” they conclude.

09/05/2023

Notes for editors
Editorial: 
Under-representation of women is alive and well in sport and exercise medicine: what it looks like and what we can do about it doi 10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001606
Journal: BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

Funding: None declared

Link to AMS press release labelling system

http://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf

Externally peer reviewed? No
Evidence type: Opinion
Subjects: Women

The post Sports medicine must up its game to break cycle of gender bias, urge doctors first appeared on BMJ Group.

]]>
https://bmjgroup.com/sports-medicine-must-up-its-game-to-break-cycle-of-gender-bias-urge-doctors/feed/ 0
Playing golf may be just as healthy or better than Nordic walking for older people https://bmjgroup.com/playing-golf-may-be-just-as-healthy-or-better-than-nordic-walking-for-older-people/ https://bmjgroup.com/playing-golf-may-be-just-as-healthy-or-better-than-nordic-walking-for-older-people/#respond Wed, 08 Feb 2023 13:10:00 +0000 https://bmj.enviousdigital.co.uk/index.php/2023/02/08/21139/

Regular rounds of golf are particularly good aerobic exercise for older adults, study suggests

Older adults may gain more health benefits from playing golf than participating in regular or Nordic walking, suggests a study published online in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.

The health advantages of aerobic exercise in helping to prevent cardiovascular diseases are well documented as part of efforts to stave off high blood pressure, diabetes and dyslipidaemia (an abnormal amount of lipids in the blood causing problems such as high cholesterol).

However, most relevant studies have tended to focus on younger people participating in acute bouts of exercise lasting 30 to 60 minutes at moderate to high intensity with less information available on the impact of exercise on older people.

Golf, walking and Nordic walking—an enhanced walking technique in which people use poles to work their upper body as well as their legs—are popular age-appropriate forms of outdoor aerobic exercise that are safe and easily accessible for many older people.

A team of researchers from Finland set out to compare the acute effects of these three different types of aerobic exercises on markers of cardiometabolic health in terms of intensity, duration and energy expenditure.

They carried out a study involving 25 healthy older golfers (aged 65 and above), comparing the effects of three acute aerobic exercises—an 18-hole round of golf, 6km of Nordic walking, and a 6km walk—on their blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipid profile in a real-life environment.

For the study, the researchers took blood samples, blood glucose finger-prick tests, and measured the participants’ blood pressure, while the study subjects also wore fitness measuring devices to measure exercise-specific distance, duration, pace, energy expenditure and steps, as well as wearing an ECG sensor with a chest strap to measure their heart rate.

The results showed that all three types of aerobic exercise improved the cardiovascular profile in older adults when performed in acute bouts despite differences in duration and intensity – lowering their systolic blood pressure while walking and Nordic walking also led to a decrease in diastolic blood pressure.

However, despite the lower exercise intensity of golf compared with Nordic walking and walking, it was the longer duration and higher total energy expenditure involved in playing golf that seemed to positively affect lipid profile and glucose metabolism.

The study had some limitations such as the fact that it involved a small sample size and the accuracy of the fitness devices was debatable, while carrying out a study in a real-life environment does not allow for all factors to be controlled as they would be in a laboratory setting.

Also, the researchers only recruited golfers for the study because it was thought that non-golfers could not be expected to play a round of golf properly, while Nordic walking was seen as a new type of exercise for most participants, which may have led to poor technique, therefore decreasing the effectiveness of the Nordic walking activity.

However, the authors concluded: “Despite the lower exercise intensity of golf, the longer duration and higher energy expenditure appeared to have a more positive effect on lipid profile and glucose metabolism compared with Nordic walking and walking.

“These age-appropriate aerobic exercises can be recommended to healthy older adults as a form of health-enhancing physical activity to prevent cardiovascular diseases and can also be used as a treatment strategy to improve cardiometabolic health among those who already have a cardiovascular disease.”

6/2/23

Research: Comparative effectiveness of playing golf to Nordic walking and walking on acute physiological effects on cardiometabolic markers in healthy older adults: a randomized crossover study doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2022-001474

Journal:  BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

Funding: None

Link to AMS press release labelling system

http://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf

Externally peer reviewed? Yes
Evidence type: Randomised study
Subjects: Golf and exercise

The post Playing golf may be just as healthy or better than Nordic walking for older people first appeared on BMJ Group.

]]>
https://bmjgroup.com/playing-golf-may-be-just-as-healthy-or-better-than-nordic-walking-for-older-people/feed/ 0