"11 for Health" in the Faroe Islands: Popularity in schoolchildren aged 10-12 and the effect on well-being and health knowledge.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the popularity of the "11 for Health program for Europe" for 10-12-year-old Faroese children and the effects on well-being and health knowledge. METHODS: We applied a cluster-randomized controlled trial, including a total of 19 school clusters, randomized into intervention schools (IG, n = 12) and control schools (CG, n = 7). A total of 261 children (137 boys and 124 girls) participated. IG completed the 11-week program, consisting of 2 × 45 min weekly sessions with football drills, small-sided games, and health education. CG continued their regular education. Pre- and post-intervention, the participants completed a shortened version of the multidimensional well-being questionnaire KIDSCREEN-27 and a 34-item multiple-choice health knowledge questionnaire. RESULTS: Between-group differences (p < 0.05) were observed in change scores for physical well-being and overall peers and social support in favor of IG compared with CG, as well as for physical well-being in IG girls compared with CG girls. Between-group differences in change score for overall health knowledge (11.8%, p < 0.001, ES: 0.82) were observed in favor of IG, as well as for playing football (8.9%, p = 0.039, ES: 0.24), be active (8.1%, p = 0.017, ES: 0.32), control your weight (18.5%, p < 0.001, ES: 0.52), wash your hands (19.5%, p < 0.001, ES: 0.59), eat a balanced diet (19.3%, p < 0.001, ES: 0.64), get fit (12.1%, p = 0.007, ES: 0.34), and think positive (5.5%, p = 0.039, ES: 0.22). The program was reported as enjoyable with equal moderate-to-high scores for girls (3.68 ± 1.23; ±SD) and boys (3.84 ± 1.17) on a 1-5 Likert Scale. CONCLUSION: The "11 for Health program for Europe" improved physical well-being, peers, and social support and broad-spectrum health knowledge in 10-12-year-old Faroese schoolchildren and was rated popular.

Robust arm and leg muscle adaptation to training despite ACE inhibition: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor treatment is widely applied, but the fact that plasma ACE activity is a potential determinant of training-induced local muscular adaptability is often neglected. Thus, we investigated the hypothesis that ACE inhibition modulates the response to systematic aerobic exercise training on leg and arm muscular adaptations. METHODS: Healthy, untrained, middle-aged participants (40 ± 7 yrs) completed a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Participants were randomized to placebo (PLA: CaCO3) or ACE inhibitor (ACEi: enalapril) for 8 weeks and completed a supervised, high-intensity exercise training program. Muscular characteristics in the leg and arm were extensively evaluated pre and post-intervention. RESULTS: Forty-eight participants (nACEi = 23, nPLA = 25) completed the trial. Exercise training compliance was above 99%. After training, citrate synthase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and phosphofructokinase maximal activity were increased in m. vastus lateralis in both groups (all P < 0.05) without statistical differences between them (all time × treatment P > 0.05). In m. deltoideus, citrate synthase maximal activity was upregulated to a greater extent (time × treatment P < 0.05) in PLA (51 [33;69] %) than in ACEi (28 [13;43] %), but the change in 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and phosphofructokinase maximal activity was similar between groups. Finally, the training-induced changes in the platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 protein abundance, a marker of capillary density, were similar in both groups in m. vastus lateralis and m. deltoideus. CONCLUSION: Eight weeks of high-intensity whole-body exercise training improves markers of skeletal muscle mitochondrial oxidative capacity, glycolytic capacity and angiogenesis, with no overall effect of pharmacological ACE inhibition in healthy adults.

Gender-dependent evaluation of football as medicine for prediabetes.

PURPOSE: Training intensity and health effects of football were investigated gender specifically in individuals with prediabetes. METHODS: Participants with prediabetes (age 60 ± 6 years) were randomised into a football and dietary advice group (FD-men n = 13 and FD-women n = 14) or a dietary advice only group (D-men n = 12 and D-women n = 11). FD performed football training (twice/week for 16 weeks), while both groups received dietary advice. Body composition, bone variables, blood pressure, blood lipid profile and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) were determined pre- and post-intervention. RESULTS: Mean heart rate during football training was 79 ± 2 and 80 ± 3% HRmax for FD-men and FD-women, respectively, with peak heart rate values of 96 ± 1 and 97 ± 2% HRmax, with no gender differences. VO2peak increased more (P < 0.05) in FD-men and FD-women than in D-men and D-women. However, relative delta change in VO2peak was 21 ± 14% in FD-women, which was greater (P < 0.05) than in FD-men (11 ± 12%). Reduction in SBP and DBP, respectively, was similar in FD-men (- 10.8 ± 13.0 and - 7.3 ± 11.8 mmHg) and FD-women (- 11.3 ± 11.0 and - 7.1 ± 6.2 mmHg), with within-gender differences for men. Total plasma cholesterol and LDL cholesterol decreased (P < 0.05) by - 0.7 ± 1.1 and - 0.5 ± 0.9 mmol L-1, respectively, in FD-women and - 0.2 ± 0.4 and - 0.2 ± 0.3 mmol L-1 in FD-men, with no significant gender differences (P = 0.08). Body fat content was lowered (P < 0.05) by 3 and 4%-points in FD-men and FD-women, respectively. CONCLUSION: Gender-mixed football training combined with dietary advice causes broad-spectrum health effects for men and women with prediabetes, with minor gender-specific differences. Thus, the intensity and training-induced effects of football training are also high for elderly women with prediabetes.

Osteogenic impact of football training in 55- to 70-year-old women and men with prediabetes.

The effects of football training on bone health were examined in 55- to 70-year-old sedentary women and men with prediabetes. Patients (n = 50) with prediabetes (age; 61 ± 9 years, BMI 29.7 ± 0.6 kg/m2 , body fat content; 37 ± 1%, VO2max ; 22.7 ± 0.8 mL/min/kg and mean arterial pressure; 104 ± 3 mm Hg) were randomized into a football training group (FTG; n = 27, 14 women) and a control group (CON; n = 23, 11 women). At baseline, 73% and 24% were diagnosed with femur osteopenia and osteoporosis, respectively. FTG performed football training twice weekly 30-60-minute sessions in 16 weeks, and both FTG and CON received professional dietary advice. Pre- and post-intervention whole-body and regional bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD) were determined with DXA-scans, and venous blood samples were drawn and analyzed for plasma bone turnover markers. Change scores were greater (P < 0.05) in FTG compared to CON in leg BMD (0.023 ± 0.005 vs -0.004 ± 0.001 g/cm2 ) and in leg BMC (32 ± 8 vs -4 ± 6 g). Between-group changes in favor of FTG (P < 0.05) also occurred in the femur neck BMD (3.2%) and femur shaft BMD (2.5%). Whole-body BMC and BMD were unchanged in both groups during the intervention. In FTG, resting plasma osteocalcin, P1NP, and CTX-1 rose (P < 0.05) by 23 ± 8, 52 ± 9 and 38 ± 7%, with greater change scores (P < 0.05) than in CON. Finally, P1NP (formation)/CTX-1 (resorption) ratio increased (P < 0.05) in FTG (127 ± 15 vs 150 ± 11) from pre- to post-intervention, with no change in CON (124 ± 12 and 123 ± 12). In conclusion, football training provides a powerful osteogenic stimulus and improves bone health in 55- to 70-year-old women and men diagnosed with prediabetes.

Long-term continuous exercise training counteracts the negative impact of the menopause transition on cardiometabolic health in hypertensive women - a 9-year RCT follow-up.

PURPOSE: The study examined effects of 9-yrs of multicomponent exercise training during the menopause interval on cardiometabolic health in hypertensive women. METHODS: Sedentary, middle-aged women (n = 25) with mild-to-moderate arterial hypertension were randomized into a soccer training (multicomponent exercise; EX; n = 12) or control group (CON; n = 13). EX took part in 1-h football training sessions, 1-3 times weekly, for a consecutive 9-years, totaling ∼800 training sessions, while CON did not take part in regular exercise training. 22 participants entered menopause during the intervention. RESULTS: A time×group interaction effect (P = 0.04) of 8.5 mmHg in favour of EX was observed for changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) (EX: -4.8 [-10.7;1.1] mmHg, CON +3.7 [-2.0;9.3] mmHg). Time×group interaction effects in favour of EX were also observed for total body weight (4.6 kg, P = 0.008, EX: +0.7 [-1.7;3.0] kg, CON: +5.3 [3.0;7.6] kg, total fat percentage (5.7%-points, P = 0.02; EX (-1.9 [-4.4;0.6] %-points; P = 0.13), CON +3.8 [1.4;6.2] %-points and for total cholesterol (1.2 mmol/l, P = 0.03, EX: -0.5 [-1.0;-0.1] mmol/l, CON: +0.7 [0.2;1.1] mmol/l. EX reduced (P = 0.02) plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by -0.4 [-0.8;-0.1] mmol/l, whereas an increase (P = 0.01) of 0.4 [0.1;0.8] mmol/l occurred in CON (interaction. P < 0.001). A time×group interaction (P = 0.004) existed for changes in exercise capacity in favour of EX. Fasting glucose remained unchanged in EX and increased (P < 0.001) by 0.7 [0.4;1.0] mmol/l in CON (time×group interaction P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, long-term multicomponent exercise training fully counteracts the detrimental effects of the menopause transition on cardiometabolic health in hypertensive women.

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition on cardiovascular adaptation to exercise training.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity may be one determinant of adaptability to exercise training, but well-controlled studies in humans without confounding conditions are lacking. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate whether ACE inhibition affects cardiovascular adaptations to exercise training in healthy humans. Healthy participants of both genders (40 ± 7 years) completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eight weeks of exercise training combined with placebo (PLA, n = 25) or ACE inhibitor (ACEi, n = 23) treatment was carried out. Before and after the intervention, cardiovascular characteristics were investigated. Mean arterial blood pressure was reduced (p < 0.001) by -5.5 [-8.4; -2.6] mmHg in ACEi , whereas the 0.7 [-2.0; 3.5] mmHg fluctuation in PLA was non-significant. Maximal oxygen uptake increased (p < 0.001) irrespective of ACE inhibitor treatment by 13 [8; 17] % in ACEi and 13 [9; 17] % in PLA. In addition, skeletal muscle endurance increased (p < 0.001) to a similar extent in both groups, with magnitudes of 82 [55; 113] % in ACEi and 74 [48; 105] % in PLA. In contrast, left atrial volume decreased (p < 0.05) by -9 [-16; -2] % in ACEi , but increased (p < 0.01) by 14 [5; 23] % in PLA. Total hemoglobin mass was reduced (p < 0.01) by -3 [-6; -1] % in ACEi , while a non-significant numeric increase of 2 [-0.4; 4] % existed in PLA. The lean mass remained constant in ACEi but increased (p < 0.001) by 3 [2; 4] % in PLA. In healthy middle-aged adults, 8 weeks of high-intensity exercise training increases maximal oxygen uptake and skeletal muscle endurance irrespective of ACE inhibitor treatment. However, ACE inhibitor treatment counteracts exercise training-induced increases in lean mass and left atrial volume. ACE inhibitor treatment compromises total hemoglobin mass.