Comparison of free-living physical activity data obtained from a Fitbit Zip, the Apple iPhone Health app and a modified Bouchard Activity Record.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Physical activity tracking devices have potential to improve public health, but their data needs to be reliable. No study has compared movement data between the Fitbit Zip, Apple iPhone Health app and physical activity records in a community setting over 10 days. METHODS: University students aged 18+ years wore both a Fitbit Zip and an iPhone at/near their right waist and completed a modified Bouchard Activity Record (BAR) for 10 days in a free-living setting. Comparisons were made between the Fitbit Zip and iPhone for the number of steps and the distance travelled and between the Fitbit Zip and BAR for the minutes of activity in three different intensities. RESULTS: Eighteen students provided sufficient data for inclusion. There were strong correlations between steps per day (r = .87) and distance travelled (r = .88) between the Fitbit Zips and iPhones. However, the Fitbit Zip measured significantly more steps per day (mean 8437 vs 7303; P ≤ .001) and greater distances (mean 5.9 vs 4.9; P ≤ .001) than the iPhone. Correlations between the Fitbit Zips and the BARs were moderate for minutes of total (r = .51) and light (r = .40) activity and weak for moderate/fairly active (r = .20) and vigorous/very active (r = .25). CONCLUSIONS: There were strong correlations between the physical activity data measured by Fitbit Zips and iPhones, but the iPhone Health app significantly underestimated the number of steps per day taken and the distance travelled when compared to the Fitbit Zip. SO WHAT?: Understanding the comparability of accelerometer devices provides useful information for future pragmatic physical activity measurement.

Interaction between community pharmacists and community nurses in dementia care.

There has been little research that explores the interaction between community pharmacists and community nurses and how this interaction could benefit people affected by dementia. Using information taken from a larger study, this article presents the views of community pharmacists and one community nurse on how their communication, information sharing and team integration may improve care for this patient group. The community pharmacists reported positive attitudes to supporting people affected by dementia, but they highlighted barriers to integrated team working. In contrast, the community nurse conveyed the belief that the community pharmacist was an integrated member of the community health team. Community pharmacists and community nurses are keen to interact with each other to support people affected by dementia, but this interaction stops short of collaborative, integrated team working. Further research is needed to address this issue.

Enhanced recognition of emotional images is not affected by post-exposure exercise-induced arousal.

Research suggests that aerobic exercise (i.e., exercise aiming to improve cardiovascular fitness) promotes cognition, but the impact on memory specifically, is unclear. There is some evidence to suggest that as little as one session of post-learning exercise benefits memory consolidation. Furthermore, memory may be particularly facilitated by exercise when the individual is emotionally aroused while encoding stimuli. The current study tested whether exercise after exposure to neutral and emotional images improved memory consolidation of the items among university students. Ninety-nine students were randomly instructed to either exercise or not exercise after viewing a set of images that were positive, neutral, and negative in valence, and they were later tested on their memory. Although emotional images were remembered better than non-emotional images, the results suggested that exercise did not influence this effect or enhance consolidation of the items overall. Explanations and implications for these findings are discussed.

Less Binge Eating and Loss of Control over Eating Are Associated with Greater Levels of Mindfulness: Identifying Patterns in Postmenopausal Women with Obesity.

Obesity is a public health concern resulting in widespread personal, social, and economic burden. Many individuals with obesity report feeling unable to stop eating or to control their food intake (i.e., a loss of control over eating) despite their best efforts. Experiencing loss of control over eating predicts further eating pathology and is a key feature of binge eating. Mindfulness (i.e., awareness and acceptance of current thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surrounding events) has emerged as a potential strategy to treat such eating disorder behaviors, but it is not known whether there is merit in investigating this strategy to address binge eating in postmenopausal women with obesity. Thus, this study aimed to examine the relationships between binge eating and mindfulness in postmenopausal women with obesity seeking weight loss treatment. Participants (n = 101) were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, the Loss of Control over Eating Scale, the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Langer Mindfulness Scale. Participants´ overall scores on both mindfulness scales were significantly and negatively correlated with binge eating frequency or the severity of loss of control over eating. Moreover, participants who reported fewer binge eating episodes were significantly more mindful than those who reported greater frequencies of binge eating episodes within the past 28 days. These findings suggest a merit in investigating the use of mindfulness-based therapies to treat binge eating in postmenopausal women with obesity.