Barriers and facilitators to physical activity for young adult women: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative literature.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) has many benefits in preventing diseases and maintaining physical and mental health. Women, in particular, can benefit from regular PA. However, women's PA did not increase over the past decade globally, and the situations faced by women are often gender-specific. Healthy young adult women's PA does not receive as much attention as older women and adolescent girls, yet, they face the same situation of low level of PA. This review aims to explore and synthesise the self-identified barriers and facilitators to young adult women's participation in PA from qualitative research studies and offer suggestions for future studies and programs designed for this population. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, and SPORTDiscus for studies published between January 2000 to February 2022 to identify qualitative studies on the barriers and facilitators of young adult women's PA between ages 18 to 40. The search yielded 694 studies initially, of which 23 were included. The research quality of included studies was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. Data were extracted and thematically analysed based on the tenets of the social-ecological model (SEM). RESULTS: Identified barriers and facilitators were grouped into different levels of the SEM, with the most frequently cited factors being time, body image and societal beauty standards, family duty and social support, religious and cultural norms, organisation and community facilities and environment, safety issues and physical environment. Descriptive data were thematically analysed and synthesised in line with the five levels: body image, health and beauty; multiple roles, support, and PA; religious identity, cultural identity, and PA; safety issues and women's fears. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative synthesis revealed in-depth information on barriers and facilitators influencing young adult women's PA. It highlighted that the factors young adult women face are diverse at different levels yet holistic and intertwined. Future studies on young adult women's PA should address the social-cultural influence and would benefit from applying multilevel strategies employing the SEM model. It is critical to create an open and inclusive environment and offer more opportunities for women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42021290519.

Effects of exercise and nutrition supplementation in community-dwelling older Chinese people with sarcopenia: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Limited trials examining the effect of exercise and nutrition supplementation in older people with sarcopenia are available. OBJECTIVES: to assess the impact of resistance exercise program targeting muscle strength and power with and without nutrition supplementation on gait speed, body composition, physical function and quality of life. METHODS: this trial randomized 113 community-dwelling older Chinese adults aged ≥65 and with sarcopenia defined using the Asian Criteria into one of the three groups: exercise program alone, combined-exercise program and nutrition supplement or waitlist control. The exercise program consisted of 90-min group training twice weekly and one-home session weekly for 12 weeks. Participants in the combined group were additionally asked to consume nutrition supplement twice daily for 12 weeks. Both groups were encouraged to keep home exercise after intervention period for another 12 weeks to detect sustained effect. The primary outcome was gait speed. RESULTS: at 12 and 24 weeks, gait speed did not differ significantly between groups. Significant improvement in leg extension, and five-chair stand test occurred in both intervention groups that persisted to 24 weeks. Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly improved in both intervention groups that persisted until 24 weeks only in the combined group. Lower limb muscle and appendicular skeletal muscle mass increased significantly in the combined group but the increase was not sustained to 24 weeks. CONCLUSION: the exercise program with and without nutrition supplementation had no significant effect on the primary outcome of gait speed but improved the secondary outcomes of strength and the five-chair stand test in community-dwelling Chinese sarcopenic older adults. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT02374268.