'Summer of Sport': the development of a 6-week programme in increasing physical activity to improve public health outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: A population-based physical activity (PA) programme was implemented to increase PA levels and encourage individuals to join the local council leisure facility. STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional design. METHODS: The 6-week programme Summer of Sport (SOS) involved a total of 487 individuals registered for PA sessions. The sessions were held at three local council leisure facilities included badminton, swimming, table tennis, squash and group cycle. The programme was assessed using a survey based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Individuals were asked for their current fitness levels, whether the programme encouraged them to be more active and for their intentions to join the leisure centre after the programme. RESULTS: Of the 487 who originally registered for the programme, there were 161 users of SOS, with 112 not already members of the leisure facility. After the programme, 83% considered themselves already being active, with 78% stating that they partook in at least 30 min of exercise, 3 times per week. Although a large proportion of individuals were already physically active, 78% stated that taking part encouraged them to become more active. More than half suggested that they would not join the leisure facility, 30% said that they had joined after the programme and 17% stated their intention to join. Many individuals highlighted that the programme provided an opportunity to be active with their family. CONCLUSIONS: Public health teams should work with partner organisations to embed robust processes for measuring outcomes that impact on population health.

The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in improving well-being across office-based workplace settings: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Although the benefits of regular physical activity (PA) are widely accepted, most of the population fails to meet the recommended levels of activity. Public health bodies such as the World Health Organisation emphasise promoting PA within workplaces as a key intervention setting to reach the health and well-being of the working population. Given the importance of well-being in workplace settings, it seems worthwhile to explore the evidence of effectiveness in the literature. This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness of PA interventions for improving psychological well-being in working adults. It provides a review of current evidence, assesses the quality of the research into this topic area and identifies issues and recommendations for future research. STUDY DESIGN: A systematic review guided by the Cochrane Handbook was conducted. METHODS: PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Embase, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library literature searches were conducted from 2007 to April 2017. Using the keywords 'Physical Activity'; 'Exercise'; 'Wellbeing'; 'Employee' and 'Workplace', five articles were obtained that fit the inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria were a workplace setting, an intervention including a PA intervention and an outcome measure including well-being. Extraction of articles and quality assessment of the articles were performed independently by two authors using the Cochrane's data extraction form and the Cochrane's risk of bias. Owing to heterogeneity in population characteristics, intervention components, outcome measures and the durations of interventions, a narrative synthesis was conducted. RESULTS: The review identified five office-based workplace PA interventions in promoting psychological well-being in 1326 participants. The included studies varied substantially in sample size characteristics, methodological quality, duration of follow-up, types of interventions and assessed outcomes. Three of the five included studies were of high quality. The types of PA intervention included yoga, exercise and three studies focussing on walking interventions. The findings evidenced that exercise, yoga and walking interventions improve well-being as measured across workplace settings compared with no intervention. Some studies did not include a placebo control group and therefore, a form of PA intervention regardless of the type may be better than no intervention at all. CONCLUSION: This review found mixed evidence that PA interventions can be effective in improving well-being across office settings. Although, the findings are promising, because of methodological failings, there is no conclusive evidence. Current evidence indicates that employees can improve their psychological well-being by participating in any form of PA interventions in an office setting.

The acute effects of physical activity on cigarette cravings: exploration of potential moderators, mediators and physical activity attributes using individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses.

RATIONALE: The effects of acute bouts of physical activity (PA) on Strength of Desire (SoD) and Desire to Smoke (DtS) using individual participant data (IPD) from 19 acute randomised controlled studies were quantified. However, there is a need to identify factors influencing this relationship. OBJECTIVES: To understand who most benefits from PA, whether changes in affect mediate these effects and whether any specific attributes of PA are associated with cigarette cravings. METHODS: IPD (n = 930) contributed to one-stage IPD meta-analyses. Participants engaging in PA were compared against controls, using post-intervention DtS and SoD (when DtS is not available) with baseline adjustments. The craving scales were linearly rescaled to 0-100 % (a mean difference between groups of -10 would indicate that post-intervention cravings were 10 % lower in the PA compared with the control group). Demographic, smoking and other characteristics were examined as predictors and potential moderators, whereas change in affect was considered as a mediator. PA was categorised according to type, duration and intensity, to determine PA attributes associated with cravings reduction. RESULTS: None of the included covariates were shown to moderate or mediate the effects of PA. Intensity of PA was significantly associated with a reduction in cravings; moderate and vigorous intensity PA offered the most benefits. A one-stage IPD meta-analysis yielded effect sizes of -9.22 (-15.24; -3.20) for light, -34.57 (-42.64; -26.50) for moderate and -31.29 (-38.00; -24.57) for vigorous intensity in comparison with controls. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate intensity PA could be recommended to all smokers regardless of demographic, smoking and other characteristics.