A bout of resistance exercise following the 2007 AHA guidelines decreases asleep blood pressure in Mozambican men.

Hypertension is highly prevalent among African individuals and descendants, and in this ethnic group, asleep blood pressure is strongly associated with target organ damage. After its execution, a single bout of resistance exercise may decrease blood pressure in white individuals, but its effects are unknown in Africans. This study investigated the effects of a bout of resistance exercise, conducted in accordance with the 2007 American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, on postexercise blood pressure in African subjects. Twenty-four Mozambican men (40 ± 2 years) underwent, in a random order, 2 experimental sessions: control (sitting resting) and exercise [8 resistance exercises, 1 set, 10-15 repetitions, 30-40% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) for upper-body muscles and 50-60% of 1RM for lower-body muscles]. Before and after the interventions, clinic blood pressure was measured. Ambulatory blood pressure was also evaluated after both sessions. Clinic systolic blood pressure did not change after both interventions, whereas diastolic blood pressure increased significantly and similarly after the control and the exercise sessions. Twenty-four-hour (127 ± 3 mm Hg vs. 130 ± 3 mm Hg and 78 ± 2 mm Hg vs. 81 ± 2 mm Hg, respectively, p < 0.05) and asleep (119 ± 4 mm Hg vs. 123 ± 4 mm Hg and 69 ± 3 mm Hg vs. 72 ± 3 mm Hg, respectively, p < 0.05) systolic and diastolic blood pressures were lower after the exercise than in the control session. These results show that in African men, a single bout of resistance exercise, conducted in accordance with 2007 AHA guidelines, decreased 24-hour and asleep blood pressures. These reductions might represent an important benefit for African individuals and descendants among whom target organ damage is mainly associated with ambulatory blood pressure levels.

Results From the Mozambique 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: This article describes the procedures and development of the 2016 Mozambican Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents. METHODS: Following the procedures adopted in 2014 for that year's report card, comprehensive searches on new data related to indicators of physical activity (PA) were done. A committee composed of physical activity and sports specialists graded each indicator consistent with the process and methodology outlined by the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card model. RESULTS: Nine indicators of PA were graded. Compared with 2014 there were several differences which were caused by changes in the country as well as a more effective evaluation from the committee. The following grades were assigned: Overall Physical Activity Levels, C; Organized Sport Participation, F; Active Play, D; Active Transportation, C; Schools, D; Community and the Built Environment, F; and Government, F. Sedentary Behaviors and Family and Peers were graded Incomplete due to the lack of available information. CONCLUSIONS: The decline of the PA habits in urban centers reported in 2014 are accentuated and is influencing the rural areas in several ways. At present, there is no strategy or effective action from authorities to reverse this negative trend.