Physical inactivity is a leading cause globally of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. Here, we present the results from a 4-week-long experimental test of a nudge designed to promote physical activity among 206 seniors in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates—a population with one of the highest rates of physical inactivity in the world. We find that the “Forever Fit” nudge—a booklet containing a simple exercise program and information about the health benefits of physical activity—has a large positive effect on 93 previously inactive seniors. The nudge increases the time previously inactive participants spend being physically active from about 5 to about 15 minutes per day.

The Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme helps early learning services across Aotearoa create an environment that promotes nutritional health and physical activity. It achieves a sustainable change to the environment by using a ‘whole-service’ approach, through governance and management, learning and teaching, collaboration and professional development. The programme aims to foster happy tamariki with awareness of how to have hearts fit for life, ensuring healthier futures for whānau across Aotearoa New Zealand. To evaluate and understand the impact and social value of the Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme on fostering healthy habits and creating supportive environments in early learning settings across Aotearoa New Zealand the Heart Foundation undertook this evaluation with ImpactLab. Two hundred and fifteen early learning services and 33,717 tamariki across Aotearoa New Zealand, who were enrolled in or had achieved a Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award, were used to determine the impact and social value of the programme. This was achieved through using a social value calculation which integrates multiple data sources and analytical methods. Firstly, impact values derived from the programme were combined with evidence from global literature on the effectiveness of similar health promotion programmes. Secondly, the size of the opportunity for participants—early learning services across Aotearoa New Zealand—to achieve more positive health outcomes was assessed. Thirdly, the number of people supported by the programme was considered. Every year, the Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme delivers $6,163,581 of measurable good to society in New Zealand. Outcomes for tamariki of improved oral health, physical activity and reduced diabetes and improved physical activity for whānau directly contribute to the social value. Improved health equity, nutrition, increased food exposure and physical activity, promotion of lifelong wellbeing and positive health behaviours, reduced cardiovascular disease and sugar consumption indirectly contributed to the social value. This means that every dollar invested in the Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme delivers $4.50 of measurable good to New Zealand. The Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award programme delivers significant measurable social value to Aotearoa New Zealand. Growth, development and continued funding of the programme should continue to further positively impact the future of tamariki and their whānau in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our daily lives are shaped by the digital platforms we engage with, presenting both challenges and opportunities in the pursuit of health and social well-being. Despite extensive public efforts to increase physical activity, sedentary lifestyles and car-dependence persist; often exacerbated by digital apps functioning at odds with these initiatives. With growing urbanization, walking for transportation becomes a feasible way for many Americans to achieve daily activity goals. This work explores the potential of leveraging nudges within digital apps, specifically Google Maps, to encourage walking. I found that displaying walking directions as the default in Google Maps, instead of driving, and complemented by graphics depicting social norms, significantly increased the hypothetical choice to walk — particularly among less active individuals. This underscores the power of digital environments in shaping our choices and outcomes; and highlights the need for us to critically assess digital app design. I advocate for collaboration between ‘big tech’, policymakers, and the public to create digital tools that balance our immediate convenience with long-term health and environmental sustainability goals. Re-envisioning technology’s role in daily life, we can potentially harness its vast influence to foster choices that contribute to both personal well-being and the collective good.

In an era marked by mounting global challenges, education is often envisioned as an agent of transformative action towards a more sustainable future. This research seeks to delve into the students’ perceptions concerning competencies for sustainability in Physical Education Teacher Education. Adopting a qualitative approach, a non-probabilistic purposive sample of 57 students (35 males, 22 females, mean age: 21.2 ± 3.2 years) was recruited. Data collection comprised semi-structured interviews. Analysis was facilitated through Atlas.ti v.7.5.18, abiding by established qualitative research paradigms. Participants emphasised the intrinsic value of an interdisciplinary approach. The study discerned a strong inclination towards cooperative and introspective tasks. Moreover, this exploration offers valuable insights for academic institutions, suggesting integrative strategies for environmental education. Therefore, these findings invite to adapt curricular designs, ensuring that educators are aptly prepared to respond the multifaceted challenges of the 21st century, driving our collective stride towards a sustainable, equitable future.

Interest in probiotics and prebiotics in sports nutrition is growing, but research on Jordanian athletes remains limited. While gut microbiota influences athletic performance, little is known about athletes’ understanding and use of probiotic- and prebiotic-rich foods in this region. This exploratory study investigates the knowledge, dietary habits, and correlations with gastrointestinal (GI) problems among Jordanian athletes to inform future research and interventions. The study provides insights into how awareness and consumption of gut-supportive foods can impact GI health, offering broader nutritional implications for global dietary strategies for athletes. A standardised questionnaire was administered to 324 athletes (ages 18–22) to assess knowledge, dietary practices, and GI symptoms. Descriptive statistics summarised the data, and chi-square tests examined associations among knowledge, diet, and GI symptoms (p < 0.05). Knowledge and diet were scored based on correct responses and reported intake of gut-supporting foods. Results showed that 55.9% of athletes were familiar with probiotics and 32.1% with prebiotics. The majority reported low consumption of probiotic- and prebiotic-rich foods, with 72.2% scoring low on diet intake. Although 60.5% seldom consumed fast food, overall intake of gut-supportive foods was limited. No statistically significant associations were found, but a weak positive trend between dietary habits and GI symptoms was observed, suggesting diet may have a modest influence on GI health. Living arrangements influenced both dietary choices and GI symptoms. This study highlights the need for targeted nutrition education to improve awareness and intake of probiotics and prebiotics, potentially supporting GI health and enhancing athletic performance.

Children with congenital heart defects (CHD) are often short/lightweight relative to peers. Limited growth, particularly height, may reflect energy deficits impacting physical activity. Latent class analyses of growth from birth and Bruce treadmill exercise data retrospectively identified for height, weight, and body mass index z-scores growth trajectories. Linear regression models examined exercise parameters by growth trajectory, adjusting for age/sex/CHD severity. A total of 213 children with CHD (39% female, 12.1 ± 2.9 years) achieved 85.8 ± 10.1% of the predicted peak heart rate. Peak heart rate among children whose height was consistently below average (class 1) was 15.2 ± 4.9 beats/min lower than children with other height trajectories. These children also attained a lower percentage of predicted peak heart rate. Children whose weight (p = 0.03) or body mass index (p < 0.001) z-score increased throughout childhood had significantly lower exercise duration (mean difference 1–2 min) than children whose growth trajectories were stable or declined. Children with above-average weight or an increasing body mass index also used a higher percentage of their heart rate reserve at each submaximal exercise stage. A very low height z-score trajectory is associated with decreased exercise capacity that may increase the risk for morbidities associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Future studies should examine potential mechanisms for the observed height deficits, such as an inadequate energy supply that could impact physical activity participation, congestive heart failure, cyanosis, pubertal stage, supplemental feeding history, or familial growth patterns. Prospective studies examining growth in relation to objective measures of daily physical activity are required.

India’s nutrition transition has led to an increased burden of overweight/obesity (body mass index of ≥23 kg/m2), driven by lifestyle factors like poor diet, inactivity, and substance use, prompting public health interventions. However, these interventions lack supporting evidence, especially in rural areas, hindering effective strategies for this population. To address this evidence gap, this study used cohort data (baseline: 2018–19, follow-up: 2022–23) from the Birbhum Population Project (West Bengal, India) to analyse lifestyle risk factors and their association with incidence and remission of overweight/obesity among adults aged ≥18 years (sample: 8,974). Modified Poisson regression model was employed to attain the study objective. From 2017–2018 to 2022–2023, the prevalence of overweight/obesity increased from 15.2% (95% CI: 14.1%–16.4%) to 21.0% (95% CI: 19.7%–22.3%) among men and from 24.1% (95% CI: 22.9%–25.2%) to 33.8% (95% CI: 32.5%–35.1%) among women. Overall, 23.0% (95% CI: 21.8%–24.3%) of adults experienced incidence of overweight/obesity, while 13.9% (95% CI: 12.4%–15.6%) experienced remission. Use of motor vehicles among unemployed participants was associated with incident overweight/obesity (relative risk or RR: 1.058; 95% CI: 1.023–1.095; P: 0.001). Vigorous activity at home (including gardening, yard work, and household chores) was linked to higher odds of recovering from overweight/obesity (RR: 1.065; 95% CI: 1.008–1.125; P: 0.025). Frequent tobacco use (often/daily vs. none) was inversely associated with remission of overweight-obesity (RR: 0.689; 95% CI: 0.484–0.980; P: 0.038), as was each 1 ml in alcohol consumption (RR: 0.995; 95% CI: 0.991–0.999; P: 0.022). Discouraging habitual motor vehicle use may help prevent overweight/obesity, while promoting home-based activities may aid remission, particularly for women who are at higher risk for overweight/obesity.

Rewards are rewarding owing to their hedonic or metabolic value. Individual differences in sensitivity to rewards are predictive of mental health problems but may reflect variation in metabolic types. We have assessed the association of two distinguishable aspects of reward sensitivity, openness to rewards (the striving towards multiple rewards) and insatiability by reward (the strong pursuit and fixation to a particular reward), with measures of metabolism and activity in a longitudinal study of representative birth cohort samples. We used data of the Estonian Children Personality Behaviour and Health Study (original n = 1238) collected at age 15, 18 and 25. Reward sensitivity and physical activity were self-reported during a laboratory visit, when also blood sampling, measurement of blood pressure, height and weight, aerobic exercise testing and the diet interview, after the participants had kept food diary, took place. In the younger cohort, physical activity was also assessed by accelerometry at age 18 and 25. Across adolescence and young adulthood, openness to rewards was positively associated with physical activity and negatively with blood pressure and serum levels of glucose, insulin and cholesterol levels. In contrast, insatiability by reward was positively associated with serum triglyceride levels and negatively with energy intake and cardiorespiratory fitness. In conclusion, the two facets of reward sensitivity have a fairly different association with a variety of metabolic and health-related measures. This may explain the variable findings in literature, and suggests that individual differences in reward sensitivity are part of a complex physiological variability, including energy expenditure profiles.

This review aims to highlight the relative importance of cardiovascular disease (CVD) lifestyle-associated risk factors among individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and examine the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions to improve these CVD risk factors. Adults with IBD are at higher risk of CVD due to systemic and gut inflammation. Besides that, tobacco smoking, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity and poor diet can also increase CVD risk. Typical IBD behavioural modification including food avoidance and reduced physical activity, as well as frequent corticosteroid use, can further increase CVD risk. We reviewed seven studies and found that there is insufficient evidence to conclude the effects of diet and/or physical activity interventions on CVD risk outcomes among populations with IBD. However, the limited findings suggest that people with IBD can adhere to a healthy diet or Mediterranean diet (for which there is most evidence) and safely participate in moderately intense aerobic and resistance training to potentially improve anthropometric risk factors. This review highlights the need for more robust controlled trials with larger sample sizes to assess and confirm the effects of lifestyle interventions to mitigate modifiable CVD risk factors among the IBD population.

Colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most common cancer globally, causes over 900 000 deaths annually. Although vitamin D is observed to have potential anti-carcinogenic properties, research findings on its preventable effect against CRC remain inconclusive. Notably, different subsites within the colon and rectum may be associated with distinct risk factors. While some studies have explored this relationship with circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the results remain contradictory. Our study employed a nested case–control design, involving 775 CRC cases matched with 775 cancer-free controls based on age, region of living and the time of blood sampling. The study was conducted within the Norwegian Women and Cancer post-genome cohort, which comprises approximately 50 000 women. We measured pre-diagnostic circulating plasma 25(OH)D status 5–13 years before diagnosis. Adjustment variables were based on self-administered questionnaires and included BMI, physical activity level, smoking, intake of processed meat, calcium, alcohol and fibre. An increase of 5 nmol/l in 25(OH)D reduced the risk of proximal colon cancer by 6 % (OR = 0·94, 95 % CI 0·89, 0·99). Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis revealed a 62 % increased risk among the women with 25(OH)D levels below 50 nmol/l compared with sufficient levels, ≥ 50 to < 75 nmol/l (OR = 1·62, 95 % CI 1·01, 2·61). No association was found with CRC, colon or distal colon cancer. We observed a subsite-specific association between 25(OH)D and CRC, highlighting the need for further investigation to elucidate the potential underlying mechanisms and clinical implications.