The World Health Organization and the United Nations have increasingly acknowledged the importance of urban green space (UGS) for healthy ageing. However, low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India with exponential ageing populations have inadequate UGS. This qualitative study examined the relationships between UGS and healthy ageing in two megacities in In-dia. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling in New Delhi and Chennai and semi-structured interviews were conducted with consenting participants (N = 60, female = 51%; age > 60 years; fluent in English, Hindi, or Tamil). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated, and analysed using inductive and thematic analysis. Benefits of UGS included community building and social capital, improved health and social resilience, physical activity promotion, reduced exposure to noise, air pollution, and heat. Poorly maintained UGS and lack of safe, age-friendly pedestrian infrastructure were identified as barriers to health promotion in later life. Neighbourhood disorder and crime constrained older adults’ use of UGS in low-income neighbourhoods. This study under-scores the role of UGS in the design of age-friendly communities in India. The findings highlight the benefits of UGS for older adults, particularly those living in socially disadvantaged or under-served communities, which often have least access to high-quality parks and green areas.@en

Background In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries have introduced non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as stay-at-home orders, to reduce person-to-person contact and break trains of transmission. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effect of different public health restrictions on mobility across different countries and cultures. The University of Bern COVID-19 Living Evidence database of COVID-19 and SARS-COV-2 publications was searched for retrospective or prospective studies evaluating the impact of COVID-19 public health restrictions on Google Mobility. Titles and abstracts were independently screened by two authors. Information from included studies was extracted by one researcher and double checked by another. Risk of bias of included articles was assessed using the Newcastle Ottowa Scale. Given the heterogeneous nature of the designs used, a narrative synthesis was undertaken. From the search, 1672 references were identified, of which 14 were included in the narrative synthesis. All studies reported data from the first wave of the pandemic, with Google Mobility Scores included from January to August 2020, with most studies analysing data during the first two months of the pandemic. Seven studies were assessed as having a moderate risk of bias and seven as a low risk of bias. Countries that introduced more stringent public health restrictions experienced greater reductions in mobility, through increased time at home and reductions in visits to shops, workplaces and use of public transport. Stay-at-home orders were the most effective of the individual strategies, whereas mask mandates had little effect of mobility. Conclusions Public health restrictions, particularly stay-at-home orders have significantly impacted on transmission prevention behaviours. Further research is required to understand how to effectively address pandemic fatigue and to support the safe return back to normal day-today behaviours.@en

Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, causing an estimated 3.3 million deaths worldwide. Characteristics of the built environment, including buildings, public spaces, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, transportation networks, parks, trails and green spaces can facilitate or constrain physical activity. However, objective study of built environment interventions on physical activity remains challenging due to methodological limitations and research gaps. Existing methods such as direct observations or surveys are time and labour intensive, and only provide a static, cross-sectional view of physical activity at a specific point in time. The aim of this study was to develop a novel method for objectively and inexpensively assessing how built environment changes may influence physical activity. We used a novel, unobtrusive method to capture real-time, in situ data from a convenience sample of 25 adults along a newly constructed urban greenway in an area of high deprivation in Belfast, UK. Walk/bike-along interviews were conducted with participants using a body-worn or bicycle-mounted portable digital video camera (GoPro HERO 3+ camera) to record their self-determined journeys along the greenway. This is the first study to demonstrate the feasibility of using wearable sensors to capture participants’ responses to the built environment in real-time during their walking and cycling journeys. These findings contribute to our understanding of the impact of real-world environmental interventions on physical activity and the importance of precise, accurate and objective measurements of environments where the activity occurs.@en

The present study aimed to assess the association between sedentary behavior and sarcopenia among adults aged ≥65 years. Cross-sectional data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health were analyzed. Sarcopenia was defined as having low skeletal muscle mass and either a slow gait speed or a weak handgrip strength. Self-reported sedentary behavior was assessed as a continuous variable (hours per day) and also as a categorical variable (0–<4, 4–<8, 8–<11, ≥11 hours/day). Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between sedentary behavior and sarcopenia. Analyses using the overall sample and country-wise samples were conducted. A total of 14,585 participants aged ≥65 years were included in the analysis. Their mean age was 72.6 (standard deviation, 11.5) years and 55% were females. Compared to sedentary behavior of 0–<4 hours/day, ≥11hours/day was significantly associated with 2.14 (95% CI = 1.06– 4.33) times higher odds for sarcopenia. The country-wise analysis showed that overall, a one-hour increase in sedentary behavior per day was associated with 1.06 (95% CI = 1.04–1.10) times higher odds for sarcopenia, while the level of between-country heterogeneity was low (I2 = 12.9%). Public health and healthcare practitioners may wish to target reductions in sedentary behavior to aid in the prevention of sarcopenia in older adults.@en

Pokemon GO and its ability to get people moving highlights new beginnings for gamification of health and social life of urban spaces with implications for people–space interaction.@en

Active travel (AT) has gained increasing attention as a way of addressing low levels of physical activity. However, little is known regarding the relationship between income and AT. The aim of this study was to investigate characteristics associated with undertaking AT in an adult population and by low-and high-income groups. Data collected from the Physical Activity and the Rejuvenation of Connswater (PARC) study in 2017 were used. Participants were categorised into socio-economic groups according to their weekly household income, and were categorised as par-ticipating in ‘no’ AT or ‘some’ AT and ‘sufficient’ AT. Multivariable logistic regression explored characteristics associated with AT in the full cohort, and the low-and high-income groups sepa-rately. Variables associated with AT in the low-income group were body mass index (BMI), physical activity self-efficacy, marital status, long term illness, difficulty walking and housing tenure. For the high-income group, BMI, marital status, housing tenure and education were associated with AT. For both income groups, there were consistent positive associations with the action/maintenance phase of the stage of change model across all AT categories. The findings suggest that population sub-groups may benefit from targeted initiatives to support engagement in AT and prevent further widening of inequalities.@en

Objectives. To examine the impact of environmental restructuring on attendees at a physical activity conference when provided with standing tables and given point-of-decision prompts (PODPs; e.g., health messages). Methods. This randomized controlled trial took place at the Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Europe 2016 conference in Belfast, United Kingdom, September 2016. We randomly allocated 14 oral sessions to either the intervention group (standing tables + PODPs; n = 7) or the control group (PODPs only; n = 7). Conference volunteers discreetly recorded the number of attendees standing and sitting and estimated the number of women and attendees aged 40 years or older. Results. There was a significant difference (P = .04) in the proportion of attendees standing during the intervention (mean = 16.8%; SD = 9.5%) than during control sessions (mean = 6.0%; SD = 5.8%). There was no differential response between gender and age groups in the proportion standing during intervention sessions (P > .05). Conclusions. Providing standing tables may be a feasible and effective strategy to reduce sitting at physical activity conferences.@en