• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of the resistance levels on the muscle activities around the hip and spine during bridge exercise with hip abduction resistance in patients with chronic back pain. METHODS: A cross-over study design was used. Twenty subjects with low back pain were enrolled in this study. The subjects performed bridge exercises with hip abduction resistances (20 mmHg, 40 mmHg, and 60 mmHg). A Narrow Sling was used to provide resistance. Surface electromyography was used to measure the activity of the erector spinae, biceps femoris, gluteus maximus, and gluteus medius. RESULTS: The muscle activity of the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius increased significantly with increasing resistance levels. There was a significant difference in the muscle activity of the biceps femoris with a resistance level between 20 mmHg and 40 mmHg, but there was no significant difference in the other resistance levels. There was no significant difference according to resistance level in the erector spinae. The muscle activity ratios of the gluteus medius/erector spinae and gluteus maximus/erector spinae increased significantly with increasing resistance strength. CONCLUSION: The different levels of abduction resistance for hip abduction during bridge exercise will help activate the gluteus maximus selectively in patients with chronic back pain.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.362-365
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• 2010

2010 is the year when the Korean baby boomer generation faces retirement. With the need for affective strategies to keep this population healthy, the government has placed much effort to increase the regular physical activity (PA) level of older adults. Yet the prevalence of active seniors is still relatively low. This paper reviews the recent government strategies and efforts to enhance the physical activity levels of older adults and the PA programs provided in the community settings by major organizations and institutions. In addition, the problems of the current approaches are shown, and based on a review, the author provides five suggestions for promoting the PA level of older adults as follows. First, specific physical activity goals and objectives for older adults should be included in the National Health Plan 2020. Second, the recommendations for PA for seniors, which include a proper intensity, duration and frequency of exercise, should be provided. Third, the role of organizations and institutions should be rearranged for the proper dissemination of government provided community-based exercise programs. Fourth, a standard quality-control system should be provided, and finally, an evidence-based exercise program, which should be specifically created for the older Korean population, should be developed. Physical activity offers opportunities for people to extend the years of their active independent life and reduce functional limitations. To maximize the effects of government efforts to promote PA for seniors, we feel the comments provided in this paper should be closely examined.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2007

Objectives : According to Rowe and Kahn (1998), successful aging is the combination of a low probability of disease, high functioning, and active engagement with life. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between active engagement with life and functioning among the community-dwelling elderly. Methods : Data were collected from Wave 2 of the Suwon Longitudinal Aging Study (SLAS), consisting of a sample of 645 persons aged 65 and older living in the community. A social activity checklist and social support inventory were used as measures of engagement with life, along with the Physical Functioning (PF) scale as a measure of functioning. The effects of social support and social activity on physical functioning, taking into account the covariates, were analyzed by hierarchical linear regression analysis. Results : Maintenance of social activity and social support were significantly associated with higher physical function, after adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. Social support appeared to be more prominent than social activity in predicting physical functioning. Conclusions : Social support and social activity are potentially modifiable factors associated with physical function in older persons. Studies examining the role social engagement may play in preventing disability are warranted.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.483-494
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• 2015

Purpose: This study identified effects of dietary and physical activity interventions including dietary interventions or physical activity interventions alone or combined dietary-physical activity interventions to improve symptoms in metabolic syndrome including abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low high density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose through meta-analysis. Methods: Articles on metabolic syndrome X published from 1988 to 2013 were searched through electronic databases, Google Scholar, and reference reviews. Methodological quality was assessed by the checklist, SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network). Results: In the meta-analysis, there were 9 articles reporting 13 interventions with 736 participants. Using random effect models, the dietary and/or physical activity interventions showed a lower mean difference in waist circumference ( - 1.30 cm, 95% CI: - 2.44~ - 0.15, p=.027). The combined dietary-physical activity interventions showed a lower mean difference in waist circumference ( - 2.77 cm, 95% CI: - 4.77~ - 0.76, p=.007) and systolic blood pressure ( - 5.44 mmHg, 95% CI: - 10.76~ - 0.12, p=.044). Additionally, interventions of over 24 weeks yielded a lower mean difference in waist circumference ( - 2.78 cm, 95% CI: - 4.69~ - 0.87, p=.004) and diastolic blood pressure ( - 1.93 mmHg, 95% CI: - 3.63~ - 0.22, p=.026). Conclusion: The findings indicate that dietary and/or physical activity interventions for metabolic syndrome reduce central obesity with no adverse effects. This finding provides objective evidences for dietary and physical activity management on metabolic syndrome as an efficient intervention.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.47-59
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (K-PASE) from PASE and to evaluate the validity and reliability of the K-PASE. This scale was originally developed by Washburn et al. (1993). A valid and reliable physical activity scale for the elderly is needed to assess accurately physical activity of the elderly, because there has been no valid and reliable physical activity scale for the elderly in Korea. Methods: The K-PASE was developed from PASE through linguistic validation and cultural adaptation for use with this population. Convenient sampling was used to recruit participants. Reliability was evaluated by conducting the test-retest and convergent validity was evaluated by Pearson correlation. Results: Test-retest reliability, assessed over a 2 week interval, was r=.94. Convergent validity was established by correlating the KPASE scores between related variables which were the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG-IC) and hand-grip strength. Scores of the K-PASE had a low significant correlation with TMIG-IC (r=.246, p<.001), and hand-grip strength (r=.251, p<.001). The mean score of physical activity of Korean elderly assessed by the K-PASE was 96.5. Conclusion: We conclude that the K-PASE is a reliable and valid instrument to assess physical activity for Korean elderly.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.278-285
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• 2019

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is highly prevalent in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and can be reduced by physical activity via altered proinflammatory parameters. However, the association between the frequency of physical activity and the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in prediabetic patients remains unclear and was evaluated in this study. Methods: Utilizing the Korean National Health Insurance Sharing Service database, 58,391 adults, who met the research criteria and underwent a general medical check-up between 2009 and 2013, were selected for this study. To analyze the data, a logistic regression with a proc survey logistic procedure was used. Results: The study revealed that the cumulative rheumatoid arthritis prevalence was lower in prediabetic patients compared to that in the control group (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.483-0.840; p=0.001). More frequent physical activity (≥3 days/week) was significantly associated with a reduced rheumatoid arthritis prevalence in both groups (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.039-0.521; p=0.044 vs. OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.063-0.237; p=0.007). Additionally, a 3.8-fold higher risk of rheumatoid arthritis development was observed in prediabetic adults with less frequent baseline physical activity (≤2 days/week). Overall, in prediabetes, the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis was associated with the frequency of physical activity and not with the fasting plasma glucose levels. Conclusion: More frequent physical activity is associated with a low risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in prediabetic patients. Thus, further studies are needed to confirm the clinical outcomes of frequent physical activity in rheumatoid arthritis prevention and control.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.192-199
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• 2015

Background: Overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk factors are prevalent among firefighters in some developed countries. It is unclear whether physical activity and cardiopulmonary fitness reduce cardiovascular disease risk and the cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters. The present study investigated the relationship between leisure-time physical activity, cardiopulmonary fitness, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters in Hong Kong. Methods: Male firefighters (n = 387) were randomly selected from serving firefighters in Hong Kong (n = 5,370) for the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, known cardiovascular diseases). One-third (Target Group) were randomly selected for the assessment of off-duty leisure-time physical activity using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Maximal oxygen uptake was assessed, as well as cardiovascular workload using heart rate monitoring for each firefighter for four "normal" 24-hour working shifts and during real-situation simulated scenarios. Results: Overall, 33.9% of the firefighters had at least two cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the Target Group, firefighters who had higher leisure-time physical activity had a lower resting heart rate and a lower average working heart rate, and spent a smaller proportion of time working at a moderate-intensity cardiovascular workload. Firefighters who had moderate aerobic fitness and high leisure-time physical activity had a lower peak working heart rate during the mountain rescue scenario compared with firefighters who had low leisure-time physical activities. Conclusion: Leisure-time physical activity conferred significant benefits during job tasks of moderate cardiovascular workload in firefighters in Hong Kong.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.385-393
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• 2004

This study examined the relations of educational level and life-style behaviors to the obesity. A total of 507 male adults aged 30 - 50 years completed the self-reported questionnaires. Educational level was used for measuring socioeconomic status. Activity at work, leisure-time activity and TV watching were measured for life-style behaviors related to physical activity, and some demographic and family history of disease as well. Subjects were categorized as obese when BMI was equal to or over 25kg/$m^2$, in which 19.7％ resulted obesity. Using multivariate logistic regression, the association between the measured factors and obesity was assessed. The odds ratios (OR) for risk of obesity did not differ with either age or monthly income. Subjects who completed high school (OR = 0.36; 95％ CI = 0.20 - 0.66) or university (OR = 0.34; 95％ CI = 0.16 - 0.71) had lower risk of obesity than those with education below middle school. Those with moderate activity level at work (OR = 0.41; 95％ CI = 0.24 - 0.72) showed lower risk of obesity than in inactive ones. The subjects watching TV more than 3.5 hr/day presented higher risk of obesity (OR = 2.46; 95％ CI = 1.28 - 4.74), compared with those watching TV less than 1.5 hr/day. The higher risk of obesity observed in high level of leisure time activity than in low one was considered due to that physical activity at work and leisure-time might counteract each other. Educational level and activity at work or leisure-time activity or TV watching were jointed and categorized, and then OR for obesity was estimated. The extent of obesity risk at a given level of each work activity or leisure-time activity or TV watching was different depending the educational level, which was significantly high when educational level was below middle school. Educational difference had no effect on activity level at work. However, higher educational attainment increased the leisure activity and reduced TV watching (p＜0.05), indicating that low education tended to contribute to more sedentary life-style. The findings of this study is concluded that low education was related to obesity in adult males, and its relation can partly be explained through acquiring inactive life-style behaviors. Individuals with low education might be more susceptible to the risk factors of obesity.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.893-903
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• 1995

This study was attempted to estimate seasonal variations of physical activity level, energy balance & body composition of 38 rural women, aged 31 to 67yrs in three seasons ; farming season(June), harvesting season(October), nonfarming season(February) Energy intake, energy expenditure and body composition were assessed using questionnaire, daily activity diary & bioelectrical impedance. The type of activities & the period of the spent on each activity were changed significantly with the seasons. Daily mean duration(min) of farming activity was significantly higher in June & October than in February(p<0.005) & daily mean energy expenditure for farming activity was significantly high in June & low inFebruary (p<0.005). Daily mean energy expenditure was 2892.9㎉ in June, 2487.4㎉ in October and 2130.9㎉ in February and changed significantly in three seasons(p<0.005). Daily mean energy intake was significantly higher in June(=1950.3㎉) & October (=1946.9㎉) than in February(=1423.3㎉)(p<0.005). According to RDA for koreans, the level of physical activity fell into exceptional activity category in June, heavy in October, moderate in February. Mean energy balance was negative in all seasons ; 0.682 in June, 0.812 in October and 0.698 in February. In three seasons mean body weight, mean obesity rate and mean body mass index(BMI) were not changed significantly. But there were significant seasonal variations in body fat(%) & lean body mass(LBM)(%). The mean percentage of body fat(%) was within normal range(24.44-24.79%) & the mean percentage of lean body mass(LBM)(%) representing long term physical activity was significantly higher in June(75.56%) & October(75.21%) & October (75.21%) than in February(72.75%)(p<0.05).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 2023

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of lowintensity resistance exercise combined with blood flow restriction on muscle activity and muscle fatigue to determine if such a combination may be an alternative to high-intensity resistance exercise in maintaining the muscle mass and strength and preventing degenerative loss of skeletal muscle and to provide basic data for presenting the effectiveness of exercise. METHODS: The interventions were provided for five weeks, four sessions a week, once a day, 60 minutes a session to Experimental group I (n = 13), in which low-intensity resistance exercise was applied by combining blood flow restriction with the biceps curl and experimental group II (n = 12), in which only high-intensity resistance exercise was applied. As a pre-test, the biceps brachii muscle activity and fatigue were measured by surface electromyography, and the hemodynamic variables, such as blood pressure and heart rate, were measured. The post-test was performed identically to the pre-test and compared and analyzed with the pre-test. RESULTS: A significant difference within-group was observed in the biceps brachii muscle activity and fatigue in experimental group I and only in biceps brachii activity in experimental group II. No significant differences were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Since the low-intensity resistance exercise combined with blood flow restriction has similar effects to high-intensity resistance exercise, it is considered an alternative for improving muscle function in groups unable to perform high-intensity resistance exercise.