Correlation between Cardiopulmonary Indices and Running Performance in a 14.5 km Endurance Running Event.

BACKGROUND: Running is a common recreational activity, and the number of long-distance-race participants is continuously growing. It is well-established that regular physical activity can prevent and manage non-communicable diseases and benefit public health. Training for a long-distance race requires development of specific aerobic abilities and should generate the desired race performance. The purpose of this study was to support the training design and motivation of recreational endurance runners, by investigating whether a 14.5 km race performance of long-distance runners correlates with their cardiopulmonary indices measured in the laboratory. METHODS: To examine the relationships of a 14.5 km running performance with the cardiopulmonary parameters of amateur runners, a cross-sectional study design was applied. Fifteen (eleven men and four women) recreational long-distance runners (aged 41.3 ± 9.2 years) from Northern Greece were included in the study and were evaluated in the laboratory within one week before an endurance running race-the 14.5 km Philip Road race, in Greece. The laboratory-based examinations of the athletes consisted of a comprehensive medical pre-participation screening and maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing. RESULTS: The results showed that the 14.5 km race performance time (73.8 ± 9.7 min) significantly correlated with the cardiopulmonary-exercise-testing speed-related indices at specific submaximal and maximal workloads (p < 0.01, p < 0.05), while the cardiopulmonary indices of oxygen uptake did not reliably predict race running time (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There is a better correlation of the 14.5 km running performance of recreational long-distance runners with the cardiopulmonary-exercise-testing speed-related indices at specific workloads than with the indices of oxygen uptake, running economy or respiratory economy. When preparing a training strategy, amateur long-distance runners should mostly rely on specific running-speed-related laboratory data rather than on oxygen-uptake values.

Validation of a questionnaire assessing food frequency and nutritional intake in Greek adolescents.

The aim of the study was to develop and validate a specific semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire to assess nutritional intake of Greek adolescents. The sample of the study consisted of 250 pupils (15.3 +/- 0.7 years), who completed the Youth Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire enriched with 22 Greek foods and recipes to include ethnic and racial diversity. A 3-day weighed food recall was used as the criterion to test the validity of the questionnaire. The analysis of correlation revealed significant correlations between the two methods for almost all variables. The Pearson's coefficients ranged from 0.83 for energy intake to 0.34 for folate intake. Non-significant correlations were found for selenium and vitamin D intakes. The findings of the study provide evidence for the validity of the scale and its utility in assessing nutritional intake of Greek adolescents.

Health status and socioeconomic factors as determinants of physical activity level in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to assess the health status and Physical Activity Level (PAL) of the elderly population and determine the role of health status and socioeconomic factors in PAL. MATERIAL/METHODS: A total of 84 subjects (65 men and 19 women) participated in this study. These individuals were living independently, and attending rehabilitation centers for the elderly in Thessaloniki, Greece. The mean age of the subjects was 74.4 years (SD 7.9). Data was collected with a special questionnaire regarding health status and PAL, during individual interviews. RESULTS: The mean PAL value was 1.519, SD 0.115. Significant positive correlation was found between PAL and educational level (r=0.286, p<0.05). Regarding the relation of illnesses to PAL, one-way ANOVA indicated that individuals under treatment for heart arrhythmia and myocardial infarction, as well as those who had undergone a by-pass operation, had higher PAL values (1.659+/-0.0649, 1.551+/-0.093 and 1.613+/-0.0978, respectively) compared to those not suffering from any of these disorders (1.512+/-0.112, 1.515+/-0.118 and 1.508+/-0.112 respectively, p<0.05 for each comparison). Cancer affected PAL negatively. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the elderly spent most of their time carrying out low-intensity activities and did not participate in leisure activities of high or moderate intensity. Educational level was the only socio-economic factor that was correlated to PAL. The positive effect of certain disorders on PAL might be attributed to patients' compliance with physicians' instructions. Further research is necessary.