Commute

Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits

Dariush Mozaffarian, Ashkan Afshin, Neal L. Benowitz +10 more · Circulation · 2012 · 602 citations

This systematic review found that a range of population-level strategies, including media campaigns, economic incentives, and environmental changes, are effective in improving diet, increasing physical activity, and reducing smoking, suggesting that individuals can apply similar principles to their personal environments to support healthier habits.

Walking on sunshine: scoping review of the evidence for walking and mental health

Paul Kelly, Chloë Williamson, Ailsa Niven +3 more · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2018 · 251 citations

Walking appears to improve depression, anxiety, and psychological well-being, with the strongest evidence for reducing depressive symptoms (moderate effect sizes), but the evidence base is fragmented, with no studies on resilience and limited data on optimal dose, duration, or setting for a self-experimenter to follow.

Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review

Tassia K. Oswald, Alice Rumbold, Sophie G. E. Kedzior +1 more · PLoS ONE · 2020 · 340 citations

Technological developments in recent decades have increased young people's engagement with screen-based technologies (screen time), and a reduction in young people's contact with nature (green time) has been observed concurrently. This combination of high screen time and low green time may affect mental health and well-being. The aim of this systematic scoping review was to collate evidence assessing associations between screen time, green time, and psychological outcomes (including mental health, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement) for young children (<5 years), schoolchildren (5-11 years), early adolescents (12-14 years), and older adolescents (15-18 years). Original quantitative studies were identified in four databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus, Embase), resulting in 186 eligible studies. A third of included studies were undertaken in Europe and almost as many in the United States. The majority of studies were cross-sectional (62%). In general, high levels of screen time appeared to be associated with unfavourable psychological outcomes while green time appeared to be associated with favourable psychological outcomes. The ways screen time and green time were conceptualised and measured were highly heterogeneous, limiting the ability to synthesise the literature. The preponderance of cross-sectional studies with broadly similar findings, despite heterogeneous exposure measures, suggested results were not artefacts. However, additional high-quality longitudinal studies and randomised controlled trials are needed to make a compelling case for causal relationships. Different developmental stages appeared to shape which exposures and outcomes were salient. Young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds may be disproportionately affected by high screen time and low green time. Future research should distinguish between passive and interactive screen activities, and incidental versus purposive exposure to nature. Few studies considered screen time and green time together, and possible reciprocal psychological effects. However, there is preliminary evidence that green time could buffer consequences of high screen time, therefore nature may be an under-utilised public health resource for youth psychological well-being in a high-tech era.

How to Investigate Within-Subject Associations between Physical Activity and Momentary Affective States in Everyday Life: A Position Statement Based on a Literature Overview

Martina Kanning, Ulrich Ebner‐Priemer, Wolfgang Schlicht · Frontiers in Psychology · 2013 · 118 citations

This position statement synthesises 22 studies (1980–2012) to show that when people are more physically active than usual in their daily lives, they report more positive and less negative momentary moods—and this within-person effect is stronger in higher-quality studies that use objective activity monitors and real-time mood assessments rather than retrospective recall.

Design of a RCT evaluating the (cost-) effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention for male construction workers at risk for cardiovascular disease: The Health under Construction study

Iris F. Groeneveld, Karin I. Proper, Allard J. van der Beek +2 more · BMC Public Health · 2008 · 301 citations

This paper describes the *design* of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) that will test whether a 6-month lifestyle coaching programme (combining physical activity, diet, and smoking cessation counselling) can improve health behaviours and reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in 692 male construction workers — but because this is a protocol paper, no results are reported yet, so the value for a self-experimenter is in understanding how to structure a multi-behaviour lifestyle intervention and what outcomes to track.

Introducing the “15-Minute City”: Sustainability, Resilience and Place Identity in Future Post-Pandemic Cities

Carlos Moreno, Zaheer Allam, Didier Chabaud +2 more · Smart Cities · 2021 · 1,679 citations

The socio-economic impacts on cities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been brutal, leading to increasing inequalities and record numbers of unemployment around the world. While cities endure lockdowns in order to ensure decent levels of health, the challenges linked to the unfolding of the pandemic have led to the need for a radical re-think of the city, leading to the re-emergence of a concept, initially proposed in 2016 by Carlos Moreno: the “15-Minute City”. The concept, offering a novel perspective of “chrono-urbanism”, adds to existing thematic of Smart Cities and the rhetoric of building more humane urban fabrics, outlined by Christopher Alexander, and that of building safer, more resilient, sustainable and inclusive cities, as depicted in the Sustainable Development Goal 11 of the United Nations. With the concept gaining ground in popular media and its subsequent adoption at policy level in a number of cities of varying scale and geographies, the present paper sets forth to introduce the concept, its origins, intent and future directions.

2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice

Massimo Piepoli, Arno W. Hoes, Stefan Agewall +23 more · European Heart Journal · 2016 · 6,465 citations

This is not a single experiment but a clinical practice guideline that synthesises evidence from hundreds of randomised controlled trials and observational studies to recommend specific targets for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, physical activity, and diet — providing a structured framework for anyone wanting to reduce their cardiovascular risk through lifestyle and medication.

Depression, Anxiety and Stress during COVID-19: Associations with Changes in Physical Activity, Sleep, Tobacco and Alcohol Use in Australian Adults

Robert Stanton, Quyen G. To, Saman Khalesi +5 more · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2020 · 1,440 citations

During the early COVID-19 lockdown in Australia, nearly half of 1,491 adults reported worsening physical activity and sleep, and about a quarter increased alcohol use — and those who reported negative changes in these behaviors had measurably higher depression, anxiety, and stress scores on validated scales.

A school-based physical activity program to improve health and fitness in children aged 6–13 years ("Kinder-Sportstudie KISS"): study design of a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN15360785]

Lukas Zahner, Jardena J. Puder, Ralf Roth +7 more · BMC Public Health · 2006 · 175 citations

This paper describes the design of a large school-based randomized controlled trial that tested whether adding two extra physical education classes per week, short activity breaks during lessons, physical activity homework, and playground redesign could increase total physical activity, aerobic fitness, reduce body fat, and improve quality of life in 6–13-year-old children over one academic year — but the results were not yet available at the time of publication, so this is a protocol paper, not a results paper.

“Walk in to Work Out”: a randomised controlled trial of a self help intervention to promote active commuting

Nanette Mutrie, C Carney, A Blamey +3 more · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · 2002 · 168 citations

A simple self-help pack of written materials (maps, safety tips, and behaviour-change worksheets) nearly doubled the odds that employees who were already thinking about walking to work actually started doing so regularly, with effects lasting at least 12 months — but the same pack failed to increase cycling.

Health care's response to climate change: a carbon footprint assessment of the NHS in England

Imogen Tennison, Sonia Roschnik, Ben Ashby +11 more · The Lancet Planetary Health · 2021 · 961 citations

BACKGROUND: Climate change threatens to undermine the past 50 years of gains in public health. In response, the National Health Service (NHS) in England has been working since 2008 to quantify and reduce its carbon footprint. This Article presents the latest update to its greenhouse gas accounting, identifying interventions for mitigation efforts and describing an approach applicable to other health systems across the world. METHODS: A hybrid model was used to quantify emissions within Scopes 1, 2, and 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, as well as patient and visitor travel emissions, from 1990 to 2019. This approach complements the broad coverage of top-down economic modelling with the high accuracy of bottom-up data wherever available. Available data were backcasted or forecasted to cover all years. To enable the identification of measures to reduce carbon emissions, results were disaggregated by organisation type. FINDINGS: In 2019, the health service's emissions totalled 25 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a reduction of 26% since 1990, and a decrease of 64% in the emissions per inpatient finished admission episode. Of the 2019 footprint, 62% came from the supply chain, 24% from the direct delivery of care, 10% from staff commute and patient and visitor travel, and 4% from private health and care services commissioned by the NHS. INTERPRETATION: This work represents the longest and most comprehensive accounting of national health-care emissions globally, and underscores the importance of incorporating bottom-up data to improve the accuracy of top-down modelling and enabling detailed monitoring of progress as health systems act to reduce emissions. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust.

Mapping participation: A systematic analysis of diverse public participation in the UK energy system

Helen Pallett, Jason Chilvers, Tom Hargreaves · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · 2019 · 61 citations

This systematic review of 258 cases of public participation in the UK energy system (2010–2015) found that participation is far more diverse, distributed, and informal than conventional accounts suggest—with most engagement happening outside formal consultations, through everyday practices like community energy groups, protest, and consumer behaviour—meaning that if you want to understand or influence energy participation, you need to look beyond official processes and measure what people actually do.

Prospective Study of Bicycling and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Danish Men and Women

Kim Blond, Majken K. Jensen, Martin Gillies Banke Rasmussen +4 more · Circulation · 2016 · 35 citations

Regular cycling (even just 1 hour per week) was associated with an 11–18% lower risk of coronary heart disease over 20 years in 53,723 Danish adults, and people who started cycling during the study reduced their risk by 26% compared to those who never cycled.

Exposure to Greenness and Mortality in a Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study of Women

Peter James, Jaime E. Hart, Rachel F. Banay +1 more · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2016 · 584 citations

Women living in the greenest neighbourhoods had a 12% lower rate of death from all causes over 8 years compared to those in the least green areas, with the strongest protection seen for respiratory and cancer deaths, and the effect appeared to be partly driven by more physical activity, less air pollution, and better mental health.

Achieving Effective Remote Working During the COVID‐19 Pandemic: A Work Design Perspective

Bin Wang, Yukun Liu, Jing Qian +1 more · Applied Psychology · 2020 · 1,509 citations

Existing knowledge on remote working can be questioned in an extraordinary pandemic context. We conducted a mixed-methods investigation to explore the challenges experienced by remote workers at this time, as well as what virtual work characteristics and individual differences affect these challenges. In Study 1, from semi-structured interviews with Chinese employees working from home in the early days of the pandemic, we identified four key remote work challenges (work-home interference, ineffective communication, procrastination, and loneliness), as well as four virtual work characteristics that affected the experience of these challenges (social support, job autonomy, monitoring, and workload) and one key individual difference factor (workers' self-discipline). In Study 2, using survey data from 522 employees working at home during the pandemic, we found that virtual work characteristics linked to worker's performance and well-being via the experienced challenges. Specifically, social support was positively correlated with lower levels of all remote working challenges; job autonomy negatively related to loneliness; workload and monitoring both linked to higher work-home interference; and workload additionally linked to lower procrastination. Self-discipline was a significant moderator of several of these relationships. We discuss the implications of our research for the pandemic and beyond.

A low energy demand scenario for meeting the 1.5 °C target and sustainable development goals without negative emission technologies

Arnulf Grübler, Charlie Wilson, Nuno Bento +18 more · Nature Energy · 2018 · 1,118 citations

COVID-19 and digitalization: The great acceleration

Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah, Zaheer Khan, Geoffrey Wood +1 more · Journal of Business Research · 2021 · 885 citations

Multilevel modelling of built environment characteristics related to neighbourhood walking activity in older adults

Fuzhong Li, K John Fisher, Ross C Brownson +1 more · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · 2005 · 609 citations

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between built environment factors (representing several dimensions of urban form of neighbourhoods) and walking activity at both the neighbourhood level and the resident level, in an older adult sample. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: A cross sectional, multilevel design with neighbourhoods as the primary sampling unit and senior residents as the secondary unit. Five hundred and seventy seven residents (mean age = 74 years, SD = 6.3 years) participated in the survey, which was conducted among 56 city defined neighbourhoods in Portland, Oregon, USA. Neighbourhood level variables were constructed using geographical information systems. Resident level variables consisted of a mix of self reports and geocoded data on the built environment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Self reported neighbourhood walking. MAIN RESULTS: A positive relation was found between built environment factors (density of places of employment, household density, green and open spaces for recreation, number of street intersections) and walking activity at the neighbourhood level. At the resident level, perceptions of safety for walking and number of nearby recreational facilities were positively related to high levels of walking activity. A significant interaction was observed between number of street intersections and perceptions of safety from traffic. CONCLUSIONS: Certain neighbourhood built environment characteristics related to urban form were positively associated with walking activity in the neighbourhoods of senior residents. Public health promotion of walking activity/urban mobility and the design of interventions need to consider the contribution of neighbourhood level built environment influences.

Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Cognitive Function in a Cohort of Older Men

Melinda C. Power, Marc G. Weisskopf, Stacey Alexeeff +3 more · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2010 · 442 citations

BACKGROUND: Traffic-related particles induce oxidative stress and may exert adverse effects on central nervous system function, which could manifest as cognitive impairment. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the association between black carbon (BC), a marker of traffic-related air pollution, and cognition in older men. METHODS: A total of 680 men (mean ± SD, 71 ± 7 years of age) from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study completed a battery of seven cognitive tests at least once between 1996 and 2007. We assessed long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution using a validated spatiotemporal land-use regression model for BC. RESULTS: The association between BC and cognition was nonlinear, and we log-transformed BC estimates for all analyses [ln(BC)]. In a multivariable-adjusted model, for each doubling in BC on the natural scale, the odds of having a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≤ 25 was 1.3 times higher [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.1 to 1.6]. In a multivariable-adjusted model for global cognitive function, which combined scores from the remaining six tests, a doubling of BC was associated with a 0.054 SD lower test score (95% CI, -0.103 to -0.006), an effect size similar to that observed with a difference in age of 1.9 years in our data. We found no evidence of heterogeneity by cognitive test. In sensitivity analyses adjusting for past lead exposure, the association with MMSE scores was similar (odds ratio = 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.7), but the association with global cognition was somewhat attenuated (-0.038 per doubling in BC; 95% CI, -0.089 to 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Ambient traffic-related air pollution was associated with decreased cognitive function in older men.

Long-term residential exposure to PM2.5, PM10, black carbon, NO2, and ozone and mortality in a Danish cohort

Ulla Arthur Hvidtfeldt, Mette Sørensen, Camilla Geels +6 more · Environment International · 2018 · 257 citations

Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was associated with a 15–23% increase in all-cause mortality per 5 µg/m³ increase in PM2.5 and per 10 µg/m³ increase in NO2, even after accounting for traffic noise, in a large Danish cohort followed for 22 years — meaning that even modest reductions in air pollution exposure could meaningfully extend lifespan.

Applications of big data to smart cities

Eiman Al Nuaimi, Hind Al Neyadi, Nader Mohamed +1 more · Journal of Internet Services and Applications · 2015 · 940 citations

Many governments are considering adopting the smart city concept in their cities and implementing big data applications that support smart city components to reach the required level of sustainability and improve the living standards. Smart cities utilize multiple technologies to improve the performance of health, transportation, energy, education, and water services leading to higher levels of comfort of their citizens. This involves reducing costs and resource consumption in addition to more effectively and actively engaging with their citizens. One of the recent technologies that has a huge potential to enhance smart city services is big data analytics. As digitization has become an integral part of everyday life, data collection has resulted in the accumulation of huge amounts of data that can be used in various beneficial application domains. Effective analysis and utilization of big data is a key factor for success in many business and service domains, including the smart city domain. This paper reviews the applications of big data to support smart cities. It discusses and compares different definitions of the smart city and big data and explores the opportunities, challenges and benefits of incorporating big data applications for smart cities. In addition it attempts to identify the requirements that support the implementation of big data applications for smart city services. The review reveals that several opportunities are available for utilizing big data in smart cities; however, there are still many issues and challenges to be addressed to achieve better utilization of this technology.

An affordance perspective of team collaboration and enforced working from home during COVID-19

Lena Waizenegger, Brad McKenna, Wenjie Cai +1 more · European Journal of Information Systems · 2020 · 674 citations

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented challenges to our lives. Many governments have forced people to stay at home, leading to a radical shift from on-site to virtual collaboration for many knowledge workers. Existing remote working literature does not provide a thorough explanation of government-enforced working from home situations. Using an affordance lens, this study explores the sudden and enforced issues that COVID-19 has presented, and the technological means knowledge workers use to achieve their team collaboration goals. We interviewed 29 knowledge workers about their experiences of being required to work from home and introduced the term “enforced work from home”. This paper contributes to the affordance theory by providing an understanding of the substitution of affordances for team collaboration during COVID-19. The shifting of affordances results in positive and negative effects on team collaboration as various affordances of technology were perceived and actualised to sustain “business as usual”.

Prenatal Air Pollution and Newborns' Predisposition to Accelerated Biological Aging

Dries S. Martens, B. Cox, Bram G. Janssen +7 more · JAMA Pediatrics · 2017 · 243 citations

Pregnant women exposed to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) gave birth to newborns with significantly shorter telomeres—a cellular marker of biological aging—with a 5 µg/m³ increase in PM2.5 during pregnancy linked to 8.8% shorter cord blood telomeres and 13.2% shorter placental telomeres, suggesting that air pollution may program accelerated aging from the very start of life.

Large-scale wearable data reveal digital phenotypes for daily-life stress detection

Elena Smets, Emmanuel Rios Velazquez, Giuseppina Schiavone +9 more · npj Digital Medicine · 2018 · 242 citations

In a study of 1,002 healthy adults wearing wrist sensors for five days, higher self-reported daily stress was associated with lower heart rate variability (HRV) and higher skin conductance, but people with chronic stress, anxiety, or depression showed a "blunted" physiological response—meaning their bodies stopped reacting to acute stress in a normal way.

Relationship between commuting and health outcomes in a cross-sectional population survey in southern Sweden

Erik Hansson, Kristoffer Mattisson, Jonas Björk +2 more · BMC Public Health · 2011 · 241 citations

Long commutes—especially by public transport for over 60 minutes—are associated with 20–60% higher odds of poor sleep, stress, low vitality, poor mental health, and sickness absence, compared to active commuting under 30 minutes, though the cross-sectional design cannot prove commuting causes these problems.

Why sleep matters -- the economic costs of insufficient sleep: A cross-country comparative analysis

Marco Hafner, Martin Štěpánek, Jirka Taylor +2 more · RAND Corporation eBooks · 2016 · 616 citations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States has declared insufficient sleep a "public health problem." Indeed, according to a recent CDC study, more than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis. However, insufficient sleep is not exclusively a US problem, and equally concerns other industrialised countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, or Canada. According to some evidence, the proportion of people sleeping less than the recommended hours of sleep is rising and associated with lifestyle factors related to a modern 24/7 society, such as psychosocial stress, alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of physical activity and excessive electronic media use, among others. This is alarming as insufficient sleep has been found to be associated with a range of negative health and social outcomes, including success at school and in the labour market. Over the last few decades, for example, there has been growing evidence suggesting a strong association between short sleep duration and elevated mortality risks. Given the potential adverse effects of insufficient sleep on health, well-being and productivity, the consequences of sleep-deprivation have far-reaching economic consequences. Hence, in order to raise awareness of the scale of insufficient sleep as a public-health issue, comparative quantitative figures need to be provided for policy- and decision-makers, as well as recommendations and potential solutions that can help tackling the problem.

Meteorological conditions, climate change, new emerging factors, and asthma and related allergic disorders. A statement of the World Allergy Organization

Gennaro D’Amato, Stephen T. Holgate, Ruby Pawankar +37 more · World Allergy Organization Journal · 2015 · 583 citations

The prevalence of allergic airway diseases such as asthma and rhinitis has increased dramatically to epidemic proportions worldwide. Besides air pollution from industry derived emissions and motor vehicles, the rising trend can only be explained by gross changes in the environments where we live. The world economy has been transformed over the last 25 years with developing countries being at the core of these changes. Around the planet, in both developed and developing countries, environments are undergoing profound changes. Many of these changes are considered to have negative effects on respiratory health and to enhance the frequency and severity of respiratory diseases such as asthma in the general population. Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, and especially carbon dioxide (CO2), in the atmosphere have already warmed the planet substantially, causing more severe and prolonged heat waves, variability in temperature, increased air pollution, forest fires, droughts, and floods - all of which can put the respiratory health of the public at risk. These changes in climate and air quality have a measurable impact not only on the morbidity but also the mortality of patients with asthma and other respiratory diseases. The massive increase in emissions of air pollutants due to economic and industrial growth in the last century has made air quality an environmental problem of the first order in a large number of regions of the world. A body of evidence suggests that major changes to our world are occurring and involve the atmosphere and its associated climate. These changes, including global warming induced by human activity, have an impact on the biosphere, biodiversity, and the human environment. Mitigating this huge health impact and reversing the effects of these changes are major challenges. This statement of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) raises the importance of this health hazard and highlights the facts on climate-related health impacts, including: deaths and acute morbidity due to heat waves and extreme meteorological events; increased frequency of acute cardio-respiratory events due to higher concentrations of ground level ozone; changes in the frequency of respiratory diseases due to trans-boundary particle pollution; altered spatial and temporal distribution of allergens (pollens, molds, and mites); and some infectious disease vectors. According to this report, these impacts will not only affect those with current asthma but also increase the incidence and prevalence of allergic respiratory conditions and of asthma. The effects of climate change on respiratory allergy are still not well defined, and more studies addressing this topic are needed. Global warming is expected to affect the start, duration, and intensity of the pollen season on the one hand, and the rate of asthma exacerbations due to air pollution, respiratory infections, and/or cold air inhalation, and other conditions on the other hand.

“Kind and Grateful”: A Context-Sensitive Smartphone App Utilizing Inspirational Content to Promote Gratitude

Asma Ghandeharioun, Asaph Azaria, Sara Taylor +1 more · Psychology of Well-Being Theory Research and Practice · 2016 · 63 citations

A smartphone app that delivers inspirational content at contextually optimal moments (after social activity, location change, or physical movement) more than doubled the frequency of gratitude expressions compared to baseline, while a control group that used the app without inspirational content decreased their gratitude expressions by 90% over five weeks.

Pandemics: Implications for research and practice in industrial and organizational psychology

Cort W. Rudolph, Blake A. Allan, Malissa A. Clark +7 more · Industrial and Organizational Psychology · 2021 · 426 citations

This paper identifies 10 key areas where COVID-19 is reshaping work—including telecommuting, job insecurity, leadership, and work–family balance—and argues that industrial-organizational psychology must adapt its research and practice to address new challenges and opportunities, but it provides no experimental data, effect sizes, or causal evidence for any specific intervention.

Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society on the Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: Methodology and Discussion

Nathaniel F. Watson, M. Safwan Badr, Gregory Belenky +18 more · Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine · 2015 · 555 citations

Global Matrix 4.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Adolescents: Results and Analyses From 57 Countries

Salomé Aubert, Joel D. Barnes, Iryna Demchenko +83 more · Journal of Physical Activity and Health · 2022 · 409 citations

BACKGROUND: The Global Matrix 4.0 on physical activity (PA) for children and adolescents was developed to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the global variation in children's and adolescents' (5-17 y) PA, related measures, and key sources of influence. The objectives of this article were (1) to summarize the findings from the Global Matrix 4.0 Report Cards, (2) to compare indicators across countries, and (3) to explore trends related to the Human Development Index and geo-cultural regions. METHODS: A total of 57 Report Card teams followed a harmonized process to grade the 10 common PA indicators. An online survey was conducted to collect Report Card Leaders' top 3 priorities for each PA indicator and their opinions on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted child and adolescent PA indicators in their country. RESULTS: Overall Physical Activity was the indicator with the lowest global average grade (D), while School and Community and Environment were the indicators with the highest global average grade (C+). An overview of the global situation in terms of surveillance and prevalence is provided for all 10 common PA indicators, followed by priorities and examples to support the development of strategies and policies internationally. CONCLUSIONS: The Global Matrix 4.0 represents the largest compilation of children's and adolescents' PA indicators to date. While variation in data sources informing the grades across countries was observed, this initiative highlighted low PA levels in children and adolescents globally. Measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, local/international conflicts, climate change, and economic change threaten to worsen this situation.

The Impact of Shift Work on Sleep, Alertness and Performance in Healthcare Workers

Saranea Ganesan, Michelle Magee, J. Stone +6 more · Scientific Reports · 2019 · 406 citations

Abstract Shift work is associated with impaired alertness and performance due to sleep loss and circadian misalignment. This study examined sleep between shift types (day, evening, night), and alertness and performance during day and night shifts in 52 intensive care workers. Sleep and wake duration between shifts were evaluated using wrist actigraphs and diaries. Subjective sleepiness (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, KSS) and Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) performance were examined during day shift, and on the first and subsequent night shifts (3 rd , 4 th or 5 th ). Circadian phase was assessed using urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin rhythms. Sleep was most restricted between consecutive night shifts (5.74 ± 1.30 h), consecutive day shifts (5.83 ± 0.92 h) and between evening and day shifts (5.20 ± 0.90 h). KSS and PVT mean reaction times were higher at the end of the first and subsequent night shift compared to day shift, with KSS highest at the end of the first night. On nights, working during the circadian acrophase of the urinary melatonin rhythm led to poorer outcomes on the KSS and PVT. In rotating shift workers, early day shifts can be associated with similar sleep restriction to night shifts, particularly when scheduled immediately following an evening shift. Alertness and performance remain most impaired during night shifts given the lack of circadian adaptation to night work. Although healthcare workers perceive themselves to be less alert on the first night shift compared to subsequent night shifts, objective performance is equally impaired on subsequent nights.

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on urban park visitation: a global analysis

Dehui Christina Geng, John L. Innes, Wanli Wu +1 more · Journal of Forestry Research · 2020 · 527 citations

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 33 million confirmed cases and over 1 million deaths globally, as of 1 October 2020. During the lockdown and restrictions placed on public activities and gatherings, green spaces have become one of the only sources of resilience amidst the coronavirus pandemic, in part because of their positive effects on psychological, physical and social cohesion and spiritual wellness. This study analyzes the impacts of COVID-19 and government response policies to the pandemic on park visitation at global, regional and national levels and assesses the importance of parks during this global pandemic. The data we collected primarily from Google's Community Mobility Reports and the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker. The results for most countries included in the analysis show that park visitation has increased since February 16th, 2020 compared to visitor numbers prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on social gathering, movement, and the closure of workplace and indoor recreational places, are correlated with more visits to parks. Stay-at-home restrictions and government stringency index are negatively associated with park visits at a global scale. Demand from residents for parks and outdoor green spaces has increased since the outbreak began, and highlights the important role and benefits provided by parks, especially urban and community parks, under the COVID-19 pandemic. We provide recommendations for park managers and other decision-makers in terms of park management and planning during health crises, as well as for park design and development. In particular, parks could be utilized during pandemics to increase the physical and mental health and social well-being of individuals.

Reduced cognitive function during a heat wave among residents of non-air-conditioned buildings: An observational study of young adults in the summer of 2016

José Guillermo Cedeño Laurent, Augusta Williams, Youssef Oulhote +3 more · PLoS Medicine · 2018 · 192 citations

During a Boston heat wave, university students living in buildings without air conditioning showed 13% slower reaction times and 10% lower cognitive throughput compared to students with air conditioning, with effects worsening as indoor temperatures rose above 22–23°C — even in young, healthy adults.

Natural Environments—Healthy Environments? An Exploratory Analysis of the Relationship between Greenspace and Health

S. de Vries, Robert Verheij, Peter Groenewegen +1 more · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · 2003 · 1,247 citations

Are people living in greener areas healthier than people living in less green areas? This hypothesis was empirically tested by combining Dutch data on the self-reported health of over 10 000 people with land-use data on the amount of greenspace in their living environment. In the multilevel analysis we controlled for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, as well as urbanity. Living in a green environment was positively related to all three available health indicators, even stronger than urbanity at the municipal level. Analyses on subgroups showed that the relationship between greenspace and one of the health indicators was somewhat stronger for housewives and the elderly, two groups that are assumed to be more dependent on, and therefore exposed to, the local environment. Furthermore, for all three health indicators the relationship with greenspace was somewhat stronger for lower educated people. Implications for policymaking and spatial planning are discussed briefly.

Factors determining the diffusion of COVID-19 and suggested strategy to prevent future accelerated viral infectivity similar to COVID

Mario Coccia · The Science of The Total Environment · 2020 · 679 citations

= 0.31, p < 0.01). This result reveals that accelerated transmission dynamics of COVID-19 is due to mainly to the mechanism of "air pollution-to-human transmission" (airborne viral infectivity) rather than "human-to-human transmission". Overall, then, transmission dynamics of viral infectivity, such as COVID-19, is due to systemic causes: general factors that are the same for all regions (e.g., biological characteristics of virus, incubation period, etc.) and specific factors which are different for each region and/or city (e.g., complex interaction between air pollution, meteorological conditions and biological characteristics of viral infectivity) and health level of individuals (habits, immune system, age, sex, etc.). Lessons learned for COVID-19 in the case study here suggest that a proactive strategy to cope with future epidemics is also to apply especially an environmental and sustainable policy based on reduction of levels of air pollution mainly in hinterland and polluting cities- (having low wind speed, high percentage of moisture and number of fog days) -that seem to have an environment that foster a fast transmission dynamics of viral infectivity in society. Hence, in the presence of polluting industrialization in regions that can trigger the mechanism of air pollution-to-human transmission dynamics of viral infectivity, this study must conclude that a comprehensive strategy to prevent future epidemics similar to COVID-19 has to be also designed in environmental and socioeconomic terms, that is also based on sustainability science and environmental science, and not only in terms of biology, medicine, healthcare and health sector.

The Effect of Pollution on Worker Productivity: Evidence from Call Center Workers in China

Tom Chang, Joshua Graff Zivin, Tal Gross +1 more · American Economic Journal Applied Economics · 2019 · 494 citations

We investigate the effect of pollution on worker productivity in the service sector by focusing on two call centers in China. Using precise measures of each worker’s daily output linked to daily measures of pollution and meteorology, we find that higher levels of air pollution decrease worker productivity. These results manifest themselves at levels of pollution commonly found in large cities throughout the developing and developed world. (JEL J24, L84, O13, P23, P28, Q51, Q53)

Six Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Working from Home in Europe during COVID-19

Christine Ipsen, Marc van Veldhoven, Kathrin Kirchner +1 more · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2021 · 486 citations

The number of people working from home (WFH) increased radically during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate people’s experiences of WFH during the pandemic and to identify the main factors of advantages and disadvantages of WFH. Data from 29 European countries on the experiences of knowledge workers (N = 5748) WFH during the early stages of lockdown (11 March to 8 May 2020) were collected. A factor analysis showed the overall distribution of people’s experiences and how the advantages and disadvantages of WFH during the early weeks of the pandemic can be grouped into six key factors. The results indicated that most people had a more positive rather than negative experience of WFH during lockdown. Three factors represent the main advantages of WFH: (i) work–life balance, (ii) improved work efficiency and (iii) greater work control. The main disadvantages were (iv) home office constraints, (v) work uncertainties and (vi) inadequate tools. Comparing gender, number of children at home, age and managers versus employees in relation to these factors provided insights into the differential impact of WFH on people’s lives. The factors help organisations understand where action is most needed to safeguard both performance and well-being. As the data were collected amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we recommend further studies to validate the six factors and investigate their importance for well-being and performance in knowledge work.

A survey of results on mobile phone datasets analysis

Vincent D. Blondel, Adeline Decuyper, Gautier Krings · EPJ Data Science · 2015 · 646 citations

In this paper, we review some advances made recently in the study of mobile phone datasets. This area of research has emerged a decade ago, with the increasing availability of large-scale anonymized datasets, and has grown into a stand-alone topic. We survey the contributions made so far on the social networks that can be constructed with such data, the study of personal mobility, geographical partitioning, urban planning, and help towards development as well as security and privacy issues.

Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life, mental well-being and self-rated health in German and Swiss employees: a cross-sectional online survey

Martin Tušl, Rebecca Brauchli, Philipp Kerksieck +1 more · BMC Public Health · 2021 · 174 citations

During the first wave of COVID-19, about 30% of German and Swiss employees reported their work and private life had worsened, while 10–13% reported improvements—and those who perceived a negative impact had substantially lower mental well-being and self-rated health, with mandatory short-time work being the strongest predictor of harm.

Personal tracking as lived informatics

John Rooksby, Mattias Rost, Alistair Morrison +1 more · 2014 · 644 citations

This paper characterises the use of activity trackers as "lived informatics". This characterisation is contrasted with other discussions of personal informatics and the quantified self. The paper reports an interview study with activity tracker users. The study found: people do not logically organise, but interweave various activity trackers, sometimes with ostensibly the same functionality; that tracking is often social and collaborative rather than personal; that there are different styles of tracking, including goal driven tracking and documentary tracking; and that tracking information is often used and interpreted with reference to daily or short term goals and decision making. We suggest there will be difficulties in personal informatics if we ignore the way that personal tracking is enmeshed with everyday life and people's outlook on their future.

Global Matrix 2.0: Report Card Grades on the Physical Activity of Children and Youth Comparing 38 Countries

Mark S. Tremblay, Joel D. Barnes, Silvia A. González +5 more · Journal of Physical Activity and Health · 2016 · 464 citations

The Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance organized the concurrent preparation of Report Cards on the physical activity of children and youth in 38 countries from 6 continents (representing 60% of the world's population). Nine common indicators were used (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behavior, Family and Peers, School, Community and the Built Environment, and Government Strategies and Investments), and all Report Cards were generated through a harmonized development process and a standardized grading framework (from A = excellent, to F = failing). The 38 Report Cards were presented at the International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in Bangkok, Thailand on November 16, 2016. The consolidated findings are summarized in the form of a Global Matrix demonstrating substantial variation in grades both within and across countries. Countries that lead in certain indicators often lag in others. Average grades for both Overall Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior around the world are D (low/poor). In contrast, the average grade for indicators related to supports for physical activity was C. Lower-income countries generally had better grades on Overall Physical Activity, Active Transportation, and Sedentary Behaviors compared with higher-income countries, yet worse grades for supports from Family and Peers, Community and the Built Environment, and Government Strategies and Investments. Average grades for all indicators combined were highest (best) in Denmark, Slovenia, and the Netherlands. Many surveillance and research gaps were apparent, especially for the Active Play and Family and Peers indicators. International cooperation and cross-fertilization is encouraged to address existing challenges, understand underlying determinants, conceive innovative solutions, and mitigate the global childhood inactivity crisis. The paradox of higher physical activity and lower sedentary behavior in countries reporting poorer infrastructure, and lower physical activity and higher sedentary behavior in countries reporting better infrastructure, suggests that autonomy to play, travel, or chore requirements and/or fewer attractive sedentary pursuits, rather than infrastructure and structured activities, may facilitate higher levels of physical activity.

Neighborhoods and health

Ana V. Diez Roux, Christina Mair · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2010 · 2,728 citations

Features of neighborhoods or residential environments may affect health and contribute to social and race/ethnic inequalities in health. The study of neighborhood health effects has grown exponentially over the past 15 years. This chapter summarizes key work in this area with a particular focus on chronic disease outcomes (specifically obesity and related risk factors) and mental health (specifically depression and depressive symptoms). Empirical work is classified into two main eras: studies that use census proxies and studies that directly measure neighborhood attributes using a variety of approaches. Key conceptual and methodological challenges in studying neighborhood health effects are reviewed. Existing gaps in knowledge and promising new directions in the field are highlighted.

The Impact of Isolation Measures Due to COVID-19 on Energy Intake and Physical Activity Levels in Australian University Students

Linda A. Gallo, Tania F. Gallo, Sophia L. Young +2 more · Nutrients · 2020 · 336 citations

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in physical isolation measures in many parts of the world. In Australia, nationwide restrictions included staying at home, unless seeking medical care, providing care, purchasing food, undertaking exercise, or attending work in an essential service. All undergraduate university classes transitioned to online, mostly home-based learning. We, therefore, examined the effect of isolation measures during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia (March/April) on diet (24-h recall) and physical activity (Active Australia Survey) patterns in third-year biomedical students. Findings were compared with students enrolled in the same course in the previous two years. In females, but not males, energy intake was ~20% greater during the pandemic, and snacking frequency and energy density of consumed snacks also increased compared with 2018 and 2019. Physical activity was impacted for both sexes during the pandemic with ~30% fewer students achieving "sufficient" levels of activity, defined by at least 150 min over at least five sessions, compared with the previous two years. In a follow-up study six to eight weeks later (14-18% response rate), during gradual easing of nationwide restrictions albeit continued gym closures and online learning, higher energy intake in females and reduced physical activity levels in both sexes persisted. These data demonstrate the health impacts of isolation measures, with the potential to affect long-term diet and activity behaviours.

Happiness and Satisfaction with Work Commute

Lars E. Olsson, Tommy Gärling, Dick Ettema +2 more · Social Indicators Research · 2012 · 443 citations

Research suggests that for many people happiness is being able to make the routines of everyday life work, such that positive feelings dominate over negative feelings resulting from daily hassles. In line with this, a survey of work commuters in the three largest urban areas of Sweden show that satisfaction with the work commute contributes to overall happiness. It is also found that feelings during the commutes are predominantly positive or neutral. Possible explanatory factors include desirable physical exercise from walking and biking, as well as that short commutes provide a buffer between the work and private spheres. For longer work commutes, social and entertainment activities either increase positive affects or counteract stress and boredom. Satisfaction with being employed in a recession may also spill over to positive experiences of work commutes.

Examining non-linear built environment effects on elderly’s walking: A random forest approach

Long Cheng, Jonas De Vos, Pengjun Zhao +2 more · Transportation Research Part D Transport and Environment · 2020 · 322 citations

Early determinants of physical activity in adolescence: prospective birth cohort study

Pedro C. Hallal, Jonathan C. K. Wells, Felipe Fossati Reichert +2 more · BMJ · 2006 · 222 citations

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of early social, anthropometric, and behavioural variables on physical activity in adolescence. DESIGN: Prospective birth cohort study. SETTING: Pelotas, southern Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 4453 adolescents aged 10-12 years participating in the Pelotas 1993 birth cohort study (follow-up rate 87.5%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sedentary lifestyle (< 300 minutes of physical activity per week) and median physical activity score (minutes per week). RESULTS: The prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle at age 10-12 years was 58.2% (95% confidence interval 56.7% to 59.7%). Risk factors for a sedentary lifestyle in adolescence were female sex, high family income at birth, high maternal education at birth, and low birth order. Weight gain variables at ages 0-1, 1-4, and 4-11 years and overweight at age 1 or 4 years were not significant predictors of physical activity. Levels of physical activity at age 4 years, based on maternal report, were inversely related to a sedentary lifestyle at age 10-12 years. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity in adolescence does not seem to be programmed by physiological factors in infancy. A positive association between birth order and activity may be due to greater intensity of play in childhood and adolescence. Tracking of physical activity from age 4 to 10-12 years, however, suggests that genetic factors or early habit formation may be important.

An exploration of the psychological factors affecting remote e‐worker's job effectiveness, well‐being and work‐life balance

Christine Grant, Louise Wallace, Peter Spurgeon · Employee Relations · 2013 · 544 citations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of remote e‐working on the key research areas of work‐life balance, job effectiveness and well‐being. The study provides a set of generalisable themes drawn from the key research areas, including building trust, management style and the quality of work and non‐working life. Design/methodology/approach The paper is an exploratory study into the psychological factors affecting remote e‐workers using qualitative thematic analysis of eleven in‐depth interviews with e‐workers, across five organisations and three sectors. All participants worked remotely using technology independent of time and location for several years and considered themselves to be experts. Findings The paper provides insights into the diverse factors affecting remote e‐workers and produces ten emerging themes. Differentiating factors between e‐workers included access to technology, ability to work flexibly and individual competencies. Adverse impacts were found on well‐being, due to over‐working and a lack of time for recuperation. Trust and management style were found to be key influences on e‐worker effectiveness. Research limitations/implications Because of the exploratory nature of the research and approach the research requires further testing for generalisability. The emerging themes could be used to develop a wide‐scale survey of e‐workers, whereby the themes would be further validated. Practical implications Practical working examples are provided by the e‐workers and those who also manage e‐workers based on the ten emerging themes. Originality/value This paper identifies a number of generalisable themes that can be used to inform the psychological factors affecting remote e‐worker effectiveness.

The impact of overtime and long work hours on occupational injuries and illnesses: new evidence from the United States

Allard E. Dembe, J. Bianca Erickson, Rachel Delbos +1 more · Occupational and Environmental Medicine · 2005 · 787 citations

AIMS: To analyse the impact of overtime and extended working hours on the risk of occupational injuries and illnesses among a nationally representative sample of working adults from the United States. METHODS: Responses from 10,793 Americans participating in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) were used to evaluate workers' job histories, work schedules, and occurrence of occupational injury and illness between 1987 and 2000. A total of 110,236 job records were analysed, encompassing 89,729 person-years of accumulated working time. Aggregated incidence rates in each of five exposure categories were calculated for each NLSY survey period. Multivariate analytical techniques were used to estimate the relative risk of long working hours per day, extended hours per week, long commute times, and overtime schedules on reporting a work related injury or illness, after adjusting for age, gender, occupation, industry, and region. RESULTS: After adjusting for those factors, working in jobs with overtime schedules was associated with a 61% higher injury hazard rate compared to jobs without overtime. Working at least 12 hours per day was associated with a 37% increased hazard rate and working at least 60 hours per week was associated with a 23% increased hazard rate. A strong dose-response effect was observed, with the injury rate (per 100 accumulated worker-years in a particular schedule) increasing in correspondence to the number of hours per day (or per week) in the workers' customary schedule. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that job schedules with long working hours are not more risky merely because they are concentrated in inherently hazardous industries or occupations, or because people working long hours spend more total time "at risk" for a work injury. Strategies to prevent work injuries should consider changes in scheduling practices, job redesign, and health protection programmes for people working in jobs involving overtime and extended hours.

Travel and Subjective Well-Being: A Focus on Findings, Methods and Future Research Needs

Jonas De Vos, Tim Schwanen, Véronique Van Acker +1 more · Transport Reviews · 2013 · 519 citations

Subjectively experienced well-being has recently attracted increased attention in transport and mobility studies. However, these studies are still in their infancy and many of the multifarious links between travel behaviour and well-being are still under-examined; most studies only focus on one aspect of this link (i.e. travel satisfaction). In this paper, we give an overview of studies concerning travel and well-being, focusing on results, methods and gaps in present research. We suggest that travel behaviour affects well-being through experiences during (destination-oriented) travel, activity participation enabled by travel, activities during (destination-oriented) travel, trips where travel is the activity and through potential travel (or motility). The majority of empirical studies to date have been based on hedonic views of well-being, where pleasure and satisfaction are seen as the ultimate goal in life. They have paid little attention to eudaimonic views of well-being, which emphasise the realisation of one's true potential, although this form of well-being can also be influenced by travel behaviour. We also argue that longer-term decisions, such as residential location choices, can affect well-being through travel. Travel options differ between different kinds of neighbourhoods, which can result in different levels of (feelings of) freedom and consequently different levels of subjective well-being. Since studies at present only show a subset of the travel behaviour–well-being interactions, we conclude the paper with an agenda for future research.