A Case-Control Study on Leisure Time Physical Activity (LTPA) during the Last Three Months of Pregnancy and Foetal Outcomes in Italy

The association between Leisure Time Physical Activity (LTPA) during pregnancy and foetal outcomes has been extensively investigated. However, epidemiological studies specifically referred to LPTA in the last months of pregnancy are scarce. We evaluated the association between LPTA and the risk of both preterm delivery and small for gestational age (SGA) during the last three months of pregnancy in Italy. A nationwide case-control study was performed in nine Italian cities. A total of 299 preterm delivery, 364 SGA and 855 controls were enrolled in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess socio-demographic variables, medical and reproductive history, life-style habits and LTPA referred to the last three months of pregnancy. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed in order to estimate Odds ratios and 95% CI. LTPA during the last three months of pregnancy decreases the risk of preterm delivery (adjusted OR = 0.56;95% CI 0.39 - 0.79). Among the different types of physical activity, walking, the most frequently referred activity, appears significantly protective against preterm delivery (adjusted OR = 0.53;95% CI 0.36 - 0.81). Moreover, a small protective effect of walking was evidenced against SGA (adjusted OR = 0.72;95% CI 0.51 - 1.00). In conclusion, a mild physical activity such as walking in the last three months of pregnancy seems to reduce the risk of preterm delivery and, at a lesser extent, of SGA, confirming the beneficial effects of physical activity along the whole pregnancy.

The Comparative Approach on Outdoor Leisure Behavior of Urban Elderly People:A Case Study in Beijing

With the income increase of elderly people in Beijing and the improvement of leisure facilities since 2000, the quality of elderly people leisure life in Beijing has obviously increased com- pared to ten years ago. According to the investigation and com- parative analysis on more than 900 elderly people, who usually exercise in public parks in Beijing City, we have found out several new features of elderly people＇s outdoor recreation in Belting： the increase of the leisure time, the expansion of leisure space, the in- dividuation of interest and the diversification of consumption. The leisure life quality evaluation index system of urban elderly people can be built based on these analyses. In order to accommodate the development tendency of elderly people＇s demand for leisure diversification, we should strengthen the organization and manage- ment of elderly people＇s leisure activity in urban construction, and pay more attention to function complementation between commu- nities and parks.

The Effects of a Lifestyle Modification Program on a Leisure Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in a Brazilian Low Socioeconomic Community

Regular physical activity benefits the health of the general population, more in those with sedentary behaviors. PURPOSE： To verify the impact of adding leisure-time activities to the existed sedentary behaviors. METHODS： A cross-sectional and a longitudinal analysis were undertaken in an ongoing epidemiological study （＂Move for Health＂） conducted by this Institution. The longitudinal study comprised 1572 subjects older than 35 yrs （53.8 ± 11.1 yrs, 76% women） enrolled during the period of 2004 to 2015. After a baseline assessment, the participants were submitted to a 10-week program of supervised physical exercises training and dietary counseling. The physical exercise protocol was composed by daily sessions （100 min）, 3-5x/wk, including warm up/stretching （20min）, 30 rain walking （60%-80% VO2max）, 40min strength in academy （3x 8-12 rep, 60%-70% 1RM） and stretching and cool down （10 min）. By using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire （IPAQ-way long-version 8）, it was evaluated the time spent on sedentary activities during the week and on weekends （h/day）, in the domains of sedentary transport （h/week） and physical leisure activities （h/week） at baseline （M0） and after 10 weeks （MI） of physical intervention. The Student＇s t test was used to compare moments with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS： I was shown that 18.3% presented lower values than 150 min/wk of physical activity. Lower quartile of leisure domain on weekdays along with more sedentary behavior on weekends were determined by socioeconomic characteristics such as lower income and schooling. The sample referred low income （71% earning less than 5 minimum salary wage）, low schooling （52.6% uncompleted elementary school） but in a good-excellent status of health, according their self-perception. Leisure time-physical activity increased 2.12 （P 〈 0.001）. Behaviors of sedentary transport and sitting time either weekdays or weekends did not change significantly （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION： An inexpensive and institutional-conducted lifestyle modification program like the ＂Move for Health＂ can provide extra energy expenditure, as leisure time, to a low socioeconomic community. However, it has been unsuccessfully proved to change other existing sedentary behavior.

Barter Trade Exchange to the Rescue of the Tourism and Travel Industry

South Africa＇s tourism and travel industry is a key sector in its economy as well as a significant job creator. The recent global economic turmoil is threatening the tourism industry; at the same time, global experts claim that tourism may be a key to overcoming economic difficulties and play a vital role in the green new deal. The purpose of the study is to introduce a new strategic option that has become increasingly attractive for troubled businesses-barter. While the study focuses on the advantages of this concept＇s recent refinements for South Africa＇s tourism and travel industry, its findings are also applicable to other countries. A survey of small and medium-sized enterprises （SME） from Europe and Turkey, as well as graduate students at an Israeli university, demonstrate the gap between familiarity with barter processes and their advantages and the actual scale of barter transactions in the supply chain, in order to enhance the economic performance of their tourism enterprises as well as the entire economy, providing evidence for the potential of adapting old proven concepts to the modem digital world.

The Impact of Non-Labor Income Given Job Heterogeneity on Household Time Allocation： The Evidence from China

This paper proposes a theoretical framework based on new household economic theories. A dataset from the 2006 China Health and Nutrition Survey （CHNS） is used. Given heterogeneity in major family members＇ jobs, the effect of non-labor income on household time allocation is discussed under two scenarios： jobs with flexible work hours and jobs with fixed work hours in the market. Based on the nature of the employer the major family member works for, employers can be categorized into four categories： government-owned, family contract, privately-owned, and foreign-funded. Each of the four categories is used for dissecting the data into different sets for analysis by category. The results imply that job heterogeneity is significantly correlated to household time allocation. An increase in non-labor income results in a decrease in the time allocated to housework for all households. However, leisure time is allocated differently among different households due to job heterogeneity. An increase in non-labor income leads to less leisure time for households working for government-owned or foreign-funded enterprises, and more leisure time for households working for family contract or privately-owned enterprises.