| 1. |
- Nilsson, Andreas, 1973-
(author)
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Physical activity assessed by accelerometry in children
- 2008
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Physical activity (PA) is likely to constitute an important aspect of health-related behaviour in growing children. However, the knowledge on levels and patterns of PA in children is limited, due to the difficulty of precisely measuring this complex behaviour in normal daily living. Information on variables that significantly contributes to the variability in PA patterns is warranted as it may inform strategies for promoting physically active lifestyles in school-age youth. The overall purpose of the present studies was to increase the knowledge about the use of accelerometry when assessing PA in children, and examine sources of variability in objectively assessed PA behaviour in children. The study samples included 1954 nine- and 15-year-old children from four geographical locations in Europe (Norway, Denmark, Estonia and Portugal), and additionally 16 Swedish seven-year-old boys and girls. PA was assessed by the MTI accelerometer during free-living conditions, including both weekdays and weekend days. A part of the PA assessment was conducted using different time sampling intervals (epochs). Predictions of estimates of daily energy expenditure from accelerometer output were calculated using previously published equations. Potential correlates of PA behaviour were assessed by self-report. The main findings were; a) the epoch setting had a significant effect when interpreting time spent at higher intensities of PA in young children, b) predicted energy expenditure differed substantially between equations, c) between- and within-day differences in overall levels of PA, time spent at moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity and time spent sedentary differed between age, gender and geographical location, d) outdoor play and sports participation were differentially associated with objectively measured PA in 9- and 15-year-old children. It is concluded that the sporadic nature of children’s physical activity require very short epoch settings for detecting high intensity PA, and that different published equations for estimations of daily energy expenditure cannot be used interchangeably. The interpretations of average energy expenditure from available equations should be made with caution. Based on a large sample of children of different ages, weekend days and leisure time during weekdays seem appropriate targets when promoting PA in order to increase the proportion of children achieving current recommendations on health enhancing PA. Further, significant correlates of PA behaviour dependent on age group are presented, which should be considered when planning interventions for promoting PA in school-age youth.
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| 2. |
- Ekelund, Maria, 1977-
(author)
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Long-term Performance of PVC and CSPE Cables used in Nuclear Power Plants : the Effect of Degradation and Plasticizer migration
- 2009
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Enormous amounts of low voltage cables installed in a Swedish nuclear power plant are reaching their expected lifetimes. Since the cables are crucial to operational safety, it is of great importance that the actual condition of the installed cables is determined. In this study, cables based on poly(vinyl chloride) plasticized with di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) were examined with respect to the degradation mechanisms responsible for the ageing of the insulation. This was achieved by studying samples that underwent accelerated ageing by different analytical methods, such as indenter modulus measurements, tensile testing, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and liquid chromatography, to assess the condition of the cables. The results were unambiguous; the main deterioration mechanism differed for the jacket and the core insulation. The immediate increase in stiffness of the jacket insulation suggests that loss of plasticizer was the dominant cause for degradation. The core insulation on the other hand showed much smaller changes in the mechanical properties due to thermal ageing with an activation energy of the change in the indenter modulus matching that of the dehydrochlorination process. The electrical functionality during high-energy line break accident was correlated to the mechanical properties of the cable and this correlation was used to establish a lifetime criterion. The mechanical data showed Arrhenius temperature dependence with activation energies of 80 kJmol-1 and 100 kJmol-1 for the jacketing and 130 kJmol-1 for the core insulation. These activation energies were used to extrapolate the lifetimes to service temperatures (20 °C to 50 °C). Plasticizer migration was determined as the lifetime controlling mechanism at the service temperatures. Experimental data, obtained by extraction of DEHP followed by liquid chromatography, were analysed by numerical methods to gain a better understanding of the migration. The analysis showed that the transport of DEHP to the surrounding environment was diffusion controlled at temperatures between 120 °C and 150 °C, with an activation energy of 89 kJmol-1. At lower temperatures, HTML clipboard ≤100 °C, the loss of plasticizer was controlled by evaporation, with an activation energy of 99 kJmol-1. Under the latter conditions, the rate of plasticizer loss from the PVC cable was very similar to that from the pure plasticizer, suggesting that a film of plasticizer was formed on the PVC surface. The evaporation of DEHP showed a clear dependence on the rate of ventilation of the gas phase surrounding the cable. The ability to monitor the condition of the installed cables is dependent on good techniques for the remaining lifetime assessment. The condition monitoring technique, Line Resonance Analysis, was applied to chlorosulfonated polyethylene cables. A clear correlation between LIRA and indenter modulus data obtained and LIRA and tensile testing results was found. This is of interest since existing lifetime criteria used in the nuclear plants are based on these two testing techniques.
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| 3. |
- Ekelund, Ulf, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Body movement and physical activity energy expenditure in children and adolescents : how to adjust for differences in body size and age
- 2004
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In: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9165 .- 1938-3207. ; 79:5, s. 851-856
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Physical activity data in children and adolescents who differ in body size and age are influenced by whether physical activity is expressed in terms of body movement or energy expenditure.OBJECTIVE: We examined whether physical activity expressed as body movement (ie, accelerometer counts) differs from physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) as a function of body size and age.DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study in children [n = 26; (+/-SD) age: 9.6 +/- 0.3 y] and adolescents (n = 25; age: 17.6 +/- 1.5 y) in which body movement and total energy expenditure (TEE) were simultaneously measured with the use of accelerometry and the doubly labeled water method, respectively. PAEE was expressed as 1) unadjusted PAEE [TEE minus resting energy expenditure (REE); in MJ/d], 2) PAEE adjusted for body weight (BW) (PAEE. kg(-1). d(-1)), 3) PAEE adjusted for fat-free mass (FFM) (PAEE. kg FFM(-1). d(-1)), and 4) the physical activity level (PAL = TEE/REE).RESULTS: Body movement was significantly higher (P = 0.03) in children than in adolescents. Similarly, when PAEE was normalized for differences in BW or FFM, it was significantly higher in children than in adolescents (P = 0.03). In contrast, unadjusted PAEE and PAL were significantly higher in adolescents (P < 0.01).CONCLUSIONS: PAEE should be normalized for BW or FFM for comparison of physical activity between children and adolescents who differ in body size and age. Adjusting PAEE for FFM removes the confounding effect of sex, and therefore FFM may be the most appropriate body-composition variable for normalization of PAEE. Unadjusted PAEE and PAL depend on body size.
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| 4. |
- Ekelund, Ulf, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Energy expenditure assessed by heart rate and doubly labeled water in young athletes
- 2002
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In: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0195-9131 .- 1530-0315. ; 34:8, s. 1360-1366
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: To compare total energy expenditure (TEE) estimated by the FLEX heart rate (HR) method with that measured by the doubly labeled water (DLW) technique in young speed skaters. We hypothesized that the accuracy of FLEX HR-estimated TEE would be affected by a) the definition of the FLEX HR and b) the type of training regimen.METHODS: Eight young athletes (mean age 18.2 +/- 1.3 yr) underwent measurements during two 10-d training periods: an off-season period with voluntary training (predominantly running) and a preseason period mainly focused on skating technique training. TEE was measured simultaneously by the DLW and FLEX HR methods. FLEX HR1 was defined as the mean of the HRs during all resting calibration activities and the lowest HR during exercising calibration activities. FLEX HR2 was defined as the mean of the highest HR during resting activities and the lowest HR during exercising.RESULTS: ANOVA showed that FLEX HR1 was significantly lower than FLEX HR2 (mean of both periods; 77 +/- 5 vs 84 +/- 6 beats.min(-1); P = 0.004). TEE values obtained by DLW were 16.8 +/- 3.8 and 16.9 +/- 2.9 MJ.d(-1) in the two periods, respectively. TEE values calculated from FLEX HR1 were 17.8 +/- 3.6 and 17.4 +/- 2.6 MJ.d(-1), and those from FLEX HR2 17.1 +/- 3.1 and 17.0 +/- 2.7 MJ.d-1, respectively. No significant period (P = 0.83) or method (P = 0.44) effect on TEE was observed.CONCLUSION: FLEX HR-estimated TEE was not affected by the definition of the FLEX HR or by the type of training regimen as compared with TEE measured by the DLW method in young athletes.
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| 5. |
- Ekelund, Ulf, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Field evaluation of the Computer Science and Application's Inc. Activity monitor during running and skating training in adolescent athletes
- 2000
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In: International Journal of Sports Medicine. - : Georg Thieme Verlag KG. - 0172-4622 .- 1439-3964. ; 21:8, s. 586-592
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigated the validity of the CSA activity monitor for assessment of the total amount of physical activity in adolescent athletes. Activity data were compared to data on daily energy expenditure and its derivatives measured by the doubly labeled water method. Seven athletes (speed skaters) with a mean age of 18.2+/-1.1 y were monitored twice (off-season and pre-season) by the activity monitor for eight consecutive days. The primary training during the off-season period was running whereas the pre-season period mainly involved skate training (i.e. inline skating, slideboard training, and skating imitations). Activity counts were significantly correlated to all energy estimates during the off-season period (r=0.93-0.96; P<0.01) whereas not during the pre-season period (r=0.32-0.57). A two-way multivariate analysis of variance showed a significant period effect for activity counts (668+/-163 vs. 548+/-91; P=0.026) whereas not for total daily energy expenditure (15.7+/-2.1 MJ x d(-1) vs. 16.0+/-1.0 MJ x d(-1); P=0.71). The relationship between activity counts and total daily energy expenditure seems to be affected by different training conditions. Therefore these circumstances have to be carefully considered in the interpretation of activity monitor data.
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| 6. |
- Ekelund, Ulf, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Heart rate as an indicator of the intensity of physical activity in human adolescents
- 2001
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In: European Journal of Applied Physiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1439-6319 .- 1439-6327. ; 85:3-4, s. 244-249
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aims of this study were, in a group of adolescents, firstly to identify the absolute heart rates (HR) and the percentages of maximal heart rates (HRmax) corresponding to 40%, 60% and 80% of peak oxygen uptake (PVO2), secondly to identify absolute and relative (%PVO2) oxygen uptakes (VO2) corresponding to HR of 120, 140 and 160 beats.min-1, and thirdly to examine a possible effect of fatness and fitness on the relationship between HR and VO2. The subjects were 127 (60 boys, 67 girls) adolescents with a mean age of 14.8 (SD 0.3) years. The HR and VO2 were measured by means of an incremental exercise test to exhaustion. Linear regressions were performed for the HR-VO2 and VO2-HR relationships using absolute and relative (%HRmax, %PVO2) data for each individual. From these regressions, target HR and VO2 were computed. Average target HR corresponding to 40%, 60% and 80% of PVO2 were: 119 (SD 9), 145 (SD 9), 171 (SD 8), and 120 (SD 10), 146 (SD 8), 172 (SD 8) beats.min-1 for boys and girls, respectively. Average VO2 corresponding to HR of 120, 140 and 160 beats.min-1 were: 22 (SD 5), 30 (SD 5), 38 (SD 6) and 18 (SD 4), 24 (SD 4), 31 (SD 4) mlO2.kg-1.min-1 for boys and girls, respectively. An analysis of covariance showed a significant fitness effect (P < 0.001) for predicted VO2 at all HR studied. The results suggest that the use of absolute HR to define exercise intensity levels when assessing young people's physical activity using HR monitoring detracts from the validity of the interpretation of the data.
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| 7. |
- Ekelund, Ulf, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Physical activity but not energy expenditure is reduced in obese adolescents : a case-control study
- 2002
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In: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9165 .- 1938-3207. ; 76:5, s. 935-941
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The influence of physical activity on body weight in children and adolescents is controversial.OBJECTIVE: The objective was to test the hypothesis that the intensity and duration of physical activity differ between obese and normal-weight adolescents, with no difference in estimated energy expenditure.DESIGN: We compared physical activity in 18 (8 males, 10 females) obese [body mass index (in kg/m(2)) > 30] adolescents (14-19 y) with that in a matched, normal-weight (BMI < 27) control group. Total energy expenditure (TEE) was measured with the doubly labeled water method, and physical activity was measured simultaneously by accelerometry. The physical activity level was determined as the ratio of TEE to the resting metabolic rate (RMR) and activity energy expenditure as 0.9 TEE minus RMR. Accelerometry data included total physical activity (counts x min(-1) x d(-1)), accumulated and continuous duration of activity, and continuous 10-min periods of physical activity of moderate intensity.RESULTS: There was no significant difference in adjusted (analysis of covariance) TEE, RMR, or AEE between groups. The physical activity level was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the obese group. No sex x group interaction was observed. Differences in total physical activity (P < 0.001), accumulated time (P < 0.05), continuous time (P < 0.01), and continuous 10-min periods of physical activity of moderate intensity (P < 0.01) were observed between groups.CONCLUSIONS: Obese adolescents are less physically active than are normal-weight adolescents, but physical activity-related energy expenditure is not significantly different between groups. The data suggest that physical activity is not necessarily equivalent to the energy costs of activity.
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| 8. |
- Ekelund, Ulf, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Total daily energy expenditure and pattern of physical activity measured by minute-by-minute heart rate monitoring in 14-15 year old Swedish adolescents
- 2000
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In: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0954-3007 .- 1476-5640. ; 54:3, s. 195-202
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To assess total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and patterns of physical activity among Swedish male and female adolescents and to relate the amount and intensity of physical activity to existing recommendations (energy expenditure equal to or above 12.4 kJ/kg/day or accumulation of 30 min/day in moderate physical activity equal to 4.5 times sedentary energy expenditure or more).DESIGN: TDEE, physical activity level (PAL=TDEE/BMR), energy expenditure (EE) and time spent in different intensities of physical activity were assessed by using minute-by-minute heart rate monitoring in combination with laboratory measured sedentary energy expenditure (SEE) and peak oxygen uptake.SETTING: Department of Physical Education and Health, Orebro University, and Department of Clinical Physiology, Orebro Medical Centre Hospital, Sweden.SUBJECTS: Eighty-two 14-15 y old adolescents (42 boys, 40 girls) from the city of Orebro, randomly selected through a two-stage sampling procedure.RESULTS: TDEE was 12.8 MJ/day and 10.0 MJ/day for boys and girls respectively (P<0.001) and PAL was 1.74 and 1.67 (NS). Forty-four percent and 47%, respectively, of TDEE referred to EE in physical activity, of which 70% for both genders referred to light physical activity (corresponding to <4.5 times SEE). Eleven boys and 14 girls had an EE lower than 12.4 kJ/kg/day and/or did not accumulate 30 min/day in physical activity >/=4.5 SEE. Those (n=20) with the highest PAL values (>2.01 and 1.81, respectively) spent 149 min/day at a >/=4.5 SEE intensity level compared to 40 min/day for those (n=30) with the lowest PAL values (<1.55 and 1.45, respectively).CONCLUSIONS: Swedish adolescent boys and girls are similarly physically active. The major amount of time devoted to physical activity refers to light physical activity. At least thirty percent of adolescents seem not to achieve appropriate levels of physical activity considered to be beneficial for health.
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| 9. |
- Ekelund, Ulf, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Total daily energy expenditure and patterns of physical activity in adolescents assessed by two different methods
- 1999
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. - : Wiley. - 0905-7188 .- 1600-0838. ; 9:5, s. 257-264
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Minute-by-minute heart rate monitoring and an activity diary were used simultaneously during three days in 30 randomly selected adolescents (16 boys, 14 girls; mean age 15.0+/-1.0). Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and its components (energy expenditure during sleep, during rest and in physical activity) and times spent at different intensity levels (sedentary, light, moderate physical activity and vigorous physical activity) were compared. TDEE from heart rate monitoring averaged 10.9+/-2.7 MJ x d(-1) compared to 11.3+/-2.3 MJ x d(-1) from the activity diary (NS). The limits of agreement (mean+/-2 SD) were -3.54 MJ x d(-1) and 2.74 MJ x d(-1). There was no significant difference for any of the TDEE components between the methods (MANOVA). A significant method effect (P<0.001) was observed for time spent in sedentary and light physical activity (MANOVA). No significant difference was observed for time spent in moderate and vigorous physical activity. According to this, heart rate monitoring and activity diary are comparable for group assessment of TDEE and its components, and for estimating time spent in moderate and vigorous physical activity. The activity diary underestimated time spent in moderate and vigorous physical activity for inactive subjects and consequently overestimated highly active subjects.
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| 10. |
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