ECSS 2015: Sustainable Exercise Science Lars Donath, Roland Rössler, Daniel Hammes, Oliver Faude Sportscience 19, 60-71, 2015 (sportsci.org/2015/ECSSexercise.htm) Department of Sport, Exercise
and Health, University of Basel, Switzerland. Email.
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The 20th anniversary conference
of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS) was hosted by Malmö
University, Lund University and Copenhagen University and held at the Clarion
Hotel in Malmö, Sweden, 24-27 June 2015. The recently opened, spacious and
well-equipped conference center served as an excellent congress venue.
Approximately 1600 abstracts were accepted and assigned to four plenary
sessions (keynote lectures) with eight presentations, 37 invited sessions
with 124 presentations, 113 oral sessions with 589 presentations, 64
mini-orals with 473 presentations and 400 non-debated e-posters. A variety of
disciplines (e.g., clinical, biomechanical, neuromuscular, technical, social,
psychological, physiological) in sport science contributed to a
multidisciplinary program with different methodological views and challenges.
Sustainable sport was the conference
slogan, referring to our responsibility to act sustainably in physical
activity and sport. Check out the statistics and logistics in the official
debrief, and
view a conference
collage video on
the ECSS YouTube channel. See also who won the young-investigator awards (summary PDF and links to
individuals) and
the GSSI nutrition and Aspetar
football awards. This conference report covers a
selective summary of talks on exercise and training, primarily concluded from
a health perspective. Topics on competitive athletes are considered in a separate report. The majority of the presented
work was of high scientific quality. The applicants for the Young Investigator
Award (YIA) mostly presented in a very concise way. Some studies, however,
should have provided a clearer and precise rationale, applied a sound study
design with an appropriate statistical approach and should have discussed the
study limitations critically. The Malmö conference site includes program pages
for each type of presentation and a book of abstracts (PDF file). Videos of plenaries and some invited symposia can be
watched via the ECSS.tv page.
All abstracts, mini-oral slides and e-posters can be accessed via the Malmö search form or
(eventually) via the EDSS database (access to which is
limited to ECSS members through the login page). The present conference report
illustrates the study populations in blue
color and research objectives (keywords) in dark red (plum). We have provided
the presenter's name followed by the respective session code in brackets […].
Use the session code in the search form at the conference site to find links
to the abstracts. If you are searching
the book of abstracts with the advanced search form in a PDF reader, insert
only the second part of the code (e.g., insert PL01, not PS-PL01). The first
part of the code denotes the following: IS, invited symposium; MO, mini-oral;
OP, oral presentation; PP, poster presentation; PS, plenary session. A tribute to a giant in exercise scienceAlthough the
occasion was a sad one, it might be regarded as a fateful symbol that this
anniversary conference was co-organized by the University of Copenhagen, the
alma mater of founding member, first president and patron of the ECSS, Bengt Saltin, who passed away in September 2014. In honor of
this giant in exercise science, two tribute symposia were scheduled. The
official symposium [IS-PM02] took place on Wednesday June 24. A further
invited session was held on Saturday June 27 and was entitled "lifelong endurance training: maintenance of high cardiovascular and
oxidative metabolic performance with aging: in
honor of Bengt Saltin" [IS-PM07]. Bengt Saltin is considered a worldwide acknowledged leading
expert in exercise physiology. He applied integrative physiological methods
to understand the muscular and cardiovascular basics of human
performance and health. Even though his outstanding academic achievements
seem unrivalled, he is an inspiring person and gives motivation for young
researchers. Several of his scholars gave an excellent overview about the
main topics of Bengt Saltin's research in human
physiology during the last 50 years. Physical activity, learning and memoryJens Nielsen,
University of Copenhagen, and Richard Tinning, University of Queensland, had
the pleasure to open the first plenary (keynote) session. The Wednesday
session entitled "Changes and Challenges for Physical Activity and
Learning – Sustainable Movements and Movement Cultures" [PS-PL01] dealt
with both neurophysiological (Nielsen) as well as sociological aspects (Tinning) of learning and physical
activity. Nielsen presented an interesting overview of associations between
physical activity and motor
learning and memory.
Mostly obtained from animal studies, available
evidence suggests that exercise can facilitate learning/memory of cognitive
and motor tasks. Weaker but still promising evidence has been found in humans. However, underlying physiological mechanisms
remain unclear and longitudinal studies are still needed. The role of few neurotrophic
factors that are released from active muscles and the nervous system during
exercise including lactate, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), noradrenalin,
and dopamine was discussed. Lactate
concentrations in
exercise have shown interesting relationships with learning. However, it is
still unclear whether lactate has a causal or coincidental role. Aging and body functioningStephen Harridge, Kings College London, presented data on
biological aging and disuse of
the skeletal muscle. He
explained cellular mechanisms that contribute to sarcopenia
and a massive type-2 fiber decline.
Decreasing motor units and infiltration of connective tissue and fat
into the muscle seem to account for this finding. A decrease of muscle force
per unit area (specific force) may result. He also explained tracer
techniques that enable the assessment of muscle protein synthesis. He
presented evidence of reduced sensitivity to exercise and amino-acid feeding
in the elderly. Recent experiments on very active older
people revealed that muscle mass, function and quality can all be well
maintained. Stephen Harridge stated that we need to
reconsider our perceptions on the interactions between aging, exercise and
physiological function. Dose-responsive ways of investigating exercise
training in the elderly through studies in the long term are needed. The Friday’s plenary session was entitled "Exercise, energy
intake, brain health and well being" [PS-PL03]. Mark Mattson from the Johns Hopkins University, School of
Medicine (Baltimore, Maryland, United States) presented interesting data on
the effects of restricted energy
intake and exercise on
brain health [PS-PL03]. His research group observed promising results in
terms of intermittent energy restriction (for example, fasting for a period
of 24 hours several times a week) and brain health. They assumed that energy
restriction may lead to an elevated neuronal activity and energy demand
resulting in a coordinated activity of signaling pathways that promote
neuroplasticity and cellular stress resistance (involving brain-derived
neurotrophic factor, mitochondrial biogenesis, DNA repair and removal of
oxidative damaged proteins and organelles). Peripheral changes in energy
metabolism (ketone bodies as alternative energy source may activate signaling
pathways as well) could also contribute to such effects. It is especially
interesting that vigorous exercise obviously causes similar effects. In terms
of neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's, Parkinson's) or acute
brain injuries (e.g., stroke), neuro-protective and -regenerative effects
have been shown mostly in animal studies. Further
research in humans is needed in order to derive practical recommendations for
maintaining, restoring or improving brain health. Janice Thompson (University of Birmingham, England) held the second
talk of this session, "Can exercise and physical activity optimize the
well-being of populations?" [PS-PL03]. Although numerous researchers
have examined mental well-being following acute and chronic exercise in
small groups, only limited evidence on community or
population level is available. She highlighted a
lack of consistent definitions of well-being accompanied with the application
of diverse questionnaires on well-being. Although rare data on well-being
during the life span exist (with an undulating pattern through lifespan),
little is known about whether ethnical and cultural differences affect the
perception and assessment of well-being. She presented information about two
ongoing multi-disciplinary interventions to optimize wellbeing of populations
in Europe and the United States. On Saturday 27
June the plenary session was entitled "Inactivity and
the ageing population" [PS-PL04] and organized as a point-counterpoint debate. First, an impressive Stephen Blair showed evidence
that increasing physical activity levels might be the key component for a
healthy life and a high quality of life. People in most industrial countries
have changed to a sedentary lifestyle. Inactive
people have a two-fold higher
risk for various health conditions compared to their active and well-trained counterparts. Steven Blair pointed out clearly that the population attributable risk factor "inactivity" accounts
for 16% of deaths, far higher compared with other risk factors. Based on an
enormous number of his own studies, Stephen Blair emphasized the need for
physical activity in all settings of daily living (home, leisure time, at
work). Societal, environmental and individual efforts are required to engage
people in habitual physical activity. The second talk of
this plenary session was given by William Evans (adjunct professor at Duke
University and vice-president of the Muscle Metabolism Discovery Performance
Unit of GlaxoSmithKline). He argued about "pharmaceutical drug development as a key of offsetting age-related
dysfunction and chronic disease". William Evans examined mainly very frail seniors
who often do not exercise regularly or suffer from particular circumstances
in which resistance exercise is either not appropriate or hardly applicable
(e.g., bed rest after surgery). As skeletal muscle plays an important role
for human health beyond its contractile properties, maintenance of muscle
mass and function is crucial. A slow-down of age-related loss of muscle mass
could be supported by pharmacological treatment. A new generation of pro-anabolic therapies
(including selective androgen receptor modulators, ghrelin, antagonists of
the TGF-beta superfamily) might be effective to treat frail and weak elderly
patients, particularly in situations of increased inactivity. This approach
might enable a break of the cycle of inactivity, disability and ill-health. Physical activity promotion – older adultsNumerous studies
revealed that seniors are less physically active compared to their younger
counterparts. Data from the "Norwegian Monitor on Social and Cultural
Change" (from 1985 to 2013, collected every second year), presented by
Fasting et al. [IS-SH 05] indicated that Norwegian
seniors, particularly women, showed secular trends of increasing physical activity between 1985 and 2013. The largest
increase was observed for the category "3 - 4 times physically active
per week". Regular physical activity improves various cardiovascular
risk factors and disease conditions. Very high dosages of lifelong physical
activity could, however, attenuate these beneficial effects. This conclusion
was based on very recent findings of O’Keefe and colleagues published this
year in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. A further talk by Maessen et al. [YIA, OP-PM02] investigated a group of 15-km
hill runners.
Lifelong physical activity exposure was measured by metabolic equivalents of
task minutes (MET´min). Cardiovascular risk (1184 cases to 5285 controls) and -disease
(133 cases to 4406 controls) cases were calculated as odds ratios. A high
dosage of lifelong exercise did not significantly increase cardiovascular
risk and -disease. This study, in turn, is not supporting an upper limit of
exercise health benefits. Biological aging
is associated with telomere shortening. An interesting study on this topic
was presented by a group coming from the University of Jyväskylä.
Sillanpää et al. [OP-PM61] examined associations
between mobility and leukocyte
telomere length in older women during an 11-year follow-up period. They followed
386 twin sisters and measured telomere length (baseline), mobility (6-min
walking test; baseline and 3-year follow-up) and physical activity
(questionnaire; baseline, 3-year and 11-year follow-up). The main finding of
this investigation was that leucocyte telomere length was associated with
physical activity level at baseline, but does not predict mobility decline in
older females. Taylor et al.
[OP-PM04] presented an interesting study entitled "Individual responses
to a novel exercise intervention in older adults
with multi-morbidity: A pilot randomized controlled trial". This study
adds further evidence that high-intensity
training is an
efficacious approach to improve aerobic fitness in a clinical population of
elderly people. The inspiring aspect of this study was the analytical
approach, in which the authors quantified the individual responses to this
training regimen. They applied linear mixed modelling to calculate the
probability that the true population effect was larger than the minimal
clinically important difference, the likely range for the true response (free
from noise) in each subject, and the probability that each subject was a true
responder. Researchers should be encouraged to apply such analysis more
frequently in future. From Michael Kjaer's group in Copenhagen (Bechshøft
et al. [OP-PM04]) came an innovative study of heavy resistance training in 30 very old individuals (at least 83
years old). Muscle strength and mass were assessed before and after a 12-week
training period. Participants were randomized into two groups. Both groups
received a protein supplement and one group added high-intensity resistance
training. Heavy resistance training improved muscle strength and power,
whereas protein supplementation alone did not. However, the authors
emphasized that "due to the physical strain caused by the training,
subjects’ health, expected gain and risk of injuries have to be considered
thoroughly before applying a training regime like this in such very old
subjects". Pfister and coworkers [IS-SH06] from the
University of Copenhagen pointed to a growing popularity of the "master
games movement". They emphasized that strategies to promote physical
activity of the elderly should also meet seniors’
personal needs and interests. From a methodological viewpoint, Diketmüller [IS-SH05] claimed for a "geragogical" perspective of exercise promotion programs in order to better understand underlying
self-concepts of physical activity and inactivity patterns in the elderly. From a molecular
perspective on sarcopenia as a key trigger of strength declines during aging, Heisterberg and
colleagues [OP-PM10] stated that satellite cells are important for the
plasticity and regenerative capacity of the skeletal muscle. An aging-induced
decline of satellite-cell function seems to be linked with an increased
TGF-beta signaling. This mechanism was previously identified by Carlson et
al. (EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2009). Blocking angiotensin II (by means of
Losartan) in sarcopenic mice down-regulates
TGF-beta and IGF-1 that might enhance muscle adaptation following exercise
training. Twenty-six elderly men (64+ years of
age) performed one bout of heavy one-legged resistance exercises comprising
5x12 repetitions of concentric work (70% of 1RM) and 4x6 repetitions of eccentric
work (110% of 1RM). The authors did not find any effect of Losartan on the
muscle response to acute exercise. The authors, however, stated that longer
treatments and exercise periods might yield larger effects. Beside heavy
resistance exercise, high intensity aerobic exercise training has been
successfully applied to seniors. Many exercise
modes and systems enable the application of high exercise intensities. Also double-concentric (d-c) multi-joint
exercise devices have been developed for this purpose: Hurst and colleagues
[OP-PM49] examined the variability of the d-c device, in comparison to cycle ergometry. Twenty seniors completed a HIT protocol with 3 sets of 4 repetitions in both conditions. The
work-rest ratio was 1:1 applying 75, 60, 45 and 30-s HIT sessions. Heart rate
and expired gas exchange data were collected. Both systems did not differ in
terms of acute cardiac and ventilatory response. It
has been emphasized that future research should comparatively investigate the
impact of d-c high intensity training on neuromuscular and cardio-circulatory
outcomes. Regarding interventional effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT), Dideriksen
and colleagues [OP-PM54] observed positive effects of HIIT (6 wk, 3 d/wk) on maximal oxygen uptake (↑2.5%)
and body composition (visceral fat, ↓5.5%) in the elderly:
17 healthy but overweight sedentary subjects
completed 5 x 60-s bouts of cycling at nearly 140% of maximal work load
interspersed with 90-s recovery. Further HIIT research presented by Bruseghini and colleagues [OP-PM10] revealed that 8 weeks
of high-intensity cycling (3 d/wk) at 90% of maximal oxygen uptake
might reduce muscle fat
infiltration. However,
these data are still under debate and need to be elucidated in future studies
using appropriate randomization procedures and adequate sample sizes. Physical activity promotion – childrenSince all kids have to attend school, schools are potentially the
most important setting for physical activity promotion in children and youth.
It is not surprising that school-based physical activity interventions were
an important topic at this conference. An invited session [IS-PM14] covered
interventions from three countries (Denmark, Norway and Switzerland). In
summary, school-based physical
activity interventions notably
improve aerobic fitness, body composition and cardiovascular-risk parameters.
A similar invited session dealing mainly with implementation issues was given
at the ECSS conference in Amsterdam last year. This year's session focused on
the efficacy of such approaches. Japanese
researchers presented an interesting study on "Associations between various intensities of physical activity and
physical fitness in adolescents" [MO-PM01]. This mini-oral was awarded
first place in the young investigators award. Physical activity was
objectively assessed by accelerometers over a consecutive period of 14 days
in 289 adolescents (age, 13 y). Adjusted logistic regression analyses
provided odds ratios comparing physical activity quartiles. They found strong
associations between physical fitness variables and vigorous physical
activity in both sexes. This was however a cross-sectional study,
so a causal relationship cannot be assumed. In a group of >100 primary school children, Bürgi and colleagues [OP-PM57] collected physical activity intensity and location via GPS and accelerometry.
The rational of this study was to examine activity patters of children. They
applied multilevel analyses and found that children spent 38% of their time
at home, 27% at their own school, 1% at other schools and 14% on streets.
Only 20 minutes (0.7%) were recorded in recreational facilities such as parks
or sports fields. The authors summarized that streets and school grounds are
meaningful locations to achieve the amount of recommended activity level. It
seems that the school environment is more appealing to boys rather than girls
in terms of physical active. The high use of streets might be an indicator
for active transportation that importantly contributes to an active
lifestyle. Another group from
Japan reported interesting results on the relationship between academic performance, obesity and fitness level in 421 children
(12 y old) [MO-PM14]. Associations between academic achievements (a summary
score of eight school subjects) and obesity as well as physical fitness
(particularly with aerobic fitness assessed by the 20-m shuttle run) were
investigated. The authors also adjusted their analyses for socioeconomic
confounders. Interestingly, physical fitness was mainly positively associated
with academic achievements in boys, and body mass index was inversely
correlated with academic achievement in girls. Two interesting
studies on maximal oxygen uptake in pubertal children
were presented by researchers from Norway. Hetlelid
and colleagues [OP-PM49] dealt with end criteria for reaching maximal oxygen
uptake in 69 13-year old boys and girls during treadmill testing. As maximal
oxygen uptake is the gold standard for assessing aerobic fitness, objective
exhaustion criteria need to be achieved. Therefore, peak respiratory exchange
ratio (RER), a VO2 plateau, peak rating of perceived effort (RPE)
and peak heart rate were assessed. They found that RER≥1.0 and RPE≥17
were fulfilled by 93% and 99%, respectively. Only 9% achieved a true plateau
in VO2 during the last two minutes of the test, whereas 52%
achieved a levelling off in VO2 during the same period of time.
Thirty-five percent reached peak heart rate ≥95% of the age-predicted
maximum. They concluded that voluntary exhaustion and RER≥1.0 as well
as RPE≥17 serve as efficient end criteria for adolescents. Stricter
criteria did not result in higher VO2max values. Another Norwegian
study employed maximal oxygen
uptake measurements
in a more applied setting. Riiser et al. [OP-PM 13]
aimed at investigating correlations between change scores of maximal oxygen
uptake and hemoglobin mass in 30 12- to 13-year old schoolchildren
over one year. They found that changes in maximal oxygen uptake were highly
correlated with a change in hemoglobin-mass (r=0.71). Changes in maximal
oxygen uptake were also highly correlated with changes in muscle mass
(r=0.74), but only moderately associated with changes in body weight
(r=0.39). These anthropometric and fitness indicators (fitness has been
assessed in a field setting here) can be used to assess the impact of living
areas on health-related parameters. Such a study was presented by Tishukaj and coworkers [OP-PM57]. Three-hundred
fifty-four 15-year old adolescents of the Kosovo
region were cross-sectionally examined. Nearly 40%
came from a rural environment and 60% from an urban area (Pristina). There
was a high prevalence of underweight (14%) and overweight
(24%) adolescents. Rural or urban environments had no influence on
anthropometric variables and only a modest and controversial impact on
physical fitness. The reasons for these findings remain speculative and could
be socioeconomic conditions, access to sports facilities, and differences in
general lifestyle behavior. Two further
exemplary randomized controlled trials in obese children investigated the
effects of 12 weeks of school-based aerobic and resistance training on inflammatory
markers, cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity in obese girls. The
first study of Lopes et al. [OP-PM58] investigated 33 obese
girls between the age of 14 and 15 years. They observed significant
decreases of leptin
levels after the training period.
However, most inflammatory cytokines and acute phase factors remained
unchanged. It seems that the power of the study and baseline variation of
cytokines require a larger sample size to address inflammatory changes with
more certainty. The second controlled trial was done by Batalau
and colleagues [OP-PM58]. The authors enrolled 77 obese
primary school children from Portugal. The intervention group
completed a physical-activity
intervention with three
meetings for children and
parents, an additional
1-hour activity class and six educational sessions related to physical
activity. The control group had no intervention. The intervention group
performed a higher amount of moderate activity. Similar results were found
for vigorous activity. No differences were found between groups in sedentary
behavior breaks. Neuromuscular performance during lifespanBeside
well-developed cardiorespiratory fitness, appropriate neuromuscular function
affects adequate functioning in sports and daily life. The majority of the presented
studies on neuromuscular performance measured either tendon properties during
aging, postural control of human standing (including viscoelastic and electrophysiological
contribution), and indices of strength or power (e.g., rate of force
development) in cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs. Interesting
new methodological insights were provided: One invited symposium [IS-BN06]
dealt with tendon properties and adaptations during the process of aging and
following exercise training. Researchers coming from the Norwegian School of
Sport Sciences and the University of Jyväskylä
talked about tendon responses to
exercise and stress as
well as aging-induced changes of
tendon properties. As
connecting and transmitting tissue (e.g. tendons) have been reported to
increase blood-flow and glucose uptake in response to loading (based on work
of the presenter), the presentation of Bojsen-Moller
reviewed the existing knowledge on tendon response
to loading of habitual exercise
training. It has been
mainly summarized that low-intensity loading increases intra-tendinous glucose uptake in the Achilles tendon, regular
loading can cause tendon hypertrophy and stiffens the human patellar tendon,
and region-specific adaptations are dependent on load character. The second
talk held by Seynnes (also Norwegian School of Sport Sciences) focused on the
relationship between mechanical
tendon properties and daily stress level. Previous studies suggested that tendon
cross-sectional area is linked to daily stress levels. Seynnes stated that
these findings are based on models including tendon morphology as a modulator
variable to daily stress. However, these findings are inconsistent in terms
of human tendon hypertrophy in training studies on
the other hand. His findings were obtained from animal
studies and in vivo tendon testing. The final speaker in this
symposium (Stenroth, University of Jyväskylä) reviewed literature on the similarities
and differences between the effects of aging and disuse. The functional impact of tendon adaptations related to aging and
disuse were discussed on the basis of findings that emphasized that tendons
do adequately respond to strength training even in old age. It seems that
collagen and non-collagen factors affect these modifications. It has been
also emphasized that very recent studies (Thorpe et al.; Depalle
et al., both 2015) on tendon micromechanics showed a link between tendon
matrix factors and tendon properties. This association might explain possible
alterations in load transmission within tendon structures due to aging or
disuse. Two interesting
studies from Japan examined viscoelastic contribution to human standing. The
first study presented by Tomida et al. from Kyoto
University [OP-BN01]. He calculated a viscoelastic ellipse from the ground reaction force signal in a small group of five subjects.
The length of the ellipse represents the magnitude of maximal stiffness and
viscosity. Their findings indicate that human standing has relatively large
viscoelasticity components in the anterior-posterior and medio-lateral
directions. Interestingly, most muscles had their preferred stiffening
directions in the diagonal directions. However, further research on validity
and reliability in larger sample sizes are needed to verify this
methodological approach. These ideas have also been included into models on viscoelasticity and joint control strategies [Tanabe et al., OP-BN01]. This
study showed for the first time that joint viscoelasticity and each
viscoelasticity parameter in a model-based approach
contributes to a reliable control strategy resulting in a robust model fit.
Thereby, a quadruple inverted pendulum with intermittent control (as a model
of tiptoe standing in the sagittal plane) was created. From a perspective
of strength testing and training during the life span, maximal strength
measures have been frequently collected in order to predict functional
performance or fall risks in the elderly. In this regard, the ability to
produce power rapidly has gained increasing interest during the last few
years. A symposium this conference [IS-BN09] focused on functional relevance
of explosive muscle strength, factors that influence rate of torque
development, and the response of force production to acute exercise and
physical training. Briefly, Folland et al.
emphasized that reliable assessments of rate of force/torque development require high sampling rates, a clear
purpose (functionally related to the sport background, multi-joint vs
single-joint depending on the purpose, fast or explosive contraction), clear
feedback and multiple attempts in isometric settings. Blazevich
et al. nicely summarized that the rate of force development (RFD) is influenced by monoaminergic drive from supraspinal
centers (locus coeruleus, raphe nuclei) and
afferent feedback alteration (stretch-sensitive receptors) via the Ia
feedback loop. He stated that a combination of Ia activity and a meaningful
monoaminergic drive might provide a perfect condition for fast rates of
muscle activation. He doubted the importance of tendon stiffness for a fast
RFD. In line with other studies on force transmission through the tendon,
transmission time of a few milliseconds seems to be too small to have
meaningful impact on the RFD. Maffiuletti et al.
from the Schulthess Clinic in Zürich ended up with
a comprehensive summary on the effects of physical training on RFD. He suggested that strength and plyometric-type training elicit
meaningful RFD improvements. However, heavier and slower strength training
approaches also cause notable improvements in RFD. These newer findings seem
contradictory to the common understanding of RFD training (fast, explosive
with lower weights). Nevertheless, he emphasized that RFD training has been
successfully conducted in various populations
(e.g. clinical, elderly, child, injured) including strength, speed, plyometrics and muscle stretching. Postural control
also serves as a key measure of neuromuscular performance. Postural control
can be investigated under static (e.g., upright standing) and dynamic (e.g.,
gait) conditions. The control of standing balance relies on spinal and supraspinal input. Electrophysiological measures and data
obtained from force plates allow assessment of postural steadiness and
complexity. In addition to previous investigations of unstable shoes on
proprioception (e.g., B. Nigg), the study of Buchecker and Müller [OP-BM08] aimed at investigating the
complexity of center
of pressure (COP)
signals through quantifying the fractal- and entropy-based indices and
multi-scale entropy calculations (based on Duarte and Stenard,
2008). Therefore, 29 healthy men were tested in
bipedal standing wearing an "M-walk" MBT shoe and a flat shoe.
Interestingly, unstable shoes caused postural responses closely related to
the dynamics of a "random" walk with numerous, active postural
adjustments. This finding can be explained by the fact that COP deviations occurred
along smaller time-scales with more predictable sequences. A study of the Baudry Group (Johannsson et al.) at the University of
Brussels showed that postural threat affects postural control during upright stance in younger and older
subjects [OP-BN10]. Spinal and corticospinal excitability was measured
in 12 young (25 y) and 9 elderly (70 y) adults. They found decreased H-reflex
amplitudes during upright stance facing the stairs. The background EMG did
not change. These findings suggest increased presynaptic inhibition of muscle
spindle pathway that decreases reflex activity, impairing balance during
postural threatening conditions. Elderly people, however, are still capable
of modulating muscle-spindle pathways, depending on standing conditions.
Absence of a motor-evoked potential did not support an increase of
corticospinal contribution to control upright standing when postural threat
is increased. Penzer et al. (also from the Baudry Group) observed in 15 young (~23
y) and 14 elderly adults
(~70 y) that the contribution of vision and proprioception during postural control differs with age. They found that
age-related impairments of the somatosensory system (Shaffer and Harrison
2007) decreased depending on the muscle spindle afferents. They indicated a
shift toward a greater reliance on visual information to control balance in
elderly adults. A German group from the University of Konstanz further examined
whether balance is a set of specific skills or a general
ability [OP-PM51]. This is a relevant question in order to adequately design
balance training programs and to address whether training adaptations are
task-specific or of a general nature. Two intervention groups of young, healthy students completed six training sessions
on two different balance training devices (one device in each group). They
were compared with a control group. Participants were tested before and after
the intervention in the trained tasks as well as in two additional untrained
tasks on the applied devices. The researchers observed highly task-specific training
effects and no transfer effects, and they concluded that balance should be
considered as a set of specific skills rather than a general ability. These
findings have been recently accepted in the journal Human Movement Science
and are in line with findings of the Basel group in Switzerland (Donath et
al. 2013 to 2015). Beside postural
control measurements during upright standing, gait analyses also contribute
to a better understanding of impaired dynamic balance resulting in a higher
risk of falls. Therefore, various temporal and spatial parameters (e.g.,
stride length, width and variability) serve as promising fall risk factors.
Higher asymmetry during gait and leg strength has been also shown to
differentiate between fallers and non-fallers. In a further step, Hammes and coworkers (Basel group) investigated the
association between asymmetry
indices of strength, gait and balance parameters [OP-PM60]. They found that plantar flexion force and RFD
showed a meaningful link to gait and balance asymmetries and variability in
48 healthy seniors. He concluded cautiously that
the development of symmetric strength might be a strategy to improve gait and
balance performance leading to a reduced fall risk. Team sports for healthThe Danish
research group of Krustrup et al. has focused on
health benefits of recreational football, with 70
scientific publications in the last six years. In his talk [IS-PM08], he
summarized results from studies dealing with the prevention of chronic diseases. Small-sided games (3v3 to 7v7) have been
shown to be very efficacious on a broad spectrum of fitness and health
parameters. The character of small-sided games combines elements of
high-intensity interval training, traditional endurance training as well as
strength training. These games elicit notable effects on cardiovascular
function, muscle mass and function, postural control and bone health. Those
effects have been shown in healthy populations and clinical populations (e.g. hypertension,
type 2 diabetes and prostate cancer). Motivational aspects
of football might be a
big advantage compared with more traditional exercise programs. Recreational
football and the application of football programs targeted for specific
population has great potential to achieve public health benefits. Krustrup also mentioned possible negative effects of
football, such as injury risk, but
studies are scarce. In this
regard, the risk-benefit ratio of exercise programs should be considered in
future research, not only for football programs but also for exercise
programs in general. Hunt et al. from
the University of Glasgow investigated the motivational aspect of playing
football [IS-PM08]. Research has recognized the importance of gender differences
in sport participation and health-promoting interventions. In this regard,
football-based organizations may be utilized to engage "hard-to-reach"
men. Hunt et al. developed a comprehensive health and fitness program
called "Football Fans in
Training" (FFIT)
that includes individual and group-based physical activity as well as
behavioral change techniques. The pitch-side group-based physical activity
conducted by football coaches includes "normal" aerobic, muscle
strengthening, and flexibility training, but not playing football itself.
Nevertheless, in terms of participation, the implementation of such a program
through a football organization seems highly effective. A large
randomized-controlled trial with 747 Scottish men proved the effectiveness of
FFIT on weight-loss. This study demonstrated the potential power of football
in terms of health-promoting strategies (including cultural and sociological
aspects). As mentioned
above, extensive research during the last decade has shown that small-sided
football training represents a multimodal, motivating and health promoting
exercise intervention. Evidence for other team sports in this regard is currently
scarce. A Danish work group (Vorup et al.) is
investigating the effects of 12 weeks of floorball
training on body composition in elderly untrained
men [OP-PM61-03]. This study is still in progress, but preliminary
data indicated that floorball training has the potential to reduce body fat
in elderly untrained men. We are curious about the final publication of these
data and whether these preliminary results can be confirmed. Injury preventionGoossens et al. [OP-PM33-4] presented an
interesting study entitled "A multifactorial injury prevention program in physical
education teacher education students: Process evaluation using
RE-AIM". A randomized trial was conducted on curriculum managers, sports
lecturers and students from the Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE)
programs. Changes in self-reported behavior, autonomous motivation and
knowledge were measured through questionnaires. Sports lecturers tended to
have a greater increase following the intervention than the control group for
the delivery of dynamic stabilization and functional strengthening. Static
stretching, dynamic stabilization and core stability were used most often by
sports lecturers of the intervention group, while students in the
intervention group had a greater increase in knowledge. Shoes with motion
control systems (MCS) are usually recommended for runners
with pronated feet. Malisoux et al. [OP-PM33-2]
investigated whether runners using shoes with MCS sustain fewer
running-related injuries than runners using neutral shoes. They applied a
double-blind randomized control design. Training and injury data were
collected over 6 months using an internet-based platform. An adjusted Cox
regression analysis revealed that runners from the MCS group had a lower
hazard rate for running-related injuries. When participants were stratified
by foot morphology only those runners with pronated feet
beneficiated adequately from MCS shoes. Physical activity and cognitive functionOn Friday 26 June
an invited symposium entitled "Effects of exercise on brain function, learning and memory" was held. Aberg
et al. [IS-PM04] from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden presented data
from a large population-based cohort study. Over
1.1 million of Swedish male participants were longitudinally examined for up
to 42 years. This enormous dataset was collected from cardiovascular and cognitive tests
during the recruitment exams for Swedish military service. Data collection
was linked to a national database for information on school achievement,
socioeconomic status and hospital registers. The authors showed that fitness
and cognitive function are positively correlated, and that this association
is not determined by genetic factors. Poor physical fitness in younger years
serves as a promising predictor for the risk of depression, suicide,
epilepsy, stroke and dementia in later life. Despite these strong data, only
an observational design has been applied. Intervention studies in this area
are still scarce. Mogensen et al. from the University of Copenhagen,
Denmark [IS-PM04] provided insights on effects of exercise on neural processes after
traumatic and vascular brain injury. His overview elucidated the lack of a
comprehensive understanding of underlying physiological mechanisms. He
emphasized the importance of research on exercise timing, the optimal
intensity, and the mediating role of stress in terms of developing effective
rehabilitation measures. As many data were obtained from animal studies, a
valid transfer to humans represents a notable research challenge. Research in
humans inherently contains methodological
issues, such as
adjusting for the type and severity of injuries, but also for cognitive parameters
used in studies. Finally, Lundbye-Jensen (University of Copenhagen) presented
various intervention studies on humans focusing on neuroplasticity and memory
including motor skill
acquisition [IS-PM04].
Besides exercise intensity, he also reported on exercise timing.
Interestingly, one bout of aerobic exercise after motor skill practice resulted
in greater improvements than aerobic exercise before motor skill practice,
and both strategies were superior to a control condition without any aerobic
exercise. Although these results provide important information for practical
applications, it has to be kept in mind that most of the studies dealt with
acute or short-term exercise effects. Longitudinal studies are needed in
future. To summarize this session, physical activity stimulates cognitive
functions. Underlying mechanisms and the optimal design of exercise programs
are interesting topics for further research. Several other
presentations on exercise and cognitive function during the life span were
scattered through the conference. It seems important to consider specific age
groups, and populations. For instance, Swinnen and
colleagues (Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, KU Leuven,
Belgium) emphasized different brain
activation levels of
older adults compared to young adults [IS-BN05]. Functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) studies indicated that older adults showed an increased cognitive control of motor coordination tasks. This elevated activation was
considered a compensatory strategy. Exercise might then serve as an effective
strategy to reduce the activation level through training-induced
neuroplasticity. Aadland et al. [MO-SH09] showed that physical
activity, motor skills and cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with executive function in 10-year-old children.
The observational study design does not allow the conclusion that
"training of motor skills is similarly important as general physical
activity and increased cardiorespiratory fitness in order to improve
cognitive function". An intervention study by Hartman et al. [MO-SH09],
however, showed that a primary school-based
physical activity program (22 weeks, 3 d/wk for 20-30 min) led to greater improvements
in mathematical test scores compared to a control group. Occupational health promotionDalager et al. presented a randomized controlled
trial that investigated the effects of personalized high-intensity training programs on musculoskeletal health in office workers [OP-PM02]. The training group showed
improvements of muscle strength and reductions of musculoskeletal pain
compared to the reference group. The authors concluded that individually
tailored high-intensity training during working hours can reduce
musculoskeletal neck as well as shoulder pain and can improve muscle
strength. Whether companies will implement high-intensity training during
working hours (is the health of their staff a sufficient reason?) seems
doubtful. Economic cost-benefit estimations (e.g., return on investment,
presented by van Mechelen, University of Amsterdam)
may be required to convince companies (see below). A very
comprehensive session on health-enhancing physical activity interventions at
the workplace was held by a group of extremely distinguished researchers in
this field [IS-BN03]. Søgaard et al. introduced the
fact that many occupational sectors have employees
with high physical workloads. In contrast, their leisure-time physical activity levels might not be health enhancing. In
line with Dalager and coworkers, she emphasized
that work exposure and the exercise profile should be analyzed and
conceptualized on an individual basis. Ainsworth et al. provided an
entertaining and precise talk on the history of physical activity assessment and its future implications. She emphasized that an improved
estimation of occupational demands can be
provided by assigning MET values to job tasks and classification systems. As
job profiles and titles change over time and increased emphasis is placed on
the impact of sedentary behaviors on health, the MET-based classifications must
be updated to cover today’s occupations. Van Mechelen
at al. presented workplace physical activity interventions from a cost-effectiveness perspective. He emphasized that companies should be informed about
effects of such interventions on productivity, sick leave and the overall
economics of a sustainable work environment. Financial benefits should be
scientifically evaluated in order to influence politicians and policy makers.
He stressed the fact that costs of the program should be minimized in order
to make them efficient. The return on investment varied between the
approaches, but the financial backflow on every invested dollar or Euro was
notable. The fun and, in turn, sad fact of his presentation was that all his
meetings with politicians (on the basis of a couple of these findings) did
not go well. He summed up that politicians seemingly do not have a good
memory and conscience. Obesity, body composition and metabolismWhole body cryostimulation has received increasing attention as a
potential means of recovery support in high performance sports. Although
under extensive debate, the myokine "irisin" seems to play an important role in the
regulation of human metabolism. Extremely low temperatures may induce a
similar release of irisin as compared to exercise.
Thus, Ziemann and colleagues evaluated the effect of 10 sessions of cryostimulation (3 min at -120 °C) in middle-aged obese men [OP-PM11-4]. The authors found no
effect on irisin concentrations. However, a
decrease of pro-inflammatory proteins was observed. This anti-inflammatory
effect might be more relevant compared to the expected metabolic and thermogenic effects in the investigated population. Brown et al.
systematically reviewed healthy
weight interventions in
primary school children [OP-PM58-3]. The review
included 18 randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. School-based
studies that aimed at improving BMI through increasing physical and improved
dietary habits were included. The authors concluded that school-based
interventions that involve multiple environmental, educational, and physical
strategies–and not education only–appear to most likely result in BMI
reductions. This fact is not new, as lifestyle interventions are known to be
important in reducing and managing overweight in the long-term. Compliance is
therefore considered the most crucial component in lifestyle interventions. Jørgensen et al. studied whether maintaining weight loss is associated with a better compliance to
a lifestyle intervention as compared to weight regain [OP-PM03-2].
A 10- to 14-wk lifestyle intervention focused on diet and physical exercise
was applied. The cross-sectional follow-up examination took place 5 y after
the intervention. As expected by the researchers those men
who maintained their weight loss had a higher lean mass-adjusted VO2peak
and a higher mitochondrial oxidative capacity. In women,
however, no differences between those who maintained and regained weight were
observed. Søgaard reported on the effects of high-intensity training on insulin-mediated glucose uptake in 13 overweight and
sedentary older adults [OP-PM20]. VO2max, glucose infusion
and clearance rates increased as a result of the training. Improvements were
more pronounced in men. This study lacked a control group and was based on a
small number of participants. However, the findings are promising, and larger
randomized-controlled trials are warranted. In conjunction with the results
of Jørgensen et al., gender differences in
metabolic and oxidative adaptations to exercise seem to be a further topic
for future research. In conclusion,
this anniversary ECSS conference confirms an impressive scientific
development of the comparatively young European College of Sport Science.
Many experts coming from all over the world contributed to an outstanding and
broad scientific program of high quality and meaningful impact. We are
looking forward to visit Vienna for next year's conference, July 6-9, 2016. Published
Sept 2015 |