Physical activity is a cornerstone in the prevention and treatment of at least 35 different cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological, psychiatric, and pulmonary diseases. However, biological responses to the same physical activity intervention undertaken under controlled conditions appears to vary between individuals (differences in efficacy) to an extent which may be of clinical relevance. In addition, differences in uptake and adherence of applied physical activity interventions – which may be influenced by both biological and wider contextual factors – influence the effectiveness of physical activity interventions in different settings. Thus, several factors at the individual level, together with a range of wider contextual factors are important in mediating the magnitude of benefit observed in response to a physical activity intervention. The objectives of this theme are; (i) to explore the extent to which true biological variability in response to physical activity interventions occur and to consider the factors underpinning this (such as age, sex, genetics, epigenetics, nutrition, fitness, ethnicity etc) and (ii) to explore why the effectiveness of applied physical activity interventions differs across contexts.
The goal of this Research Topic is to uncover how large the variability of a wide range of health-related outcomes are in response to physical activity and to understand the potential reasons for this variation. The editors encourage Original Research articles, reviews and Meta-analyses with a (i) biological and physiological focus and/or (ii) a focus on wider contextual factors including but not limited to sociological, psychological, and environmental factors. This could entail re-analyses of existing datasets or new data.
Topics of interest include (but not limited to):
• Understanding the extent to which biological responses and health outcomes vary between individuals in response to the same physical activity intervention and whether this is goes beyond natural variation (i.e., whether the variation in response is greater than occurs in a control group)
• Understanding the extent to which biological responses to the same physical activity intervention vary within an individual
• Investigations of factors which can explain between and/or within individual variability in biological responses to physical activity interventions
• Understanding how sociological, psychological, and environmental factors influence uptake and adherence to physical activity interventions
• Understanding how sociological, psychological, and environmental factors influence the effectiveness of physical activity interventions in changing biological responses and health outcomes
Physical activity is a cornerstone in the prevention and treatment of at least 35 different cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological, psychiatric, and pulmonary diseases. However, biological responses to the same physical activity intervention undertaken under controlled conditions appears to vary between individuals (differences in efficacy) to an extent which may be of clinical relevance. In addition, differences in uptake and adherence of applied physical activity interventions – which may be influenced by both biological and wider contextual factors – influence the effectiveness of physical activity interventions in different settings. Thus, several factors at the individual level, together with a range of wider contextual factors are important in mediating the magnitude of benefit observed in response to a physical activity intervention. The objectives of this theme are; (i) to explore the extent to which true biological variability in response to physical activity interventions occur and to consider the factors underpinning this (such as age, sex, genetics, epigenetics, nutrition, fitness, ethnicity etc) and (ii) to explore why the effectiveness of applied physical activity interventions differs across contexts.
The goal of this Research Topic is to uncover how large the variability of a wide range of health-related outcomes are in response to physical activity and to understand the potential reasons for this variation. The editors encourage Original Research articles, reviews and Meta-analyses with a (i) biological and physiological focus and/or (ii) a focus on wider contextual factors including but not limited to sociological, psychological, and environmental factors. This could entail re-analyses of existing datasets or new data.
Topics of interest include (but not limited to):
• Understanding the extent to which biological responses and health outcomes vary between individuals in response to the same physical activity intervention and whether this is goes beyond natural variation (i.e., whether the variation in response is greater than occurs in a control group)
• Understanding the extent to which biological responses to the same physical activity intervention vary within an individual
• Investigations of factors which can explain between and/or within individual variability in biological responses to physical activity interventions
• Understanding how sociological, psychological, and environmental factors influence uptake and adherence to physical activity interventions
• Understanding how sociological, psychological, and environmental factors influence the effectiveness of physical activity interventions in changing biological responses and health outcomes
