HighlightsThe Brazilian reference equations use different variables in their composition.The predictive validity of equations presented great variability in limits of agreement.The Brazilian reference equation proposed by Britto et al. (BMI) came closest to the walked distance for these individuals.

Foundry industry workers in Brazil who were exposed to metal but used risk control measures had similar lung function and functional capacity when compared to the control group who were not exposed to metal. This is a positive results and maybe related to age, time exposure and control of occupational hazards. However, these workers need to continue being monitored in longitudinal studies.

[Purpose] This cross-sectional study aimed to compare foundry workers of the metallurgical industry with high and low exposure time and with a control group. [Subject and Methods] The workers were evaluated for pulmonary function and peak expiratory flow (PEF), respiratory symptoms, smoking habits, and physical activity level. Descriptive statistical analysis and ANOVA one-way test were used. [Results] The mean age was 33.9 ± 8.25 years (18–59), pulmonary function: FVC: 95 ± 18% of predicted, FEV1: 95.0 ± 15.8% of predicted, FEV1/FVC ratio of 0.82 ± 0.09, and PEF = 499.7 ± 118.5 l/min. Overall, 85.1% of workers were classified that physically active, 7.93% of workers reported respiratory symptoms, and 14.28% reported being smokers. There was no statistically significant difference between groups for the variables of lung function. [Conclusion] The pulmonary function is preserved in foundry workers independently of exposure time.

Introduction Mobile exercise apps for smartphones have been used with intervention measures to increase physical activity. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the quality of fitness apps for smartphones that were used to increase the level of physical activity and improve the overall health of healthy adults. Methods The systematic review was performed in five electronic databases EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Research Premier e Cochrane Reviews, and Trials. The search terms were grouped into three categories according to the principles of population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes. The following includes examples of the group terms: population (healthy adults), intervention (smartphone apps), and outcomes (physical activity level). Results Of the 3924 potential articles, 74 were read for full-text analysis. Only seven studies were included in the review. The methodological evaluation of the studies and the apps’ quality showed that only one study and one app were evaluated with good quality. All studies used a type of application to improve the level of physical activity (measured by the number of daily steps), reporting an increase and improvement in some general health indices (calorie expenditure, weight, BMI) in healthy adults, regardless of frequency and duration of intervention and applications. Conclusion We cannot say that the use of smartphone applications improves the level of physical activity and general health. The low methodological quality of the studies and the possibility to evaluate the applications used (Mars Scale) due to the lack of technical standardization presented in the studies, despite the app used showing positive results in all studies.

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