This study compared subjective and objective methods of measuring different categories of physical activity in non-depressed middle-aged subjects with normal cognitive function (NCF) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In total, 75 participants (NCF: n = 48, MCI: n = 27) were recruited and physical activity was assessed for seven days using the ActiGraph and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Anthropometric parameters, body compositions, resting metabolic rate, and energy expenditure were also assessed. ActiGraph data indicated that subjects with NCF were more active than MCI subjects. A comparison of the IPAQ and the ActiGraph data revealed a significant correlation between these methods for total (r = 0.3315, p < 0.01) and moderate (r = 0.3896, p < 0.01) physical activity in the total population and moderate activity (r = 0.2893, p < 0.05) within the NCF group. No associations between these methods were found within the MCI group. Independent predictors of subjectively evaluated total physical activity were alcohol consumption (p = 0.0358) and socio-professional status (p = 0.0288), while weight (p = 0.0285) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment results (p = 0.0309) were independent predictors of objectively measured physical activity. In conclusion, the long version of IPAQ is a more reliable tool to assess PA in subjects with NCF than those with MCI. More studies are needed to confirm this finding.

This study aims to assess the effect of an increase in daily physical activity to prevent cognitive decline, sustain brain volumes and maintain healthy biomarker levels in previously inactive (< 7,000 steps/day) mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects aged 50-65 years. In total, 198 subjects with MCI (assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test) will be recruited and randomised into two groups: active and passive. The active group will be instructed, encouraged and motivated to increase their physical activity to a moderate level (≥ 10,000 steps/day), while the passive group should maintain their normal activity levels. All subjects will undergo cognitive assessment, neuroimaging and biomarker tests before and after a one-year intervention. During the intervention, physical activity will be measured by the Fitbit Inspire HR wristband. The study was registered in the German Clinical Trials Register database (registration no. DRKS00020943, date of registration: 09.03.2020, protocol version: 1.0).

The prevalence of obesity has been increasing worldwide; however, the optimal dietary strategy for improving anthropometric and cardiometabolic parameters remains unknown. This review discusses the effectiveness of popular diets in the management of obesity and obesity-related comorbidities. The differences among popular diets are small and associated with dietary adherence and caloric intake. The Mediterranean diet is most effective in facilitating weight loss and improving cardiometabolic parameters, although the Central European diet seems to be a good alternative.

This study compared the anthropometric parameters of patients with fatty acid oxidation disorders (FAOD) and healthy controls, showing an increased prevalence of abnormal body weight (overweight and obesity) in the FAOD group. First, differences in BMI, BMI percentiles and z-scores, and weight and weight percentiles were compared in a cohort of 39 patients with FAOD and 156 healthy controls, as well as between patients born before and after the introduction of a populational newborn screening programme (NBS) in 2014 in Poland. We also performed a systematic literature review yielding 12 studies mentioning anthropometric parameters in 80 FAOD patients and 121 control subjects, followed by a meta-analysis of data from 8 studies and our cohort. There were significant differences in body weight percentiles (p = 0.001), BMI (p = 0.022), BMI percentiles (p = 0.003) and BMI z-scores (p = 0.001) between FAOD patients and controls in our cohort but not between pre- and post-newborn-screening patients. The meta-analysis did not show any differences in weight and BMI in all tested subgroups, i.e., all FAOD patients vs. controls, medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCADD) patients vs. controls and patients with FAOD types other than MCAD vs. controls. These results, however, should be interpreted with caution due to the overall low quality of evidence as assessed by GRADE, the small sample sizes and the significant heterogeneity of the included data.