PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Glued to your cell phone? Research suggests it may reduce your physical activity and fitness

2013-07-10
(Press-News.org) Contact: Jacob E. Barkley
jbarkle1@kent.edu
330-672-0209
Kent State University
Glued to your cell phone? Research suggests it may reduce your physical activity and fitness Today's smartphones allow for increased opportunities for activities traditionally defined as sedentary behaviors, such as surfing the internet, emailing and playing video games. However, researchers Jacob Barkley and Andrew Lepp, faculty members in the College of Education, Health and Human Services at Kent State University, linked high cell phone use to poor fitness in college students.

Barkley and Lepp were interested in the relationship between smartphones and fitness levels because, unlike the television, phones are small and portable, therefore making it possible to use them while doing physical activity. But what the researchers found was that despite the phone's mobility, high use contributed to a sedentary lifestyle for some subjects.

More than 300 college students from the Midwest were surveyed on their cell phone usage and activity level. Of those students, 49 had their fitness level and body composition tested. The researchers' results showed that students who spent large amounts of time on their cell phones – as much as 14 hours per day – were less fit than those who averaged a little more than 90 minutes of cell phone use daily.

One subject said in the interview data: "Now that I have switched to the iPhone I would say it definitely decreases my physical activity because before I just had a Blackberry, so I didn't have much stuff on it. But now, if I'm bored, I can just download whatever I want."

The study is believed to the first to assess the relationship between cell phone use and fitness level among any population. Barkley and Lepp conclude that their findings suggest that cell phone use may be able to gauge a person's risk for a multitude of health issues related to an inactive lifestyle.

### The study appears online in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

For more information about Kent State's College of Education, Health and Human Services, visit http://www.kent.edu/ehhs.

Media Contacts: Jacob E. Barkley, Ph.D.
Exercise Science Faculty Member, Kent State University
jbarkle1@kent.edu, 330-672-0209

Andrew Lepp, Ph.D.
Recreation, Parks & Tourism Management Faculty Member, Kent State University
alepp1@kent.edu, 330-672-0218

Emily Vincent
Director, University Media Relations, Kent State University
evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Adults with eating disorders have a poorer prognosis if they suffer hyperactivity

2013-07-10
A study made with 191 patients reveal that symptoms of hyperactivity due to the deficit of attention and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are associated with more impulsivity and more severity, and probably a worse prognosis in patients with eating disorders. ADHD in adults is poorly investigated and, although several studies have reported associations between this disorder and abnormal eating behaviour, so far it had not been described associations between ADHD and eating disorders in adults. The results of the study conducted by researchers from the group of Psychiatry ...

Fear of deportation not an issue for farmworkers who receive care from community health centers

2013-07-10
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Migrant workers are more likely to receive medical care from community health centers in partnership with faith-based organizations, a new study shows, because fear of deportation is lower than they might face at other medical facilities. The study was recently published online in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. Daniel López-Cevallos, associate director of research at Oregon State's Center for Latino/a Studies and Engagement, said this research points to the importance of health services being administered to migrant farmworkers by trusted ...

Excessive cerebral spinal fluid, enlarged brain size in infancy are potential biomarkers for autism

2013-07-10
Children who were later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder had excessive cerebral spinal fluid and enlarged brains in infancy, a study by a multidisciplinary team of researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute has found, raising the possibility that those brain anomalies may serve as potential biomarkers for the early identification of the neurodevelopmental disorder. The study is the first to follow the brain-growth trajectories from infancy in children who later develop autism and the first to associate excessive cerebrospinal fluid during infancy with autism. ...

Statin use linked to few side effects

2013-07-10
Statins -- the popular class of cholesterol-lowering drugs used widely to prevent recurrent heart disease or stroke as well as risk for having a first cardiac or stroke event -- appear to cause few side effects, according to new research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Researchers conducted the largest meta-analysis on statin side effects to date, reviewing data from 135 previous drug studies to evaluate the safety of the seven statins on the market. They concluded "as a class, adverse events associated with statin therapy are not common." ...

Modern methods of abortion are not linked with an increased risk of preterm birth

2013-07-10
The link between previous termination of pregnancy (abortion) and preterm delivery in a subsequent pregnancy has disappeared over the last 20-30 years, according to a study of data from Scotland published in this week's PLOS Medicine. The study, led by Gordon Smith from the University of Cambridge, found that abortion was a strong risk factor for subsequent preterm birth in the 1980s but over the next 20 years, the link progressively weakened and was no longer present among women giving birth from 2000 onwards. These findings are important as the current recommendations ...

Tobacco control measures in India could prevent heart disease and stroke deaths

2013-07-10
Implementing smoke-free laws and increased tobacco taxes in India would yield substantial and rapid health benefits by averting future cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine. The results of this study, conducted by Sanjay Basu and colleagues of Stanford University, USA, suggest that specific tobacco control strategies would be more effective than others for the reduction of CVD deaths over the next decade in India and possibly in other low- and middle-income countries. Cardiovascular diseases are conditions that ...

Growth of cardiac services linked to competition, not improved patient care, study finds

2013-07-10
New interventional cardiac catheterization services offered by U.S. hospitals generally duplicate existing programs and do not help patients gain access to timely emergency cardiac care, according to a new study. Examining new cardiac catheterization programs nationally from 2004 to 2008, researchers found the programs were most likely to be introduced in areas that had existing services, near populations that had higher rates of private health insurance and in states where there is little oversight of hospitals. The findings are published online by the journal Circulation: ...

Females respond better to stress because of estrogen, UB animal study finds

2013-07-10
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The idea that females are more resilient than males in responding to stress is a popular view, and now University at Buffalo researchers have found a scientific explanation. The paper describing their embargoed study will be published July 9 online, in the high-impact journal, Molecular Psychiatry. "We have examined the molecular mechanism underlying gender-specific effects of stress," says senior author Zhen Yan, PhD, a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. "Previous studies have ...

Birds outpace climate change to avoid extinction

2013-07-10
A new study has shed light on the potential of birds to survive in the face of climate change. In the analysis, based on more than fifty years' detailed study of a population of great tits near Oxford, UK, a team of scientists were able to make predictions about how the birds could cope with a changing climate in the future. They found that for small, short-lived birds like the great tit, evolution can work fast enough for genetic adaptation to keep pace with a changing environment. However, even for such fast-evolving species, evolution on its own is not enough. By studying ...

Mycobacteria get all the advantages of sex with none of the downsides

2013-07-10
Sexual reproduction is costly to those organisms that depend on it, like humans. For starters, only half of the population can bear offspring and the other half has to work hard to make sure they're included in the future gene pool. The payoff is that sexual reproduction allows the mixing of parental genomes to generate potentially beneficial new combinations of gene variants that had not previously coexisted on the same strand of DNA, or to separate beneficial mutations from detrimental ones. In contrast, bacteria reproduce by asexual reproduction—this is more efficient ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

3 Ways to reduce child sexual abuse rates

A third of children worldwide forecast to be obese or overweight by 2050

Contraction inhibitors after 30 weeks have no effect on baby's health

Nearly 1 in 5 US college athletes reports abusive supervision by their coaches

THE LANCET: More than half of adults and a third of children and adolescents predicted to have overweight or obesity by 2050

Ideal nitrogen fertilizer rates in Corn Belt have been climbing for decades, Iowa State study shows

Survey suggests people with disabilities may feel disrespected by health care providers

U-Michigan, UC Riverside launch alliance to promote hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines

New insights into network power response: Unveiling multi-timescale characteristics

Simple algorithm helps improve treatment, reduce disparities in MS

Despite high employment rates, Black immigrants in the United States more likely to be uninsured, USC study shows

Research supports move toward better tailoring stroke rehabilitation

Imagining future events changes brain to improve healthy decision-making, new study indicates

Turning plastic waste into valuable resources: A new photocatalytic approach

Sea otters help kelp forests recover — but how fast depends on where they are

Study links intense energy bursts to ventilator-induced lung injury

Uncovering the protein complex critical to male fertility

Scientists discover how a naturally occurring mechanism hampers fertility

Integrated framework for ecological security: A case study of the Daqing river basin

New design paradigm boosts reconfigurable intelligent surface efficiency

Long-term cocaine use may increase impulsivity

How London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone is changing the school run

Breakthrough CRISPR-based test offers faster, more accurate diagnosis for fungal pneumonia

3D-printed knee implants improves quality and reliability

UC San Diego innovators to spotlight transformative science at SXSW 2025

Burning question: How to save an old-growth forest in Tahoe

SwRI, U-Michigan engineers create more effective burner to reduce methane emissions

Dental implants still functional after forty years

A hot droplet can bounce across a cool pan, too

Synthetic microbiome therapy suppresses bacterial infection without antibiotics

[Press-News.org] Glued to your cell phone? Research suggests it may reduce your physical activity and fitness