Tobacco and cannabis use, alcohol consumption and inactivity are health risk behaviors (HRB) of crucial importance for health and wellbeing. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students’ engagement in HRB has yet received limited attention. We investigated whether HRB changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, assessed factors associated with change and profiles of HRB changes in university students. A web-based survey was conducted in May 2020, including 5021 students of four German universities (69% female, the mean age of 24.4 years (SD = 5.1)). Sixty-one percent of students reported consuming alcohol, 45.8% binge drinking, 44% inactivity, 19.4% smoking and 10.8% cannabis use. While smoking and cannabis use remained unchanged during the COVID-19 pandemic, 24.4% reported a decrease in binge drinking while 5.4% reported an increase. Changes to physical activity were most frequently reported, with 30.6% reporting an increase and 19.3% reporting a decrease in vigorous physical activity. Being female, younger age, being bored, not having a trusted person and depressive symptoms were factors associated with a change in HRB. Five substance use behavior profiles were identified, which also remained fairly unchanged. Efforts to promote student health and wellbeing continue to be required, also in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Regular physical activity (PA) is of central importance for healthy ageing. However, in Germany, only 42% of older adults currently reach the PA recommendations of the World Health Organization. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of two web-based interventions on PA in adults aged 65-75 years living in Northwestern Germany compared to a delayed intervention control group (CG). 589 older adults were randomized to one of the three groups. Participants in intervention group 1 (IG1) received access to a web-based intervention for ten weeks assisting them in self-tracking PA behavior. Participants in IG2 received the intervention of IG1 and additionally an activity tracker to objectively track PA behavior. To analyze differences in objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous PA and sedentary time between baseline and follow-up (12 weeks after baseline), linear mixed models were used. The interaction effects revealed a decrease in minutes spent on moderate-to-vigorous PA in bouts of 10 min by 11 min per week in IG1 participants (β = -11.08, 95% CI: (-35.03; 12.87)). In comparison, IG2 participants were 7 min more physically active at follow-up (β = 7.48, 95% CI: (-17.64; 32.60)). Sedentary time in bouts of 30 min per week increased in IG1 participants (β = 106.77, 95% CI: (-47.69; 261.23)) and decreased in IG2 participants at follow-up (β = -16.45, 95% CI: (-178.83; 145.94)). Participation in the two web-based interventions did not lead to significant increases in moderate-to-vigorous PA or significant decreases in sedentary time compared to the CG. The study was registered at the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00010052, 07-11-2016).

A global target of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to reduce physical inactivity among all adults and adolescents by approximately fifteen percent by 2030. Social media could have an impact in this effort because of its enormous reach, potentially addressing underserved populations in need for physical activity (PA) interventions. This scoping review provides a broad overview of social media-based interventions and systematically maps the evidence regarding their effectiveness for PA promotion and other health outcomes. Scopus and Medline were searched using the terms “physical activity” and “social media” and the names of key social media platforms. Following the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, abstracts and full texts were screened for eligibility. In total, 12,321 publications were identified and 53 met the inclusion criteria. The use of Facebook was most prevalent in PA interventions, followed by study-specific platforms. More than one third of the studies revealed positive effects regarding the promotion of PA. Additionally, social media-based interventions positively affected other physical dimensions of health (e.g., weight or blood pressure). Results pertaining to feasibility were heterogeneous. Social media seems to be a promising tool for increasing PA at the population level. Future studies should take the abundance of platforms into account and select social media platforms consciously.

Background: Fewer than half of older German adults engage in the recommended levels of endurance training. Objective: The study aim is to compare the acceptance and effectiveness of two interventions for physical activity (PA) promotion among initially inactive community-dwelling older adults ≥60 years in a 9-month, crossover randomized trial. Methods: Participants were recruited in person and randomized to one of the following interventions for self-monitoring PA: a print-based intervention (PRINT: 113/242, 46.7%) or a web-based intervention (WEB: 129/242, 53.3%). Furthermore, 29.5% (38/129) of those in the web-based intervention group received a PA tracker in addition to WEB (WEB+). After randomization, the participants and researchers were not blinded. The participants’ baseline intervention preferences were retrospectively assessed. All the intervention groups were offered 10 weekly face-to-face group sessions. Afterward, participants could choose to stay in their group or cross over to one of the other groups, and group sessions were continued monthly for another 6 months. 3D accelerometers to assess PA and sedentary behavior (SB) at baseline (T0), 3-month follow-up (T1), and 9-month follow-up (T2) were used. Adherence to PA recommendations, attendance of group sessions, and intervention acceptance were assessed using self-administered paper-based questionnaires. Linear mixed models were used to calculate differences in moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and SB between time points and intervention groups. Results: Of the 242 initially recruited participants, 91 (37.6%) were randomized to the WEB group; 38 (15.7%) to the WEB+ group; and 113 (46.7%) to the PRINT group. Overall, 80.6% (195/242) of the participants completed T1. Only 0.4% (1/242) of the participants changed from the WEB group to the PRINT group and 6.2% (15/242) moved from the PRINT group to the WEB group (WEB-WEB: 103/249, (41.4%); PRINT-PRINT: 76/249, 30.5%) when offered to cross over at T1. Furthermore, 66.1% (160/242) of participants completed T2. MVPA in minutes per day increased between baseline and T1, but these within-group changes disappeared after adjusting for covariates. MVPA decreased by 9 minutes per day between baseline and T2 (βtime=−9.37, 95% CI −18.58 to −0.16), regardless of the intervention group (WEB vs PRINT: βgroup*time=−3.76, 95% CI −13.33 to 5.82, WEB+ vs PRINT: βgroup*time=1.40, 95% CI −11.04 to 13.83). Of the participants, 18.6% (38/204) met the PA recommendations at T0, 16.4% (26/159) at T1, and 20.3% (28/138) at T2. For SB, there were no significant group differences or group-by-time interactions at T1 or T2. Intervention acceptance was generally high. The use of intervention material was high to moderate at T1 and decreased by T2. Conclusions: There was little movement between intervention groups at T1 when given the choice, and participation was not associated with increases in PA or decreases in SB over time. Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00016073; https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00016073

Background: By explaining the development of health inequalities, eco-social theories highlight the importance of social environments that children are embedded in. The most important environment during early childhood is the family, as it profoundly influences children’s health through various characteristics. These include family processes, family structure/size, and living conditions, and are closely linked to the socioeconomic position (SEP) of the family. Although it is known that the SEP contributes to health inequalities in early childhood, the effects of family characteristics on health inequalities remain unclear. The objective of this scoping review is to synthesise existing research on the mediating and moderating effects of family characteristics on socioeconomic health inequalities (HI) during early childhood in high-income countries. Methods: This review followed the methodology of “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews”. To identify German and English scientific peer-reviewed literature published from January 1^st, 2000, to December 19^th, 2019, the following search term blocks were linked with the logical operator “AND”: (1) family structure/size, processes, living conditions, (2) inequalities, disparities, diversities, (3) income, education, occupation, (4) health and (5) young children. The search covered the electronic databases PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Results: The search yielded 7,089 records. After title/abstract and full-text screening, only ten peer-reviewed articles were included in the synthesis, which analysed the effects of family characteristics on HI in early childhood. Family processes (i.e., rules /descriptive norms, stress, parental screen time, parent–child conflicts) are identified to have mediating or moderating effects. While families’ living conditions (i.e., TVs in children’s bedrooms) are suggested as mediating factors, family structure/size (i.e., single parenthood, number of children in the household) appear to moderate health inequalities. Conclusion: Family characteristics contribute to health inequalities in early childhood. The results provide overall support of models of family stress and family investment. However, knowledge gaps remain regarding the role of family health literacy, regarding a wide range of children’s health outcomes (e.g., oral health, inflammation parameters, weight, and height), and the development of health inequalities over the life course starting at birth.