A growing understanding of the benefits of exercise over the past few decades has prompted researchers to take an interest in the possibilities of exercise therapy. Because each sport has its own set of characteristics and physiological complications that tend to occur during exercise training, the effects and underlying mechanisms of exercise remain unclear. Thus, the first step in probing the effects of exercise on different diseases is the selection of an optimal exercise protocol. This review summarizes the latest exercise prescription treatments for 26 different diseases: musculoskeletal system diseases (low back pain, tendon injury, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and hip fracture), metabolic system diseases (obesity, type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), cardio-cerebral vascular system diseases (coronary artery disease, stroke, and chronic heart failure), nervous system diseases (Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, depression, and anxiety disorders), respiratory system diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, and after lung transplantation), urinary system diseases (chronic kidney disease and after kidney transplantation), and cancers (breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer). Each exercise prescription is displayed in a corresponding table. The recommended type, intensity, and frequency of exercise prescriptions are summarized, and the effects of exercise therapy on the prevention and rehabilitation of different diseases are discussed.

As age increases, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases, which is associated with senile skeletal muscle dysfunction. During skeletal muscle aging, mitochondrial dysfunction, intramyocellular lipid accumulation, increased inflammation, oxidative stress, modified activity of insulin sensitivity regulatory enzymes, endoplasmic reticulum stress, decreased autophagy, sarcopenia and over-activated renin-angiotensin system may occur. These changes can impair skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes during skeletal muscle aging. This review of the mechanism of the increased risk of insulin resistance during skeletal muscle aging will provide a more comprehensive explanation for the increased incidence of type 2 diabetes in elderly individuals, and will also provide a more comprehensive perspective for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes in elderly populations.

China is experiencing significant public health challenges related to social and demographic transitions and lifestyle transformations following unprecedented economic reforms four decades ago. Of particular public health concern is the fourfold increase in overweight and obesity rates in the nation’s youth population, coupled with the low prevalence of adolescents meeting recommended levels of physical activity. Improving the overall health of China’s more than 170 million children and adolescents has become a national priority. However, advancing nationwide health initiatives and physical activity promotion in this population has been hampered by the lack of a population-specific and culturally relevant consensus on recommendations for achieving these ends. To address this deficiency and inform policies to achieveHealthy China 2030goals, a panel of Chinese experts, complemented by international professionals, developed this consensus statement. The consensus was achieved through an iterative process that began with a literature search from electronic databases; in-depth reviews, conducted by a steering committee, of the resulting articles; and panel group evaluations and discussions in the form of email correspondence, conference calls and written communications. Ultimately, the panel agreed on 10 major themes with strong scientific evidence that, in children and adolescents aged 6–17, participating in moderate to vigorous physical activities led to multiple positive health outcomes. Our consensus statement also (1) highlights major challenges in promoting physical activity, (2) identifies future research that addresses current knowledge gaps, and (3) provides recommendations for teachers, education experts, parents and policymakers for promoting physical activity among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. This consensus statement aligns with international efforts to develop global physical activity guidelines to promote physical activity and health and prevent lifestyle-related diseases in children and adolescents. More importantly, it provides a foundation for developing culturally appropriate and effective physical activity interventions, health promotion strategies and policy initiatives to improve the health of Chinese children and adolescents.

To review the effects of core stability exercise or general exercise for patients with chronic low back pain (LBP). Exercise therapy appears to be effective at decreasing pain and improving function for patients with chronic LBP in practice guidelines. Core stability exercise is becoming increasingly popular for LBP. However, it is currently unknown whether core stability exercise produces more beneficial effects than general exercise in patients with chronic LBP. Published articles from 1970 to October 2011 were identified using electronic searches. For this meta-analysis, two reviewers independently selected relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating core stability exercise versus general exercise for the treatment of patients with chronic LBP. Data were extracted independently by the same two individuals who selected the studies. From the 28 potentially relevant trials, a total of 5 trials involving 414 participants were included in the current analysis. The pooling revealed that core stability exercise was better than general exercise for reducing pain [mean difference (−1.29); 95% confidence interval (−2.47, −0.11); P = 0.003] and disability [mean difference (−7.14); 95% confidence interval (−11.64, −2.65); P = 0.002] at the time of the short-term follow-up. However, no significant differences were observed between core stability exercise and general exercise in reducing pain at 6 months [mean difference (−0.50); 95% confidence interval (−1.36, 0.36); P = 0.26] and 12 months [mean difference (−0.32); 95% confidence interval (−0.87, 0.23); P = 0.25]. Compared to general exercise, core stability exercise is more effective in decreasing pain and may improve physical function in patients with chronic LBP in the short term. However, no significant long-term differences in pain severity were observed between patients who engaged in core stability exercise versus those who engaged in general exercise. http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO PROSPERO registration number: CRD42011001717.