Purpose: Examine the association of visits to the natural environment, connectedness to nature, physical activity, and the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in individuals aged 18 years or older. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: City of Vila Real, located in the north of Portugal. Subjects: We recruited 194 individuals (61 men and 133 women) aged 18-75 years. Mesures: A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure nature visits, connectedness to nature, PEBs, and demographic characteristics. Neighborhood green space was appreciated through a Simplified Land Occupation Map and physical activity was measured using ActiGraph accelerometers (wGT3X-BT). Analysis: Correlations and nonlinear canonical correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. The coefficients of canonical and multiple correlations were calculated. Results: Nature visits were associated with involvement in environmental volunteering (V = .317, P ≤ .05) among men. In these, higher levels of moderate-vigorous PA were associated with green travel behavior (η ² = .325, P ≤ .05). Connectedness with nature was related (P ≤ .05) to private sphere behaviors, such as purchase of eco-products (η2 = .191) and local/seasonal products (η2 = .186) in females and encouraging care and protection of natural environment (η2 = .336, P ≤ .01) in males. Conclusions: Nature visits, connection to nature, and physical activity levels were related to the adoption of PEBs in the private and public sphere, and these relationships differed between men and women.

Home gardening has a long history that started when humans became sedentary, being traditionally considered an accessible source of food and medicinal plants to treat common illnesses. With trends towards urbanization and industrialization, particularly in the post-World War II period, the importance of home gardens as important spaces for growing food and medicinal plants reduced and they began to be increasingly seen as decorative and leisure spaces. However, the growing awareness of the negative impacts of agricultural intensification and urbanization for human health, food quality, ecosystem resilience, and biodiversity conservation motivated the emergence of new approaches concerning home gardens. Societies began to question the potential of nearby green infrastructures to human wellbeing, food provisioning, and the conservation of traditional varieties, as well as providers of important services, such as ecological corridors for wild species and carbon sinks. In this context. and to foster adaptive and resilient social–ecological systems, our supported viewpoint intends to be more than an exhaustive set of perceptions, but a reflection of ideas about the important contribution of home gardens to sustainable development. We envision these humble spaces strengthening social and ecological components, by providing a set of diversified and intermingled goods and services for an increasingly urban population.

Connectedness to nature (CN) is a significant predictor of pro-environmental behaviours, human health and well-being. However, research on how this connection to the natural world might promote a more active lifestyle and improve body mass composition according to gender is lacking. This study investigated the influence of CN on physical activity (PA) and body composition in adults and older people. We recruited a sample of 219 individuals (77 men and 142 women), and a self-administered questionnaire was used to measure CN and obtain demographic data. Body composition was assessed by bioimpedance, and PA was assessed by accelerometry. Correlations and stepwise multiple regressions were used in data analysis. CN’s association with other variables was more pronounced in women than in men, and we only identified significant associations with steps/day and body composition. However, this variable would not be included in the regression models that we developed. Adiposity levels and muscle status were significant predictors of PA in women. In both genders, age, percentage of fat mass and fat-free mass were selected as regressors in the models developed for visceral fat area and muscle condition (R² Adjusted ≥ 0.908).

A growing body of evidence indicates that living close to nature is associated with better health and well-being. However, the literature still lacks studies analyzing the benefits of this proximity for sleep and obesity, particularly in women. The purpose of this study was to explore how distance to natural spaces is reflected in women’s physical activity, sleep, and adiposity levels. The sample consisted of 111 adult women (37.78 ± 14.70). Accessibility to green and blue spaces was assessed using a geographic-information-system-based method. Physical activity and sleep parameters were measured using ActiGraph accelerometers (wGT3X-BT), and body composition was assessed using octopolar bioimpedance (InBody 720). Nonlinear canonical correlation analysis was used to analyze the data. Our findings reveal that women living in green spaces close to their homes had lower levels of obesity and intra-abdominal adiposity. We also demonstrated that a shorter distance to green spaces seemed to correlate with better sleep onset latency. However, no relationship was found between physical activity and sleep duration. In relation to blue spaces, the distance to these environments was not related to any health indicator analyzed in this study.

Adequate exercise prescription requires a deep understanding of the body’s response to exercise. This study explored the responses of heart rate (HR), muscle oxygen saturation (SmO₂), and perceived exertion (RPE) during six body-weight squat exercise variations. A total of 15 recreationally active participants (age: 28.2 ± 8.0 years; body mass: 71.1 ± 11.2 kg; height: 1.73 ± 0.08 m) were recruited. Six body-weight squat variations (deep, jumping, single-leg, uneven, unstable, and wall-sit) were randomly performed for 90 s. Results revealed that the jumping squat promoted a higher average and peak HR (165.3 ± 14.5 and 146.1 ± 14.8 bpm, respectively), and a lower average SmO₂ and higher deoxygenation SmO₂ in the soleus muscle (40.3 ± 15.4 and 46.0 ± 11.4%, accordingly). No differences were observed in recovery time or in the same SmO₂ derived-parameters in the vastus lateralis muscle. The jumping variation promoted a greater response at a physiological level, both centrally, related to cardiovascular response, and peripherally, related to soleus SmO₂. It was also the more demanding variation at both the overall and lower limb muscular level of RPE. This holistic view allows a precise identification of the response patterns in body-weight squat exercise variations to an acute session, with a training intervention providing additional information.

A força de preensão manual (FPM) e a aptidão física funcional (AFF) são indicadores importantes da capacidade funcional do idoso. Este estudo teve como objetivo caracterizar e investigar a relação entre a FPM e AFF em octogenários e nonagenários. A FPM, a AFF, a prática de atividade física auto-reportada e variáveis antropométricas foram avaliadas em 124 octogenários e 35 nonagenários, de ambos os géneros do Interior Norte de Portugal. Numa amostra com elevados níveis de adiposidade total e central (28,3±4,8 kg/m2 e 97,8±12,5 cm respetivamente) e fraca AFF ( ˃ 40% no Percentil 10) os homens evidenciaram, comparativamente às mulheres, uma maior FPM (octogenários: ♂ 27,8±1,3 kgf e ♀ 16,5±0,5 kgf; nonagenários: ♂ 22,6±1,5 kgf e ♀ 14,9±1,5 kgf. Nos octogenários, a FPM apresentou uma correlação significativa com a AFF e nos nonagenários, essa correlação apenas foi significativa no teste de aptidão cardiorrespiratória (r= 0,498, p˂0,01). Concluímos que melhores valores de FPM estão relacionados com níveis mais elevados de AFF em octogenários e a uma melhor condição cardiorrespiratória em nonagenários.