With life expectancy increasing for the general population, public health promotion activities should be a priority to aim at a reduction of the burden and costs of hospitalization, disability, and lifelong treatment. This study aimed to explore the influence of parameters pertaining to different aspects of well-being, including physical and mental health and cognitive functioning, on self-perceived health, a predictor of chronic disease prevalence and mortality. We used data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) project gathered between 2013 and 2017, obtaining a sample of 96,902 participants (63.23 ± 6.77 years). We found a strong association between the self-perceived health rating and not only physical health aspects but also mental health and cognitive functioning. In particular, BMI, chronic diseases and medications, muscle strength, and mobility issues had a strong effect on self-perceived health, as also did the quality of life, depression, and verbal fluency, while other aspects, such as individual characteristics, limitations in daily activities, and pain, among others only had a small effect. These results show that public health and prevention interventions should prioritize the targeting of all aspects of well-being and not only of physical health, acknowledging self-perceived health rating as a simple tool that could help provide a complete overview of psycho-physical well-being and functional status.

We investigated how visual and kinaesthetic/efferent information is integrated for speed perception in running. Twelve moderately trained to trained subjects ran on a treadmill at three different speeds (8, 10, 12 km/h) in front of a moving virtual scene. They were asked to match the visual speed of the scene to their running speed–i.e., treadmill’s speed. For each trial, participants indicated whether the scene was moving slower or faster than they were running. Visual speed was adjusted according to their response using a staircase until the Point of Subjective Equality (PSE) was reached, i.e., until visual and running speed were perceived as equivalent. For all three running speeds, participants systematically underestimated the visual speed relative to their actual running speed. Indeed, the speed of the visual scene had to exceed the actual running speed in order to be perceived as equivalent to the treadmill speed. The underestimation of visual speed was speed-dependent, and percentage of underestimation relative to running speed ranged from 15% at 8km/h to 31% at 12km/h. We suggest that this fact should be taken into consideration to improve the design of attractive treadmill-mediated virtual environments enhancing engagement into physical activity for healthier lifestyles and disease prevention and care.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease related to upper and lower motor neurons degeneration. Although the environmental and genetic causes of this disease are still unclear, some factors involved in ALS onset such as oxidative stress may be influenced by diet. A higher risk of ALS has been correlated with a high fat and glutamate intake and β-methylamino-L-alanine. On the contrary, a diet based on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, such as curcumin, creatine, coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin C, and phytochemicals could reduce the risk of ALS. However, data are controversial as there is a discrepancy among different studies due to a limited number of samples and the many variables that are involved. In addition, an improper diet could lead to an altered microbiota and consequently to an altered metabolism that could predispose to the ALS onset. In this review we summarized some research that involve aspects related to ALS such as the epidemiology, the diet, the eating behaviour, the microbiota, and the metabolic diseases. Further research is needed to better comprehend the role of diet and the metabolic diseases in the mechanisms leading to ALS onset and progression.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? Do obesity‐specific factors affect skeletal muscle performance in older individuals? What is the main finding and its importance? Older obese women have a larger quadriceps femoris size but develop lower tension per unit of skeletal muscle than their normal‐weight counterparts. Muscle impairment and excess body mass are very common among older people. Given that the effect of obesity on strength production has scarcely been studied in older individuals, we analysed functional and structural characteristics of quadriceps femoris (QF) in obese (OB) and normal‐weight (NW) older women with comparable habitual physical activity. In five OB (body mass index 36.8 ± 1.9 kg m⁻², age 72.4 ± 2.3 years) and six NW well‐functioning older women (body mass index 24.3 ± 1.8 kg m⁻², age 72.7 ± 1.9 years), peak knee‐extension torque (KET) was measured in isometric (90 deg knee flexion) and isokinetic conditions (240, 180, 120 and 60 deg s⁻¹). Mid‐thigh QF cross‐sectional area (CSA) and muscle tissue fat content (MF%) were determined with magnetic resonance imaging (Dixon sequence). Muscle fascicle length and pennation angle (PA) were assessed with ultrasonography for each muscle belly of the QF (vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, rectus femoris and vastus intermedius). Despite similar values of KET, CSA was 17.0% larger in OB than in NW women (P < 0.05), so that KET/CSA was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in OB women. Compared with NW women, OB women had 28.7% higher MF% (P < 0.05) and 24.9% higher average PA (P < 0.05), while fascicle length was similar. Overall, isometric KET/CSA was negatively affected by both MF% (P < 0.05) and PA (P < 0.05), while isokinetic KET/CSA was negatively affected only by MF% (P < 0.01). Muscle composition and architecture seem to be important determinants of KET/CSA in elderly women. In fact, owing to the effect of obesity overload, OB women have a larger QF size than NW women, but unfavourable muscle composition and architecture. The higher MF% and steeper PA observed in OB women are associated with reduced levels of muscle specific strength.

We investigated how the size of the horizontal field of view (FoV) affects visual speed perception with individuals running on a treadmill. Twelve moderately trained to trained participants ran on a treadmill at two different speeds (8 and 12 km/h) in front of a moving virtual scene. Different masks were used to manipulate the visible visual field, masking either the central or the peripheral area of the virtual scene or showing the full visual field. We asked participants to match the visual speed of the scene to their actual running speed. For each trial, participants indicated whether the scene was moving faster or slower than they were running. Visual speed was adjusted according to the responses using a staircase method until the Point of Subjective Equality was reached, that is until visual and running speed were perceived as matching. For both speeds and all FoV conditions, participants underestimated visual speed relative to the actual running speed. However, this underestimation was significant only when the peripheral FoV was masked. These results confirm that the size of the FoV should absolutely be taken into account for the design of treadmill-mediated virtual environments (VEs).

In virtual reality, visual speed is usually underestimated relative to locomotor speed. Here we investigated how physical activity and fitness affect perceived visual speed when running in a treadmill-mediated virtual environment. Thirty healthy participants (ten sedentary individuals, ten team sport players and ten expert runners) ran on a treadmill at two different speeds (8, 12km/h) in front of a moving virtual scene. Participants were asked to match the speed of the visual scene to their running speed (i.e. treadmill speed), indicating for each trial whether the scene was moving slower or faster than the treadmill. The speed of the visual scene was adjusted according to the participant’s response using a staircase until visual and running speeds were perceived as equivalent. More sedentary participants underestimated visual speed relative to their actual running speed. Specifically, visual speed had to exceed running speed to be perceived as equivalent. The underestimation of visual speed was speed-dependent, and it was significantly larger for sedentary participants than for team sports players and expert runners. The volume of physical activity per week was found to be the best predictor of visual speed perception for both running speeds, while the perceived effort constituted a good predictor only at 8km/h. Physical fitness, on the other hand turned out to be a poor predictor of visual speed perception. Therefore, in order to enhance users’ engagement and their adherence to physical activity programs, the development of “personalized” treadmill-mediated virtual environments should take into account users’ personal characteristics to provide the most natural and engaging feedback possible.