Athens 2004: the pollution climate and athletic performance

Athens sits in a basin approximately 450 km2 in area, surrounded by mountains and open sea. Anthropogenic emissions in conjunction with the topographical and meteorological conditions can result in high air pollution within the city. The pollutants of concern for athletes competing in Athens 2004 appear to be nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone and particulate (PM10) pollution. Exposure to elevated ozone concentrations has been reported to give rise to symptoms that include cough, chest pain, difficulty in breathing, headache, eye irritation and a decrease in forced expiratory volume in one second. All of these effects are likely to impact upon performance, and several studies of cyclists suggest this to be the case. In contrast, the impact of ambient concentrations of NO2 appears to be negligible on normal activities, but at high exercise intensities the impact remains unclear. The use of currently available information and models to predict the effect of ozone and other pollutants on elite athletes is problematical, since such models are based upon significantly lower ventilation rates than those achieved by some elite athletes. In addition, it is already known that the response to ozone can vary somewhat between individuals. Since the individuals who will be competing in Athens are physiologically very different to the participants in most published studies, it is difficult to predict individual responses. There is some evidence to indicate that adaptation to the adverse health and performance effects of ozone can occur, so that performance is partially recovered on re-exposure. The adaptation is not seen in all studies and appears to be dependent on several factors, including the initial sensitivity of the individual to ozone. Antioxidant supplementation has also been shown in some studies to partially ameliorate the adverse effects of ozone by counteracting the oxidative stress mechanism associated with this pollutant. Whether this transfers to performance enhancement per se remains unclear at present. Additional research is required to gain a sound understanding of the effects of a complex mixed air pollution exposure on the pulmonary function and performance of athletes exercising at high work intensities.     

Changing the environment to promote health-enhancing physical activity

Supportive environments have been used to change and influence health behaviours like smoking. While psychological and ecological theories and models demonstrate the possible influences of the environment on health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA), little is known about the effectiveness of the environmental interventions. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of studies that used environmental interventions to increase health-enhancing physical activity. Two groups of studies were found, studies that changed the physical environment by creating new HEPA facilities, policies and supporting mechanisms, and studies that used the elements of the environment as an active or sedentary 'point of choice', via educational materials to promote stair use. Environmental change studies showed a small increase on HEPA behaviour, but the relative impact of environment changes was not evaluated. A number of before and after studies have observed a weak effect of a simple environmental change to stimulate stair climbing while travelling or shopping. Current national policy has embraced the environment as an option for promoting health-enhancing physical activity, especially active travel, in spite of the lack of effectiveness data. It is recommended that existing or planned public health environment and HEPA initiatives should use appropriate evaluation methods to assess their efficacy and effectiveness. Further developmental research into the nature of the relationship of the environment to particular HEPA behaviours is strongly recommended before developing new environmental interventions.     

Using the Ecosystemic Approach to Change Chronic Problem Behaviour in Primary Schools

This paper describes a small‐scale study of what the authors describe as the ecosystemic approach to changing chronic problem behaviour. The study was undertaken with a group of twelve Leicestershire primary teachers. The technique is briefly described and then teachers' responses to it and its effectiveness are discussed. Four case study examples are presented and finally its potential is considered. Although in this case the work was undertaken with primary teachers, this is an approach which could also be useful at secondary level.     

‘[We're on the right track,baby], we were born this way’! Exploring sports participation in Norway

Based on quantitative data from the Norwegian Statistisk Sentralbyrå (Statistics Norway) study of Mosjon, Friluftsliv og Kulturaktiviteter, this paper explores trends in Norwegians' participation in sports, with a focus on young people. Norway boasts particularly high levels of sports participation as well as sports club membership and young Norwegians are the quintessential sporting omnivores. Among other things, the Statistics Norway study reveals substantial increases in participation (among young people and females especially) during the period 1997–2007, a shift in the peak of participation to the late teenage years, a relatively high level of lifelong participants, a re-bound effect in the post-child rearing years and a growth in lifestyle sports. Young Norwegians grow up in a socio-economic context of relative equality between the sexes and high standards of living. An abundance of natural and artificial outdoor and indoor sporting facilities alongside a well-established voluntary sports club sector and an elementary school system that emphasizes physical exercise and recreation, as well as high levels of parental involvement, add to the favourable socio-economic conditions to create seemingly optimal circumstances for sports participation. All these reinforce the sporting and physical recreation cultures deeply embedded in Norwegian society and embodied by the very many middle-class parents in a country which, for the time being at least, remains relatively young in demographic terms. In terms of lessons to be learned for policy towards sports and physical education beyond Norway, there may be grounds for some optimism around parental involvement in children's sport as well as the potential appeal of lifestyle sports. That said, it is likely to be the greater socio-economic equalities in Scandinavian countries such as Norway that make them unrealistic benchmarks for sports participation elsewhere.