Dr. Matus-Castillo, Carlos

La pandemia del COVID-19 modificó los estilos de vida de la población mundial, debido a las medidas de confinamiento para reducir la actividad social masiva. Esto aumentó los niveles de inactividad física y sus riesgos para la salud. Por ello, el Ministerio de Salud de Chile estableció una banda horaria exclusiva para la práctica de actividad física. Los objetivos del estudio fueron conocer las percepciones de los usuarios y las características de la actividad física realizada durante la banda horaria. Se empleó un enfoque interpretativo, de diseño cualitativo, mediante un estudio de caso, con una entrevista personal y presencial. El instrumento fue un guion semiestructurado, aplicado a once sujetos adultos de ambos sexos, con edades entre los 24 y 69 años, que realizaban actividad física en un parque de la ciudad de Concepción, Chile, durante el año 2021. Los resultados indican que las personas realizaban actividades físicas por placer, para cuidar la salud y socializar, y reportaron sentirse con energía durante el día. Manifestaron un alto nivel de satisfacción con esta medida y una alta motivación hacia la práctica de actividad física, pero sugirieron ampliar el horario de la mañana e introducir una nueva banda en la tarde. Por otro lado, realizaron actividades físicas preferiblemente grupales, de cuatro a siete veces por semana, y de una a dos horas de duración. En conclusión, las percepciones hacia la banda horaria fueron positivas, y las características de las prácticas físicas contribuyeron significativamente a mejorar la salud y el bienestar durante el confinamiento.

Background: Handgrip strength is an indicator of frailty in older people. Aim: To determine the prevalence of low handgrip strength in older Chilean adults. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 244 individuals aged 60 years or more, participating in the 2016-2017 Chilean National Health Survey, was carried out. Handgrip strength was evaluated by a hand dynamometer and low grip strength was determined as a grip strength ≤ 15 kg and ≤ 27 kg for women and men, respectively. Results: Twenty nine percent of participants had low grip strength. The average grip strength among 60-year-old men and women was 34.7 and 22.1 kg, respectively. These figures decreased to 28.8 kg and 17.2 kg among 90-year-old men and women, respectively. The prevalence of low grip strength in men and women aged 60 years was 18%. In 90-year-old men and women, these figures increased to 79% and 56.3%, respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of low grip strength increased substantially with age.

Background: Although the importance of walking for promoting a better cardiometabolic health is widely known (this includes both cardiovascular and metabolic/endocrine systems), there is little knowledge regarding its appropriate pace to provide adults with more cardiometabolic benefits. Aim: To analyze the associations between different walking pace categories and cardiometabolic health markers in the adult Chilean population. Methods: Cross-sectional study. A total of 5520 participants aged 15 to 90 years old from the Chilean National Health Survey (CNHS) 2016–2017 were included. Walking pace categories (slow, average, and brisk) were collected through self-reported methods. Glycaemia, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), vitamin D2, vitamin D3, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and lipid profile (Total, HDL, LDL, VLDL, No HDL cholesterol and triglycerides) were determined using blood sample tests and measured with the standardized methods described in the CNHS 2016–2017. Results: People who had a brisk walking pace were associated with lower levels of glycaemia, HbA1c, GGT, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and higher vitamin D3 levels compared with those with a slow walking pace. Moreover, people with a brisk walking pace had lower levels of VLDL cholesterol compared with those with a slow walking pace. However, after adjusting the model to include sociodemographic background, nutritional status, and lifestyle variables, the differences remained only for glycaemia, HbA1c and systolic blood pressure levels. Conclusions: A brisk walking pace was associated with better cardiometabolic health markers and lipid profile compared with a slow walking pace.