The consequences of cardiovascular diseases are substantial and include increasing numbers of morbidity and mortality. With a population getting more and more inactive and having a sedentary lifestyle, the risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes rises. This dissertation reports on people …

Background: Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with physical fitness and, to a lesser extent, physical activity. Lifestyle interventions directed at enhancing physical fitness in order to decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases should be extended. To enable the development of effective lifestyle …

Physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) are inversely associated with the clustering of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (RF) associated with the metabolic syndrome (MS). However, the role of individual components of PA, that is, intensity, duration and volume, and the inter-relationship …

Both exercise training and a lifestyle-intervention program increase UCP3 protein content inskeletal muscle of subjects with reduced glycaemic control, indicating a restoration towards normal UCP3 levels. These data support the idea that UCP3 has a role in the aetiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective: To determine the effects on energy expenditure, health and fitness outcomes after 12 months of GALM. Methods: Subjects from matched neighbourhoods were assigned to an intervention (IG) (n = 79) or a waiting-list control group (CG) (n = 102). During the 12 months the IG attended two series of …

Objective: To determine the effects on energy expenditure, health and fitness outcomes in sedentary older adults aged 55-65 after 6-month participation in the GALM program. Methods: In three Dutch communities, subjects from matched neighbourhoods were assigned to an intervention (n = 79) or a waiting-list …