Research group leader: Pedro J. Teixeira

This research group focuses on behavioral and psychosocial aspects of physical activity and exercise, nutrition and eating behavior, and obesity/weight control. Key research topics include:

• The study of motivational, self-regulatory, and behavioral predictors of healthful eating, physical activity, and weight control.
• The use of self-determination theory to understand and influence motivation and self-regulation of energy balance-related behaviors, especially physical activity.
• The role of physical activity/exercise behaviors in weight management, namely its association with weight-related outcomes, body image, and psychological well-being.
• Developing measurement instruments to capture self-regulation, motivation, physical activity/exercise, and eating behaviors, building a national repository available in open and free access.

Research group leader: Fátima M. Baptista

The research activities are carried out through interdisciplinary studies and aim to understand how physical activity and fitness determines peak bone mass, osteopenia, and falls. Current research themes include:

• The study of relation between mechanical loading (physical activity and muscle mass) and bone mass distribution of several hip regions, particularly in regions where hip fractures are more usual
• The study of geometric characteristics and morphology of the proximal femur and how they moderate the effect of mechanical loading by activities of daily living on BMD of fracture-critical regions.
• The study of radial and tibial speed of sound for assessing bone health and screening bone fragility in youth.
• The study of physical activity and fitness in falls and injuries occurrence, in fear of falling, and in loss of autonomy in elderly people.

Research group leader: Analiza M. Silva

This program aims to increase knowledge about the research areas in human body composition not by merely describing the various body components, but by integrating their valuable function.

The implementation of this program has been focused on the development of four research lines:

• Interaction between functional body composition, physical fitness, and metabolic parameters in physical performance and health.
• Cellular and extracellular hydration in physical performance and health.
• Physical activity, sedentary behavior, functional body composition and energy regulation.
• Development and validity of models and methods for body composition and energy expenditure assessment, including the dynamic modeling of body components under energy balance regulation.

Research group leader: Helena Santa-Clara

Our research is focused in 4 major areas:

• Design, implementation and assessment of exercise interventions for cardiovascular prevention and treatment (chronic disease patients and pediatric population).
• Exercise and chronic adaptations of autonomic nervous system (pediatric population and adults with heart diseases)
• Associations among multiple cardiovascular risk factors and imaging preclinical markers of atherosclerosis in children and CVD patients in the chronic and acute exercise model.
• Interaction between body composition, physical fitness, and metabolic parameters in chronic disease patients and pediatric population.

• Analiza M. Silva
• Fátima M. Baptista
• Helena Santa-Clara
• Luís B. Sardinha
• Pedro J. Teixeira

• Eliana V. Carraça (FCT)
• Margarida Carrolo (FCT)
• Marlene N. Silva (FCT)
• Marta M. Marques (FCT)
  

• Ana M. Andrade (FCT)
• Catarina N. Matias (FCT)
• Diana A. Santos (FCT)
• Gonzalo Saco
• Inês C. Santos (FCT)
• João P. Magalhães (FCT)
• Maria C. Rosado
• Maria G. Cardadeiro (FCT)
• Nuno M. Pimenta
• Pedro B. Júdice (FCT)
• Vera L. Zymbal (FCT)
• Xavier M. Castanheira (FCT)

• Ângela M. Pereira
• António Palmeira
• Catarina L. Pereira
• Cláudia S. Minderico
• David A. Fields
• David Markland
• Edilson S. Cyrino
• Édio L. Petroski
• Ezequiel M. Gonçalves
• Hugo Pereira
• João Silva
• Jutta Mata
• Kathleen F. Janz
• Lisa Soeiro
• Luís A. Gobbo
• Luís A. Rodrigues
• Madalena Mascaranhas
• Mafalda C. Gonçalves
• Maria P. Vasconcelos
• Marta Marques
• Miguel M. Machado
• Miguel Mendes
• Paulo M. Rocha
• Rita Tomás
• Rui Ornelas
• Teresa Tomás

FITescola is an interactive web based platform designed for sedentary and physical activity behaviours, and physical fitness education of children. This educational toolkit provides detailed monitoring and counseling of these behaviours and attributes, and generate personalized written suggestions that can help children to tailor their energy expenditure related behaviours and improve fitness. Through online platform, FITescola helps children to better self-regulate their energy expenditure behaviours, improve physical fitness, and nurture and develop collaborative innovative networks with peers, teachers and parents.

The COMMUNITY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT Program (www.pesocomunitario.net) is a community obesity prevention program, running at FMH since 2005, having reached so far over 1000 participants. It consists of 6-8 educational sessions open to all, regardless of age, obesity level or risk factors status. It is free of charge. The program's main goals are to promote physical activity and a healthy, calorie-balanced nutrition. It aims at increasing knowledge and developing cognitive and behavioral strategies of self-management regarding one’s weight and health, with a focus on self-regulatory and motivational aspects. Lecturers include researchers and well-recognized professionals in Sports Sciences, Nutrition or Dietetics, Psychology, and Medicine, all experts in the prevention and/or treatment of obesity.

The EXERCISE AND HEALTHY AGING Program started in September 1993, and consists of a supervised exercise program for elderly subjects from the Oeiras County. It aims at maintaining or improving functional capacity, including aerobic, resistance, flexibility, balance, and mobility exercises adapted to the physical function of each participant in order to prevent sarcopenia and osteoporosis, and to improve cardiovascular health.

The EXERCISE AND OSTEOPOROSIS Program started in 1998 and consists of a supervised exercise program with elderly subjects. It aims at preventing bone loss and fall occurrence, and it includes aerobic with or without bearing exercise, coordination and strength training of skeletal regions most susceptible to osteoporotic fracture..

The CARDIAC REABILITATION program started in 1991 in order to respond to the community, research and educational needs. FMH has a national and international recognized knowledge due to its research work (papers and abstracts published in peer-review scientific journals, and presentation of several works on scientific meetings). In the educational/instruction field, this program, which takes place in the FMH facilities, has allowed pedagogic teaching training. The difficulties inherent in implementing and maintaining a program with this technical features for 21 years, place FMH in a prominent and unique position in Portugal.

The NATIONAL WEIGHT CONTROL REGISTRY program (www.registodopeso.net) was launched in April 2008 and aims at gathering information from the Portuguese adult population about factors associated with successful weight loss and maintenance. The registry is composed of adults who have succeeded in losing at least 5 kg having maintained that weight loss (or a larger weight loss) for at least 1 year. Participants voluntarily chose to join the register into the study. This project is based on a similar registry in the USA led by James Hill, PhD and Rena Wing, PhD. In 2013, the study had over 350 participants registered. This registry reports its results both in scientific papers, articles of general interest, and also through its website.

The EXERCISE IS MEDICINE program promotes public awareness of physical activity, health, and wellness, and the importance of health service providers in maintaining and improving health and wellness. Further promotes the concept that physical activity: (1) is integral to the prevention, cure and care of disease and should be a standard part of the disease prevention and treatment paradigm; (2) should be regularly assessed as part of all medical practice; and, (3) should be considered a vital sign by all health care providers for patients to be effectively counseled by their physician, including referral to a qualified health and fitness professional for further counseling and prescription.