Climate policies could improve air quality, thereby generating health benefits and thus increasing labour input for economic growth. Nevertheless, health benefits are usually overlooked in evaluation frameworks of climate policies. In this paper, a dynamic recursive computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is adopted to define how climate policies are related to air pollution, namely [Formula: see text] concentrations. Health benefits of climate policies are divided into reduction of [Formula: see text]-related morbidity and mortality. The CGE model results show that both carbon tax and emission trading scheme (ETS) decrease morbidity and mortality; therefore, under climate policies, [Formula: see text]-related labour loss decreases, and thus increasing labour input triggers an economic boom. Carbon tax generates more health benefits in short term, while health benefits of ETS policy will gradually increase in long term. Hence, we conclude that regarding health benefits, a long-term ETS policy is preferable to a long-term carbon tax. This finding implies that the recently established nationwide ETS market in China is meaningful, as it will generate more health benefits in future. Nevertheless, the quantified health benefits in this paper still cannot compensate GDP loss induced by climate policy implementations, implying that it is a challenging task to unbiasedly model health benefits of climate policies. Hence, we have recommended that the scopes and contents of health benefits should be expanded in evaluations of climate policies.

Over 80% of adults in the US fail to meet the ≥150 min weekly physical activity guideline; 40% age ≥ 75 are entirely inactive. The study purpose was to understand the reasons why community-dwelling older adults (age ≥ 60) from diverse backgrounds increase, sustain, or decline in their physical activity levels over time. Sixty-two older adults were interviewed. Two-thirds of the African Americans, 57% of the Afro-Caribbeans, and 50% of the European Americans reported being less active than 2-3 years ago. Reasons for activity decline included health issues (e.g., pain, shortness of breath), lack of time, interest, or motivation. Reasons for sustaining or increasing activity levels included meeting personal goals, having a purpose for remaining active, or feeling better when active (e.g., it is important to keep moving, good for the joints, going on a cruise). Themes identified were pride in maintaining activity, goal-driven activity, pushing oneself to get past pain or fatigue, and some confusion between social and physical activity in participant reports. The results indicate widespread acceptance that activity is beneficial, but that knowledge alone was insufficient to maintain activity levels over time unless individuals had a goal or purpose (\"means to an end\") and could overcome their physical and psychological barriers to physical activity.

To exploit the nutraceutical and biomedical potential of selected seaweed-derived polymers in an economically viable way, it is necessary to analyze and understand their quality and yield fluctuations throughout the seasons. In this study, the seasonal polysaccharide yield and respective quality were evaluated in three selected seaweeds, namely the agarophyte Gracilaria gracilis, the carrageenophyte Calliblepharis jubata (both red seaweeds) and the alginophyte Sargassum muticum (brown seaweed). It was found that the agar synthesis of G. gracilis did not significantly differ with the seasons (27.04% seaweed dry weight (DW)). In contrast, the carrageenan content in C. jubata varied seasonally, being synthesized in higher concentrations during the summer (18.73% DW). Meanwhile, the alginate synthesis of S. muticum exhibited a higher concentration (36.88% DW) during the winter. Therefore, there is a need to assess the threshold at which seaweed-derived polymers may have positive effects or negative impacts on human nutrition. Furthermore, this study highlights the three polymers, along with their known thresholds, at which they can have positive and/or negative health impacts. Such knowledge is key to recognizing the paradigm governing their successful deployment and related beneficial applications in humans.

Diesel vehicles are significant contributors to air pollution in Mexico City. We estimate the costs and mortality benefits of retrofitting heavy-duty vehicles with particulate filters and oxidation catalysts. The feasibility and cost-effectiveness of controls differ by vehicle model-year and type. We evaluate 1985 to 2014 model-year vehicles from 10 vehicle classes and five model-year groups. Our analysis shows that retrofitting all vehicles with the control that maximizes expected net benefits for that vehicle type and model-year group has the potential to reduce emissions of primary fine particles (PM2.5 ) by 950 metric tons/year; cut the population-weighted annual mean concentration of PM2.5 in Mexico City by 0.90 µg/m3 ; reduce the annual number of deaths attributable to air pollution by over 80; and generate expected annual health benefits of close to 250 million US$. These benefits outweigh expected costs of 92 million US$ per year. Diesel retrofits are but one step that should viewed in the context of other efforts--such as development of an integrated public transportation system, promotion of the rational use of cars, reduction of emissions from industrial sources and fires, and redesign of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area to reduce urban sprawl--that must be analyzed and implemented to substantially control air pollution and protect public health. Even if considering other potential public health interventions, which would offer greater benefits at the same or lower costs, only by conducting, promoting, and publishing this sort of analyses, we can make strides to improve public health cost-effectively.

An increase in private vehicle fleet and usage exacerbates the overuse of petroleum products, air quality degradation, and public health risks, among other drawbacks. This study investigated the energy and environmental benefits for private passenger vehicles under various scenarios in Metro Manila, the Philippines. The findings are informative to design policy implications for energy and environmental benefits. The study applied the Gaussian copula-based multinomial logit (MNL)-linear regression to develop the household vehicle ownership and energy consumption model using the disaggregated data of 1,795 households collected in 2017. The simulated vehicle fleet and energy consumption were then adopted to extrapolate energy demand, emissions, and public health risks for a 2010-2050 horizon using the bottom-up approach. Under the baseline scenario, the energy demand and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will reach 5.45 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) and 16.93 million tonnes (Mt) in 2050, respectively. The amounts of hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), particulate matter 10 (PM10) and particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) emissions, and economic loss of health risks will be 6,214 tonnes (t), 62,136 t, 536 t, 10,550 t, 1,348 t, 996 t, and 237 Million USD, respectively, under the baseline scenario in 2050. Improvement of accessibility significantly reduces energy demand and CO2 emissions. Introduction of Euro 6 cars and Euro 4 buses and Public Utility Jeepneys noticeably improves public health. The new tax schedules on gas and vehicle maximize the tax revenue. The integration of all the mentioned alternatives can achieve sustainable mobility and urbanization.

OBJECTIVE: Physical activity (PA) is associated with health benefits. Children and adolescents with asthma may be limited in their PA, particularly at vigorous intensity due to asthma symptoms or poor psychological adjustment to asthma. We aimed to investigate if self-perceived competence, enjoyment, support from others and social-physical environment were associated with vigorous physical activity (VPA) and secondarily to assess if such associations were modified by asthma and asthma severity.
METHODS: Data from a nested case-control study at 13 years of age within the birth-cohort Environment and Childhood Asthma Study were compiled from 95 participants with and 79 without asthma. The participants completed a questionnaire designed to capture self-perceived competence, enjoyment, support from others and social-physical environment. VPA, defined as ≥ 6 Metabolic Equivalents, was recorded objectively by SenseWear™ Pro2 Armband. Asthma severity was assessed pragmatically by lung function and use of inhaled glucocorticosteroids and β2-agonists and incidence of exacerbations in the last 14 days. Data were analysed using linear regression analysis.
RESULTS: No significant differences between adolescents with and without asthma were identified in terms of VPA, competence-enjoyment, support from others and social-physical environment. Peer support (b = 0.29 (0.05-0.52)) and competence-enjoyment (b = 0.23 (0.01-0.44)) were significantly and positively associated with VPA, and teacher support (b = -0.26 (-0.50 to -0.02)) were inversely associated. The model explained 25% of the variance in VPA.
CONCLUSIONS: Peer support and competence-enjoyment were positively associated with increased VPN in adolescents irrespectively of asthma and asthma severity.