This interview is with Healthy Aging and Clinical Care in the Elderly editorial board member Dr Davide Malatesta. Healthy Aging and Clinical Care in the Elderly is a new open access journal recently launched by Libertas Academica.

Editor in Chief Dr David Simar has recently issued a call for papers.

What is the primary focus of your work and main areas of expertise?

The primary focuses of my research are:

• Biomechanical and energetic analysis of walking in elderly and obese subjects.

• Walking endurance training in elderly subjects.

• Lipid oxidation kinetic and substrate partitioning during exercise and post-exercise recovery.

What are the most exciting and cutting-edge developments in your area?

Aging and obesity induce, directly or indirectly, different negative alterations in the health and in the quality of life in elderly and obese individuals respectively. However, numerous studies have shown that physical activity can actively contribute to prevent, delay or limit these negative alterations and maintain the capacity to perform daily living activities and thus promote health and quality of life in these individuals. For these reasons, obesity and aging are two important and emergent areas in exercise physiology.

Who are your main formal and informal collaborators and/or networks? Please describe your work with them.

• Borrani Fabio (Department of Sport and Exercise Science – University of Auckland, New Zealand & Institute of Sport Sciences and Physical Education - University of Lausanne, Switzerland) and Chenevière Xavier (Institute of Sport Sciences and Physical Education - University of Lausanne, Switzerland): lipid oxidation kinetic and substrate partitioning during exercise and post-exercise recovery.

• Capodaglio Paolo and Vismara Luca (Othopaedic Rehabilitation Unit and Clinical Lab for Gait and Posture Analysis - San Giuseppe Hospital, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Piancavallo, Italy): biomechanical and energetic analysis of walking in obese subjects.

• Caillaud Corinne (Faculty of Health Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia) and Simar David (School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine - University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia): Biomechanical and energetic analysis of walking and endurance walking training in elderly subjects.

How did you come to be working in your research area?

During my PhD at the University of Montpelier (France), I had the opportunity to work on gait analysis and endurance training in elderly individuals. On the other hand, with my colleagues of ISSEP (University of Lausanne, Switzerland), we obtained a private grant to work on lipid oxidation kinetic and substrate partitioning during exercise and post-exercise recovery. Finally, my collaboration with Dr Capodaglio of the Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Unit and Clinical Lab for Gait and Posture Analysis (San Giuseppe Hospital, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Piancavallo, Italy) give me the opportunity to work on gait analysis in obese individuals.

What do you think about the development of open access publishing?

I think that the development of open access publishing is an excellent opportunity because a lot of researchers (i.e., not only those in major and reach institutions, but also those in the developing countries or those in minor and poor institutions), can send their articles and contribute to the scientific knowledge and progress and, then, all published journal articles will be accessible to all Internet users throughout the world.

I have not yet published in an open access journal. I am motivated to publish in an open access journal but I think that it is more reasonable for me to do this later in my career because, now, I am still evaluated for my position with the system of the impact factors of the peer reviewed ICI journals.

What articles and/or books have you published recently?

Articles:

1. CHENEVIERE X., MALATESTA D., PETERS E.M., BORRANI F. A mathematical model to describe fat oxidation kinetics during graded exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc (In press; doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31819e2f91). [Pubmed]

2. MALATESTA D., VISMARA L., MENEGONI F., GALLI M., ROMEI M., CAPODAGLIO P. Mechanical external work and recovery at preferred walking speed in obese subjects. Med Sci Sports Exerc 41(2) : 426-34, 2009. [Pubmed]

3. MALATESTA D., WERLEN C., BULFARO S., CHENEVIERE X., BORRANI F. Effect of high-intensity interval exercise on lipid oxidation in fit young male subjects during post-ex recovery. Med Sci Sports Exerc 41(2) : 364-74, 2009. [Pubmed]

4. MALATESTA D., SIMAR D., DAUVILLIERS Y., CANDAU R., BORRANI F., PREFAUT C., CAILLAUD C. Energy cost of walking and gait instability in healthy 65- and 80-yr-olds. J Appl Physiol. 95: 2248-2256, 2003. [Pubmed]

Book chapter:

1. SIMAR D., MALATESTA D., CAILLAUD C. Ageing. IOS press. (In press).

Further information about Dr Malatesta:

• University of Lausanne

• Institute of Sport Sciences and Physical Education (ISSEP)

• Personal page on departmental homepage (ISSEP)

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