Summary
Background
Home confinement during the COVID‐19 pandemic could have affected lifestyle behaviours of children, however evidence about it is emerging and yet scarce.
Objectives
To examine the ...effects of the COVID‐19 confinement on lifestyle behaviours in Spanish children, and to assess the influence of social vulnerabilities on changes in lifestyle behaviours.
Methods
Physical activity (PA), screen time, sleep time, adherence to the Mediterranean diet (KIDMED) and sociodemographic information were longitudinally assessed before (N = 291, 12.1 ± 2.4 years, 47.8% girls) and during the COVID‐19 confinement (N = 113, 12.0 ± 2.6 years, 48.7% girls) by online questionnaires.
Results
During the COVID‐19 confinement, PA (−91 ± 55 min/d, P < .001) and screen time (±2.6 h/d, P < .001) worsened, whereas the KIDMED score improved (0.5 ± 2.2 points, P < .02). The decrease of PA was higher in children with mother of non‐Spanish origin (−1.8 ± 0.2 vs −1.5 ± 0.1 h/d, P < .04) or with non‐university studies (−1.7 ± 0.1 vs −1.3 ± 0.1 h/d, P < .005) in comparison to their counterparts.
Conclusion
This study evidence the negative impact of the COVID‐19 confinement on PA levels and sedentary behaviours of Spanish children. These findings should be taken into account to design and implement public health strategies for preserving children´s health during and after the pandemic, particularly, in children with social vulnerabilities.
Given accumulating evidence indicating that acute and chronic physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness are related to modulation of the P3b‐ERP component, this systematic review provides an ...overview of the field across the last 30+ years and discusses future directions as the field continues to develop. A systematic review was conducted on studies of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness on P3b. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched from database inception to March 28, 2018. Search results were limited to peer‐reviewed and English‐written studies investigating typically developed individuals. Seventy‐two studies were selected, with 39 studies examining cross‐sectional relationships between chronic physical activity (n = 19) and cardiorespiratory fitness (n = 20) with P3b, with 16 and 17 studies reporting associations of P3b with physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness, respectively. Eight studies investigated the effects of chronic physical activity interventions, and all found effects on P3b. Eight studies investigating P3b during acute bouts of physical activity showed inconsistent results. Nineteen of 23 studies demonstrated acute modulation of P3b following exercise cessation. Conclusions drawn from this systematic review suggest that physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with P3b modulation during cognitive control and attention tasks. Acute and chronic physical activity interventions modulate the P3b component, suggesting short‐ and long‐term functional adaptations occurring in the brain to support cognitive processes. These summary findings suggest physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness are beneficial to brain function and that P3b may serve as a biomarker of covert attentional processes to better understand the relationship of physical activity and cognition.
Although research on the relation of physical activity to P3b‐ERP has been growing over recent decades, a systematic review summarizing the existing evidence is currently absent. Our review is the first to systematically evaluate studies on this topic across the last 30+ years. The results support the beneficial associations of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with modulation of P3b that underlies enhanced information processing during a variety of cognitive operations. This review also addresses limitations in the literature and provides directions to guide future research as the field continues to develop.
This study aimed to compare estimations of sedentary time (SED) and time spent in physical activity (PA) intensities in children with overweight/obesity across different age‐appropriate cut‐points ...based on different body‐worn attachment sites and acceleration metrics. A total of 104 overweight/obese children (10.1 ± 1.1 years old, 43 girls) concurrently wore ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers on their right hip and non‐dominant wrist for 7 days (24 hours). Euclidean norm −1 g (ENMO) and activity counts from both vertical axis (VACounts) and vector magnitude (VMCounts) were derived. We calculated estimates of SED and light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate‐to‐vigorous (MVPA) intensity PA using different published cut‐points for children. The prevalence of children meeting the recommended 60 min/d of MVPA was calculated. The time spent in SED and the different PA intensities largely differed across cut‐points based on different attachment sites and acceleration metrics (ie, SED = 11‐252 min/d; light PA = 10‐217 min/d; moderate PA = 1‐48 min/d; vigorous PA = 1‐35 min/d; MVPA = 4‐66 min/d). Consequently, the prevalence of children meeting the recommended 60 min/d of MVPA varied from 8% to 96% of the study sample. The present study provides a comprehensive comparison between available cut‐points for different attachment and acceleration metrics in children. Furthermore, our data clearly show that it is not possible (and probably will never be) to know the prevalence of meeting the PA guidelines based on accelerometer data since apparent differences range from almost zero to nearly everyone meeting the guidelines.
Physical fitness is a powerful health marker in childhood and adolescence, and it is reasonable to think that it might be just as important in younger children, i.e. preschoolers. At the moment, ...researchers, clinicians and sport practitioners do not have enough information about which fitness tests are more reliable, valid and informative from the health point of view to be implemented in preschool children.
Our aim was to systematically review the studies conducted in preschool children using field-based fitness tests, and examine their (1) reliability, (2) validity, and (3) relationship with health outcomes. Our ultimate goal was to propose a field-based physical fitness-test battery to be used in preschool children.
PubMed and Web of Science.
Studies conducted in healthy preschool children that included field-based fitness tests.
When using PubMed, we included Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms to enhance the power of the search. A set of fitness-related terms were combined with 'child, preschool' MeSH. The same strategy and terms were used for Web of Science (except for the MeSH option). Since no previous reviews with a similar aim were identified, we searched for all articles published up to 1 April 2014 (no starting date). A total of 2,109 articles were identified, of which 22 articles were finally selected for this review.
Most studies focused on reliability of the fitness tests (n = 21, 96%), while very few focused on validity (0 criterion-related validity and 4 (18%) convergent validity) or relationship with health outcomes (0 longitudinal and 1 (5%) cross-sectional study). Motor fitness, particularly balance, was the most studied fitness component, while cardiorespiratory fitness was the least studied. After analyzing the information retrieved in the current systematic review about fitness testing in preschool children, we propose the PREFIT battery, field-based FITness testing in PREschool children. The PREFIT battery is composed of the following tests: the 20 m shuttle-run test for assessing cardiorespiratory fitness, the handgrip-strength and the standing long-jump tests for assessing musculoskeletal fitness, and the 4 × 10 m shuttle run and the one-leg-stance tests for assessing motor fitness, i.e. speed/agility and balance, respectively. The rationale for the selection of each of the tests included in the PREFIT battery is provided in this review, as well as directions for future research.
Levels of evidence based on quality assessment of selected studies could not be constructed due to the limited number of studies identified for each test.
The present systematic review has identified a need for further research on the validity of fitness tests in preschool children, as well as on their relationship with health. Due to this limited information, the PREFIT battery hereby proposed is based on the output of the current systematic review in preschool children, together with existing evidence in older children and adolescents. While we wait for more evidence to be accumulated in preschool children, the PREFIT battery hereby proposed is a useful tool for assessing physical fitness in children aged 3-5 years.
Objectives
To examine the relationship between physical fitness and physical activity (PA) with specific abdominal fat depots and their potential implications for cardiometabolic risk and insulin ...resistance (IR) in children with overweight/obesity.
Materials and Methods
A total of 116 children with overweight/obesity (10.7 ± 1.1 year, 54% girls) participated in the study. Abdominal visceral (VAT), subcutaneous (ASAT), and intermuscular abdominal adipose tissue (IMAAT) were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. The cardiometabolic risk (MetS) score and the insulin resistance homeostasis model assessment (HOMA‐IR) were calculated. Health‐related physical fitness components (treadmill test, and 20 m shuttle run, handgrip, standing broad jump and 4 × 10 m tests) were evaluated, and PA was measured (accelerometry). Children were categorized as fit or unfit for each specific fitness test, and as active or inactive.
Results
Higher VAT, ASAT, and IMAAT were associated with higher MetS score and HOMA‐IR (all p < 0.02). A better performance in all fitness tests and total and vigorous PA were strongly associated with lower VAT (all p < 0.04), ASAT (all p < 0.005), and IMAAT (all p < 0.005). Fit or active children had lower VAT, ASAT, and IMAAT (all p < 0.03) than their unfit or inactive counterparts.
Conclusion
These results reinforce the importance of having adequate fitness and PA levels to reduce abdominal fat accumulation in children. Given that VAT, ASAT, and IMAAT are associated with higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, the improvement of physical fitness by the promotion of PA should be goals of lifestyle interventions for improving health in children with overweight/obesity.
The aim of the present study was to examine the associations of physical fitness, sedentary time, and physical activity (PA) with working memory and neuroelectric activity in children with ...overweight/obesity. Seventy‐nine children with overweight/obesity (10.2 ± 1.1 years old) participated in this cross‐sectional study. We assessed physical fitness components (ie, muscular strength, speed agility, and cardiorespiratory fitness) using the ALPHA battery. Sedentary time and PA were assessed by GT3X+accelerometers (ActiGraph). Working memory was assessed using the delayed non‐matched‐to‐sample task; mean reaction time (RT) and response accuracy were registered. Neuroelectric activity (ie, P3 amplitude and latency) was registered using the ActiveTwo System of BioSemi electroencephalogram. Higher upper‐limb absolute strength was associated with lower response accuracy (P = 0.023), while higher lower‐limb relative‐to‐weight strength was associated with larger P3 amplitude (P < 0.05). Higher speed agility and cardiorespiratory fitness levels were associated with shorter mean RT and larger P3 amplitude, and speed agility was also associated with shorter P3 latency (all P < 0.05). Vigorous PA was associated with larger P3 amplitude (P < 0.05). No associations were found for sedentary time or the rest of PA intensities (P ≥ 0.05). In addition to cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and speed agility are also associated with working memory and neuroelectric activity in children with overweight/obesity. The association between PA and working memory is intensity‐dependent, as significant findings were only observed for vigorous PA. Randomized controlled trials in this population would help to better understand whether improvements in different components of fitness and PA lead to better working memory and underlying brain function.
Objectives
To examine the association between physical activity, sedentary time, and physical fitness with the shapes of subcortical brain structures in children with overweight/obesity. Further, we ...analyzed whether differences in the shapes of subcortical brain structures were related to intelligence. We hypothesized that those children with higher physical activity levels, lower sedentary time, and better fitness, would show greater expansion of the brain regions analyzed, and these expansions would be associated with higher intelligence.
Study Design
100 children (10.0 ± 1.1 years, 40 girls) were included in the analyses. Physical activity and sedentary time were measured by accelerometry, and physical fitness was evaluated by a fitness battery. Shapes of subcortical brain structures were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Intelligence was measured by the Kaufmann Brief Intelligence test.
Results
Physical activity was related to expansion of the right/left pallidum, right/left putamen, and right thalamus (p < 0.05). Higher sedentary time was related to contraction of the left thalamus and right nucleus accumbens (p < 0.05). Higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with expansion of the right amygdala (p = 0.022). Greater strength in the upper‐limb was related to expansion of the right/left pallidum and the left nucleus accumbens (p < 0.038), and contraction of the left amygdala (p = 0.030). Better speed‐agility was associated with expansion of the left nucleus accumbens (p = 0.036). Physical activity‐ and fitness‐related expansion of the right pallidum was associated with higher intelligence (all p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Physical activity, sedentary time, and physical fitness were significantly related to the shapes of subcortical brain structures, which in turn were related to intelligence in children with overweight/obesity.
Abstract Despite the strong and consistent evidence supporting that a high physical fitness (PF) level at any age is a major predictor of a healthier metabolic profile, major studies focused on the ...metabolically healthy but obese (MHO) phenotype have ignored the role of PF when examining this phenotype and its prognosis. Particularly, the role of its main health-related components such as higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscular fitness in the MHO phenotype needs to be reviewed in depth. The present review aimed to: 1) contribute to the characterization of the MHO phenotype by examining whether MHO individuals are fitter than metabolically abnormal obese (MAO) individuals in terms of CRF and other PF components; 2) review the role of CRF and other PF components in the prognosis of MHO. The studies reviewed suggest that a higher CRF level should be considered a characteristic of the MHO phenotype. Likewise, CRF seems to play a key role in the prognosis of the MHO individuals, yet this statement is based on a single study and future studies need to confirm or contrast these findings. Comparability of studies is difficult due to the different definitions used for MHO; consequently, the present review makes a proposal for harmonizing this definition in adults and in youth. Obesity is still related to an important number of comorbidities; therefore, the public health message remains to fight against both obesity and low CRF in both adult and pediatric populations.
Do fitter kids have bigger brains? Cadenas‐Sanchez, Cristina; Migueles, Jairo H.; Erickson, Kirk I. ...
Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports,
December 2020, Letnik:
30, Številka:
12
Journal Article
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