Physical fitness during childhood and adolescence has been identified as an important determinant of current and future health status. While research has traditionally focused on the association ...between cardio-respiratory fitness and health outcomes, the association between muscular fitness (MF) and health status has recently received increased attention.
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the potential physiological and psychological benefits associated with MF among children and adolescents.
A systematic search of six electronic databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, EMBASE, PsycINFO and OVID MEDLINE) was performed on the 20th May, 2013. Cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies that quantitatively examined the association between MF and potential health benefits among children and adolescents were included. The search yielded 110 eligible studies, encompassing six health outcomes (i.e., adiposity, bone health, cardiovascular disease CVD and metabolic risk factors, musculoskeletal pain, psychological health and cognitive ability). The percentage of studies reporting statistically significant associations between MF and the outcome of interest was used to determine the strength of the evidence for an association and additional coding was conducted to account for risk of bias. Meta-analyses were also performed to determine the pooled effect size if there were at least three studies providing standardised coefficients.
Strong evidence was found for an inverse association between MF and total and central adiposity, and CVD and metabolic risk factors. The pooled effect size for the relationship between MF and adiposity was r = -0.25 (95% CI -0.41 to -0.08). Strong evidence was also found for a positive association between MF and bone health and self-esteem. The pooled effect size for the relationship between MF and perceived sports competence was r = 0.39 (95% CI 0.34-0.45). The evidence for an association between MF and musculoskeletal pain and cognitive ability was inconsistent/uncertain. Where evidence of an association was found, the associations were generally low to moderate.
The findings of this review highlight the importance of developing MF in youth for a number of health-related benefits.
Abstract Objectives This study aimed to review the scientific evidence on associations between motor competence (MC) and components of health related physical fitness (HRPF), in children and ...adolescents. Design Systematic review. Methods Systematic search of Academic Search Premier, ERIC, PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus, SportDiscus, and Web of Science databases was undertaken between October 2012 and December 2013. Studies examining associations between MC and HRPF components (body weight status, cardiorespiratory fitness, musculoskeletal fitness and flexibility) in healthy children and adolescents, published between 1990 and 2013, were included. Risk of bias within studies was assessed using CONSORT and STROBE guidelines. The origin, design, sample, measure of MC, measure of the HRPF, main results and statistics of the studies were analyzed and a narrative synthesis was conducted. Results Forty-four studies matched all criteria; 16 were classified as low risk of bias and 28 as medium risk. There is strong scientific evidence supporting an inverse association between MC and body weight status (27 out of 33 studies) and a positive association between MC and cardiorespiratory fitness (12 out of 12 studies) and musculoskeletal fitness (7 out of 11 studies). The relationship between MC and flexibility was uncertain. Conclusions Considering the noted associations between various assessments of MC and with multiple aspects of HRPF, the development of MC in childhood may both directly and indirectly augment HRPF and may serve to enhance the development of long-term health outcomes in children and adolescents.
Exercise is an effective strategy to improve quality of life and physical fitness in breast cancer survivors; however, few studies have focused on the early survivorship period, minorities, ...physically inactive and obese women, or tested a combined exercise program and measured bone health. Here, we report the effects of a 16-week aerobic and resistance exercise intervention on patient-reported outcomes, physical fitness, and bone health in ethnically diverse, physically inactive, overweight or obese breast cancer survivors.
One hundred breast cancer survivors within 6 months of completing adjuvant treatment were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up (exercise group only) for physical fitness, bone mineral density, serum concentrations of bone biomarkers, and quality of life. The exercise intervention consisted of moderate-vigorous (65-85% heart rate maximum) aerobic and resistance exercise thrice weekly for 16 weeks. Differences in mean changes for outcomes were evaluated using mixed-model repeated measure analysis.
At post-intervention, the exercise group was superior to usual care for quality of life (between group difference: 14.7, 95% CI: 18.2, 9.7; p < 0.001), fatigue (p < 0.001), depression (p < 0.001), estimated VO
(p < 0.001), muscular strength (p < 0.001), osteocalcin (p = 0.01), and BSAP (p = 0.001). At 3-month follow-up, all patient-reported outcomes and physical fitness variables remained significantly improved compared to baseline in the exercise group (p < 0.01).
A 16-week combined aerobic and resistance exercise program designed to address metabolic syndrome in ethnically-diverse overweight or obese breast cancer survivors also significantly improved quality of life and physical fitness. Our findings further support the inclusion of supervised clinical exercise programs into breast cancer treatment and care.
This trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01140282 as of June 9, 2010.
Abstract
Introduction
White matter (WM) integrity declines with age and is sensitive to vascular risk modifiers, such as exercise. Sleep apnea is believed to contribute to cerebral white matter ...change via intermittent hypoxia-induced alterations to cerebral blood flow resulting in cerebrovascular shearing. Existing literature highlights the relationships between poor sleep and numerous adverse health outcomes, including risk for cardiovascular disease and dementia. Conversely, exercise seems to have a positive effect on both brain structure and function. Here we examine a potential interaction between sleep apnea severity and cardiorespiratory fitness (characterized by a gender-specific Non-Exercise CardioRespiratory Fitness Measure, NECRFM) as predictors of MRI measures of brain WM integrity and cerebral blood flow (CBF) in a sample of non-demented older adult participants of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort (WSC).
Methods
Cross-sectional linear models using data from a subset of 124 WSC participants (50% female; mean agerange=67.6 49.6, 85.3) examined the relationship between sleep apnea severity (apnea-hypopnea index, AHI) and cardiorespiratory fitness in predicting MRI-assessed total WM and lesion volumes, WM hyperintensities (WMHs; a marker of small vessel disease in the brain) and Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) CBF, controlling for age, sex, BMI, education, and hypertension.
Results
Greater sleep apnea severity was associated more strongly with both total lesion and WMH loads in less fit compared to more fit persons (p’s<0.05) in the absence of significant differences in total WM volume. Regional perfusion revealed higher CBF in the angular gyrus, middle frontal cortex, and superior frontal gyrus and lower CBF in the anterior cingulate gyrus and the hippocampus of more fit compared to less fit persons (p’s< 0.05), in the absence of differences in mean global perfusion.
Conclusion
Overall, our results suggest that better general fitness may attenuate negative brain health outcomes related to poor sleep. We highlight an important relationship between brain health and modifiable behavioral factors, namely sleep and fitness, that have the potential to help maintain or improve brain integrity with age.
Support (if any)
This work was supported by United States National Institutes of Health grants R01AG062167, R01AG058680, R01HL62252, 1R01AG036838 and 1UL1RR025011.
Background: Asthma is the most common chronic disease that appears in childhood. Regular moderate to vigorous physical activity positively impacts physical fitness, which has been shown to be ...associated with reduced asthma severity. However, limited research has focused on the impact of neighborhood-level characteristics on the relationship between asthma severity and fitness. Methods: We examined the association between asthma severity and one-year lagged fitness in New York City public school youth drawing from the Health and Environment subdomain of the Child Opportunity Index and NYC Department of Education Office of Student Health fitness surveillance data (2010-2018). Individual-level mixed models were fit to the data and stratified by neighborhood opportunity, adjusting for sex, race/ethnicity, grade level, poverty status, and time. Results: Across all youth (n = 939,598; 51.7% male; 29.9% nonHispanic Black, 39.3% Hispanic; 70.0% high poverty, 1.1% severe asthma, 9.7% mild asthma, 89.2% no asthma), lower neighborhood opportunity was associated with lower subsequent fitness. For example, youth with severe asthma and very low or low neighborhood opportunity had the lowest 1-year lagged fitness z-scores (-0.24; 95% Cl: -0.34 to -0.14 and -0.26; 95% Cl: -0.32 to -0.20, respectively), relative to youth with no asthma and very high opportunity. Conclusions: Disparities in youth fitness persist across different levels of neighborhood opportunity. This study demonstrated an inverse longitudinal association between asthma severity and subsequent physical fitness in youth living in urban areas, with the magnitude of association more pronounced among youth with lower opportunity compared to higher opportunity. Findings have implications for public health practitioners who seek to manage and reduce asthma symptoms in youth to encourage physical activity and improved health overall.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released in 2020 updated global guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for children, adolescents, adults, older adults and sub-populations such as ...pregnant and postpartum women and those living with chronic conditions or disabilities.
To summarize the evidence on the associations between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and health-related outcomes used to inform the 2020 WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for children and adolescents aged 5-17 years.
The update of the WHO guideline recommendations for children and adolescents utilized and systematically updated the evidence syntheses on physical activity and sedentary behaviour conducted for the 2016 Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth, the 2019 Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Young People (5-17 years), and the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, Second Edition. Systematic reviews published from 2017 up to July 2019 that addressed the key questions were identified, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was used to rate the certainty of the evidence for the entire body of evidence.
The updated literature search yielded 21 relevant systematic reviews. The evidence base reviewed (i.e., existing and new systematic reviews) provided evidence that greater amounts and higher intensities of physical activity as well as different types of physical activity (i.e., aerobic and muscle and bone strengthening activities) are associated with improved health outcomes (primarily intermediate outcomes). There was sufficient evidence to support recommendations on limiting sedentary behaviours, which was not addressed in the 2010 WHO guidelines. However, there is still insufficient evidence available to fully describe the dose-response relationships between physical activity or sedentary behaviour and health outcomes, and whether the associations vary by type or domain of physical activity or sedentary behaviour.
Addressing the identified research gaps will better inform guideline recommendations in children and adolescents, and future work should aim to prioritize these areas of research. In the meantime, investment and leadership is needed to scale up known effective policies and programs aimed at increasing activity in children and adolescents.
Los centros de fitness, son hoy en día lugares donde los socios realizan actividad física «controlada», donde mejoran su estado físico y mental, incluso en donde se socializan con otros socios de ...todas las edades. Estos centros, han sido normalmente gestionados por personas sin formación en la materia y con el único interés de tener socios, sin tener en cuenta la repercusión a largo plazo. Este interés, sumado a problemas de gestión del centro, y a problemas personales de los socios, ha propiciado que existan altas tasas de deserción en este tipo de centros indoor, con la consecuente elevación de los gastos en marketing, no obteniendo así, una rentabilidad sostenible. Proponemos, un programa de actividad física con el que se podría mejorar estas tasas de fidelización, siendo el punto central de la gestión de los centros de hoy en día, la satisfacción y la lealtad a los centros de fitness.Palabra clave: Fidelización, Mayores, Centros de Fitness, Programa de Actividad física por objetivos.