The relationship between adolescents’ physical activity,fundamental movement skills and weight status

The aim of this study was to determine if a potential relationship among physical activity (PA), fundamental movement skills and weight status exists amongst early adolescent youth. Participants were a sample of 85 students; 54 boys (mean age = 12.94 ± 0.33 years) and 31 girls (mean age = 12.75 ± 0.43 years). Data gathered during physical education class included PA (accelerometry), fundamental movement skills and anthropometric measurements. Standard multiple regression revealed that PA and total fundamental movement skill proficiency scores explained 16.5% (P < 0.001) of the variance in the prediction of body mass index. Chi-square tests for independence further indicated that compared with overweight or obese adolescents, a significantly higher proportion of adolescents classified as normal weight achieved mastery/near-mastery in fundamental movement skills. Results from the current investigation indicate that weight status is an important correlate of fundamental movement skill proficiency during adolescence. Aligned with most recent research, school- and community-based programmes that include developmentally structured learning experiences delivered by specialists can significantly improve fundamental movement skill proficiency in youth.     

What are the contributory and compensatory relationships between physical education and physical activity in children?

Limited data are available on the contributory and compensatory relationships between physical education and physical activity in children. Four hundred eighty-five (280 girls) children in first through sixth grades wore sealed pedometers during waking hours, including normally scheduled physical education lessons. The least, moderately, and most active children accumulated approximately 1700, 1100, and 2500 more steps/day, respectively, on school days with physical education. No compensatory increases in physical activity were found on school days that did not offer physical education. The implications of the contributory relationship are highlighted by the evidence that 50% of the least active children were at risk for overweight or overweight and that no compensatory increases in physical activity were found on school days when physical education classes were not scheduled.     

Relieving the pressure? The role of physical activity in the relationship between school-related stress and adolescent health complaints

The present study includes a Norwegian sample of 15-year-old students (N = 1,670) and is part of a World Health Organization cross-national survey, Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (Currie, 1998). The objective was to examine the relationship between school-related stress, leisure time physical activity, and adolescent health complaints. Physical activity was also examined as a moderating variable in the relationship between school-related stress and health complaints. The results showed that high levels of complaints were associated in a linear relationship with high levels of school-related stress and low levels of leisure time physical activity. Reports of complaints were more closely related to stress for adolescents with low levels of physical activity; thus, physical activity seems to moderate the relationship between school-related stress and health complaints.     

Does weight status influence associations between children's fundamental movement skills and physical activity?

This study sought to determine whether weight status influences the association among children's fundamental movement skills (FMS) and physical activity (PA). Two hundred forty-eight children ages 9-12 years participated. Proficiency in three object-control skills and two locomotor skills was examined. Accelerometers objectively assessed physical activity. Body mass index was calculated to determine weight status. Correlations between physical activity and FMS proficiency were evident among boys and girls. No significant interaction was apparent when examining FMS proficiency scores, PA variables, and weight status. Future studies should examine a broader range of skills and types of activities to better characterize this relationship and to inform the promotion of movement skill proficiency and PA.     

The relationship between physical activity,fitness, physical complaints and BMI in German adults – results of a longitudinal study

Objectives: This study’s aims were to describe the development of physical activity, physical fitness (PF), subjective (physical complaints (PC)) and objective (Body mass index (BMI)) health measures and to examine the relationship between the development trajectories. In addition, the study also aimed to assess the influence of sociodemographic determinants (age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES)) in German adults over a period of 18 years. Methods: The longitudinal study population comprises of 721 men and women, aged 33–76 years over the study period. There was self-report of physical activity and PC and testing of physical fitness and BMI in each study year (1992, 1997, 2002 and 2010). Latent growth curve models were used to analyse the development. Results: Physical activity slightly increased while fitness, PC and BMI worsened over the course of 18 years. Sex, age and SES play important roles concerning physical activity, fitness and health. Several integrative associations could be detected between physical activity, fitness, PC and BMI as well as their trajectories. In particular, high initial levels of physical activity and fitness protect from high PC and BMI.The slope of physical activity was not significantly associated with slopes of fitness, PC and BMI. However, increase of fitness resulted in decrease of PC. Conclusions: A general positive development regarding the amount of physical activity could be detected. However, if it is only an unsystematic increase of physical activity, this is not in itself enough to achieve health benefits. The strengthening of fitness should be focused when increasing physical activity, since only then a health benefit is possible.     

Look into my eyes:What can eye-based measures tell us about the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance?

Background:There is a growing interest to understand the neurobiological mechanisms that drive the positive associations of physical activity and fitness with measures of cognitive performance.To better understand those mechanisms,several studies have employed eye-based measures(e.g., eye movement measures such as saccades,pupillary measures such as pupil dilation,and vascular measures such as retinal vessel diameter)deemed to be proxies for specific neurobiological mechanisms.However,there is c...     

Longitudinal associations of physical activity and pubertal development with academic achievement in adolescents

Objective: We sought to investigate the longitudinal associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity(MVPA) and pubertal development with academic achievement in adolescents.Methods: A total of 635 adolescents(283 boys, 352 girls) aged 11-13 years participated in the study. MVPA was assessed by the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study questionnaire, and pubertal development was assessed by the Pubertal Development Scale at beginning of the 6 th grade(baseline) and end of the 7 th grade(follow-up). Grade point average(GPA) at the end of Grades 5 and 7 was computed from data acquired from the school registers. The data were analyzed using linear regression and analyses of covariance.Results: In boys, MVPA was positively associated with GPA at baseline after adjustment for age(b = 0.144, 95% confidence interval(CI):0.028-0.260, p = 0.028). In girls, the Pubertal Development Scale was positively associated with GPA at baseline(b = 0.104, 95%CI: -0.004 to0.211, p = 0.058) and follow-up(b = 0.104, 95%CI: -0.002 to 0.211, p = 0.055) after adjustment for age, and these associations strengthened after further adjustment for MVPA(p < 0.05). Adolescents who were inactive at baseline or at baseline and follow-up had lower GPA during followup than their continuously highly active peers(mean difference = -0.301, 95%CI: -0.543 to -0.058, p = 0.009) and all other adolescents(mean difference = -0.247, 95%CI: -0.475 to -0.019, p = 0.029). These differences were greater in girls than in boys.Conclusion: Lower levels of MVPA were associated with lower GPA in boys at baseline. Girls who were continuously inactive had lower GPA over the follow-up period than those who were continuously active. Finally, earlier pubertal development was associated with better academic achievement in girls.     

Childhood movement skills: predictors of physical activity in Anglo American and Mexican American adolescents?

We assessed the relationship between young children's movement skills and their physical activity in early adolescence. Balance, agility, eye-hand coordination, and skinfold thicknesses in 207 Mexican American and Anglo American children (104 boys, 103 girls) were measured at ages 4, 5, and 6 years. Habitual physical activity was assessed at the age of 12 years by two interviewer-administered 7-day recalls. Ethnic differences in movement skills were not found. Young girls were better at jumping and balancing, and young boys were better at catching. Tracking of skills was low, and children's early childhood skills were not related to their physical activity 6 years later. Further studies involving additional movement skills and other populations are recommended to determine if enhanced movement skills in children promote subsequent physical activity.     

Physical self and physical activity relationships in college women: does social physique anxiety moderate effects?

This research assessed whether social physique anxiety moderated the relationship between physical self-perceptions and the level of physical activity involvement in young women. Participants were 354 female students who completed the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS), Physical Self-Perception Profile, Self-Administered 7-Day Physical Activity Recall (PAR), and Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ). Both physical activity measures were significantly related to the SPAS and all physical self-perceptions. Multiple regressions showed that only self-perceptions of conditioning significantly predicted PAR (R2 = .24) and LTEQ (R2 = .30). SPA did not add any unique variance in predicting activity, and no moderator effects were found for either PAR or LTEQ. Findings suggest that perception of physical conditioning is the dominant predictor of physical activity levels in young women, and social physique anxiety does not moderate this relationship.     

Exploring the relation between physical activity and health—a salutogenic approach to physical education

This article takes a point of departure in the debate whether physical education should consider a limited or an increased commitment towards public health goals and a public health agenda. The article further discusses the relationship between physical activity and health, and the perspective of health in physical education. This is done through a critique of the dominance of a pathogenic perspective of health, as well as through a salutogenic approach regarding health as a process. A salutogenic approach makes, as suggested in the article, other questions—salutogenic questions—possible. In this sense, physical activity and movement can be regarded as something more than mere protection against disease or overweight, and by posing salutogenic questions we can enrich our understanding of the relation between physical activity and health, and in consequence richness to the perspective of health in physical education. With a salutogenic approach, the pupils’ unique and common experiences of health, movement, body ideals or outdoor-life can meet a wider perspective of health. This would facilitate a health perspective in physical education that draws attention to the qualities, abilities and knowledge that pupils can develop, and, in the name of learning health, point the way to the possible contribution of physical education in pupils’ health development in terms of how physical education can enrich their lives, strengthen them as healthy citizens and contribute to a sustainable (health) development.     

Mission impossible? Reflecting upon the relationship between physical education,youth sport and lifelong participation

It is widely believed that school physical education (PE) is or, at the very least, can (even should) be a crucial vehicle for enhancing young people's engagement with physically active recreation (typically but not exclusively in the form of sport) in their leisure and, in the longer run, over the life-course. Despite the prevalence of such beliefs, there remains a dearth of evidence demonstrating a ‘PE effect’. Indeed, the precise nature of the relationship between PE, youth¹1. Youth is defined as a life-stage that in chronological terms can be very broadly mapped onto the latter teenage years, with some leeway at the upper end to include the post-teen years up to young adulthood. Thus, youth is regarded as a period of transition ranging from roughly 15 to 25 years. For the purposes of this article, the emphasis will be on the latter secondary school years. sport and lifelong participation is seldom explored other than in implicit, often speculative and discursive, ways that simply take-for-granted the positive effects of the former (PE) on the latter (youth and adult participation in sport and physically active recreation). Using largely European studies to frame the issue, this article reflects upon the supposedly ‘causal’ relationship between PE, youth sport and lifelong participation and, in doing so, highlights the inherent problems associated with attempts to identify, characterise and establish a ‘PE effect.’ In the process, the article points to a need for more longitudinal and biographical research exploring sports careers and the sporting habituses of young people, not least in order to better understand in precisely what circumstances PE interventions might work to enhance youth involvement in sport and physical activity and, subsequently, lifelong participation.     

Do people differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic goals for physical activity?

The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic goals, and between goal pursuit for intrinsically and extrinsically motivated reasons, is a central premise of self-determination theory. Proponents of the theory have proposed that the pursuit of intrinsic goals and intrinsically motivated goal striving each predict adaptive psychological and behavioral outcomes relative to the pursuit of extrinsic goals and extrinsically motivated goal striving. Despite evidence to support these predictions, research has not explored whether individuals naturally differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Two studies tested whether people make this differentiation when recalling goals for leisure-time physical activity. Using memory-recall methods, participants in Study 1 were asked to freely generate physical activity goals. A subsample (N = 43) was asked to code their freely generated goals as intrinsic or extrinsic. In Study 2, participants were asked to recall intrinsic and extrinsic goals after making a decision regarding their future physical activity. Results of these studies revealed that individuals' goal generation and recall exhibited significant clustering by goal type. Participants encountered some difficulties when explicitly coding goals. Findings support self-determination theory and indicate that individuals discriminate between intrinsic and extrinsic goals.     

Is device-measured vigorous physical activity associated with health-related outcomes in children and adolescents? A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveThis study sought to analyze the prospective association between vigorous-intensity physical activity (VPA) and health-related outcomes in children and adolescents.MethodsStudies reporting associations between device-measured VPA and health-related factors in children and adolescents aged 3–18 years were identified through database searches (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SPORTDiscus). Correlation coefficients were pooled if outcomes were reported by at least 3 studies, using DerSimonian-Laird random effects models.ResultsData from 23 studies including 13,674 participants were pooled using random effects models. Significant associations were found between VPA at baseline and overall adiposity (r = −0.09, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): –0.15 to –0.03; p = 0.002; I² = 89.8%), cardiometabolic risk score (r = –0.13, 95%CI: –0.24 to –0.02, p = 0.020; I² = 69.6%), cardiorespiratory fitness (r = 0.25, 95%CI: 0.15−0.35; p < 0.001; I² = 57.2%), and total body bone mineral density (r = 0.16, 95%CI: 0.06 to 0.25; p = 0.001; I² = 0%).ConclusionVPA seems to be negatively related to adiposity and cardiometabolic risk score and positively related to cardiorespiratory fitness and total body bone mineral density among children and adolescents at follow-up. Therefore, our findings support the need to strengthen physical activity recommendations regarding VPA due to its health benefits in children and adolescents.     

Does school physical education really contribute to accelerometer-measured daily physical activity and non sedentary behaviour in high school students?

Physical education has been highlighted as an important environment for physical activity promotion, however, to our knowledge there are no previous studies examining the contribution of physical education to daily accelerometer-measured physical activity and non sedentary behaviour. The purpose was to compare the accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour between physical education, non-physical education and weekend days in adolescents. Of the 394 students from a Spanish high school that were invited to participate, 158 students (83 boys and 75 girls) aged 13–16 years were analyzed (wear time ≥ 600 min). Participants’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour were objectively-measured by GT3X+ accelerometers during physical education (one session), non-physical education and weekend days. Results indicated that overall adolescents had statistically significant greater physical activity levels and lower values of sedentary behaviour on physical education days than on non-physical education and weekend days (e.g., moderate-to-vigorous physical activity = 71, 54 and 57 min; sedentary = 710, 740 and 723 min) (p < 0.05). Physical education contributes significantly to reducing students’ daily physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour. Increasing the number of physical education classes seems to be an effective strategy to reduce the high current prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour in adolescence.     

Is in-class physical activity at risk in constructivist physical education?

Constructivist physical education emphasizes cognitive engagement. This study examined the impact of a constructivist curriculum on in-class physical activity. Caloric expenditure in metabolic equivalents (MET) and vector magnitude count (VM) data from a random sample of 41 constructivist lessons were compared with those from a random sample of 35 nonconstructivist lessons. Statistical analyses revealed that students in both curriculum conditions were active at a similarly low-moderate level (MET = 2.6 for experimental, 2.5 for comparison, p = .30). Differences (p < .05) were found between the three units within the constructivist curriculum. The findings suggest that the constructivist approach may facilitate knowledge learning with little risk of reducing in-class physical activity.     

Letter to the editor concerning the article “Relationship between school rhythm and physical activity in adolescents: the HELENA study” by Vanhelst et al. (2017)

Recently Vanhelst et al. published a study on the relationship between school rhythm and physical activity patterns in European adolescents in the Journal of Sports Sciences. With this Letter to the Editor we would like to comment on the practical implementation and further perspectives of the study.     

‘I don't read fiction’: academic discourse and the relationship between health and physical education

The relationship between health (H) and physical education (PE) has long been the subject of debate. Recently, however, the obesity crisis has raised this relationship to a new level of attention. At the risk of simplifying things, there are two ‘positions’ that seem to characterize the discourse regarding this new relationship. One position considers that the main mission of PE should now be the ‘war on obesity’. Advocates for this instrumental position tend to do research, using interventionist strategies focusing on (H)PE as a site for the promotion of physical activity. The other position argues strongly for the foregrounding of educational purposes for (H)PE and tends to pursue research by means of sociocultural research paradigms such as phenomenology, poststructuralism or critical theory. Importantly, these ‘positions’ draw on different literatures and discourses. Seldom do the advocates of these two positions speak to each other and, if and when they do, they seem to speak different languages. In this paper, I discuss the notion of academic discourse and explore, with some examples from conferences, how the conventions of academic discourse are (mis)understood and accordingly confound the development of more considered responses to the relationship between health and PE.     

Associations between physical activity and health-related fitness – volume versus pattern

Approximately 3.2 million people die of non-communicable diseases (NCD) each year due to insufficient physical activity. Physical activity guidelines are possibly perceived as too demanding and might thus pose a barrier. We addressed the question if a more stable physical activity pattern is associated with higher levels of health-related fitness than one with high and low intensities, regardless of the physical activity level (PAL). Physical activity was objectively measured in 296 men and women (53.7 ± 8.94 years) with the SenseWear Pro Armband^®. Using this data, the PAL and a Gini index were calculated to report the physical activity pattern. Health-related fitness was expressed as a fitness index. PAL was weakly correlated to health-related fitness (r = 0.38, P < .0001). The Gini index was also weakly correlated to the fitness index (r = 0.23, P < .0001). Results of the ANCOVA showed that participants in the first quartile of PAL always scored significantly lower for health-related fitness than participants in quartile four, after adjustment for the Gini index. These results suggest that as long as the volume of physical activity is high, health-related fitness will be high as well, independent of the physical activity pattern or variability in intensities throughout the day.