Special Issue "Children, Physical Activity, Exercise and Obesity"
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Children's Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2021.
Special Issue Editors

Interests: physical activity; movement assessment; motor competence; interventions; children and adolescents
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Interests: data analytics; visualization and meta-analyses; physical activity; motor competence; sedentary behaviour
Interests: physical activity; obesity; preschoolers; children; motor competence
Interests: physical activity; exercise; pediatrics; obesity; physical fitness; cardiometabolic risk factors
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear colleagues,
Physical activity and exercise remain key behaviours which, when instilled during childhood, promote health throughout the life course. Engaging in sufficient amounts of physical activity during childhood is associated with lower levels of unhealthy weight and obesity, enhanced cardiometabolic health, improved cognition and academic achievement, and a more positive sense of wellbeing. Despite these known benefits, data from across the world still suggest that children are not meeting the required levels of physical activity for health benefits. Additionally, although interventions to enhance physical activity have been had trials, there remain significant gaps in scientific understanding of the effectiveness and utility of physical activity interventions in children. This Special Issue invites contributions from across the spectrum of health, sport and exercise, social and life sciences examining the issue of physical activity, exercise and obesity in children.
This Special Issue is open to original research, review articles, short reports, brief commentaries, case reports, and meta-analyses, related to physical activity and exercise in children and their impact on obesity and other health-related variables. The keywords listed below suggest just a few of the many possibilities.
Potential topics include but are not limited to:
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal association of physical activity, fitness and health- related variables during childhood
- Environmental, sociocultural, and biological correlates of physical activity and obesity during childhood
- Interaction of physical activity, motor competence, obesity, and health markers during childhood through adolescence
- Intervention strategies targeting physical activity and healthy weight during childhood
- Process evaluation of interventions designed to enhance physical activity and reduce obesity during childhood
- Association of motor competence and physical fitness in childhood with lifestyle habits later in life
Measurement issues related to physical activity, exercise and obesity during infancy and through adolescence
Prof. Dr. Michael J. Duncan
Prof. Dr. Jorge Mota
Dr. Cain Clark
Dr. Clarice Maria De Lucena Martins
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2300 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- physical activity
- exercise
- fitness
- sedentary behaviour
- obesity
- body composition
- measurement
- intervention
- process evaluation
- implementation
- public health
- physical activity promotion
- physical activity epidemiology
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Body composition related with health-related physical fitness and physical activity but not with sedentary behaviour in pupils
Authors: José Francisco López-Gil; Javier Brazo-Sayavera; Juan Luis Yuste-Lucas; Fernando Renato Cavichiolli
Affiliation: Departamento de Actividad Física y Deporte, Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte, Universidad de Murcia (UM), 30720 San Javier, Region of Murcia, Spain.
Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this research is to describe, examine and compare the level of physical fitness, physical activity and sedentary behaviour in pupils aged 6-13 in the Region of Murcia, in accordance with body composition classification. Methods: A total of 370 children (44.9% girls) aged 6–13 (8.7±1.8) from six primary schools in the Region of Murcia (Spain). Body mass index, waist circumference as well as skinfold measurements were determinate to assess body composition. ALPHA-FIT Test Battery was used to evaluate physical fitness. Krece Plus Short Test was used to measure physical activity level and sedentary behaviour. Results: 52.4% of the children presented excess of weight (according to the World Health Organization growth references). Regarding boys, statistically significant differences were found for cardiorespiratory fitness (p<0.001), relative handgrip strength (p<0.001), lower muscular strength (p<0.001), speed-agility (p<0.001), as well as sport activities hours (p=0.001) among the three weight status groups (normal weight, overweight and obesity). As for girls, statistically significant differences were found for CRF (p=0.004), relative handgrip strength (p<0.001), lower muscular strength (p<0.001), sport activities hours (p=0.005), as well as physical activity level (assessed by Krece Plus Test) (p=0.017). A negative statistically significant correlation was found between the body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness (rho=-0.389), lower muscular strength, (rho=-0.340) and relative handgrip strength (ρ=-0.547). At the same time, a positive statistically significant relationship between body mass index and the time spent in speed-agility (rho=0.263) was shown. Regarding waist circumference and body fat percentage, similar relationships were identified. Moreover, it was noted a greater probability of having higher cardiorespiratory fitness (OR=1.58; CI95%=1.38–1.82), relative handgrip strength (OR=1.25; CI95%=1.19–1.31), more hours of sport activities (OR=1.40; CI95%=1.19–1.66) and physical activity level (assessed by Krece Plus Test) (OR=1.23; CI95%=1.07–1.42) in the normal weight group. Conclusions: Children that presented normal weight achieved higher results for health-related physical fitness and physical activity than children with excess of weight; not being so for sedentary behaviour.