Physical Activity and Sports as Determinants of Health at All Ages from a Biological, Psychosocial, and Environmental Perspective

Dear Colleagues,

Physical activity is known to provide a wide range of health benefits that can protect individuals from diseases and enhance their mental and physical health. Regular physical activity can prevent and manage a range of chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers, and improve musculoskeletal health, weight management, motor skill development in children, and mental health problems. The pervasiveness of social, environmental, and behavioral determinants of health determines the exposure to risk factors that differ and evolve across the lifespan including exposure to literacy, physical activity and lifestyle habits, environmental and occupational exposure, and diseases. For instance, the excessive use of technology and the internet has encouraged the development of sedentariness and related disorders at all ages; it has also led to the emergence of deviant behaviour such as cyberbullying, which can be defined as a lifespan phenomenon and can also affect the workplace as well as the school environment. The negative consequences for the victims involved are lower self-esteem, greater loneliness, depression, and anxiety. School and workplace interventions that foster resilience, coping, and well-being are particularly important during lifespan as protective and preventive factors against the consequences of (cyber)bullying. Sports-based interventions in educational settings are very effective in preventing this phenomenon. Novel discoveries and methods relating to biological, psychosocial, and environmental components are particularly welcome. This new Special Issue on promoting health for population is characterized by advanced research methods, such as prospective longitudinal designs, random controlled trials, cross-sectional studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews, innovative technologies, and the application of these methods and technologies in healthy specific population groups, including clinical and special populations as well as communities stratified by socioeconomic criteria. Papers addressing these topics are invited for this Special Issue, especially those combining a high academic standard coupled with a practical focus on providing optimal solutions for promoting health for all ages.

Dr. Gianpiero Greco
Guest Editor

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