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Physical Activity and Health Status in All Stages of Life

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Exercise and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 June 2023) | Viewed by 11645

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. María Concepción Robles Gil

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Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression, School of Teacher Training, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Interests: exercise physiology; performance; steroids; trace elements; menopause; diet
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Fco Javier Grijota Pérez

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Faculty of Life and Natural Sciences, School of Sport Sciences, University of Nebrija, Campus La Berzosa, Calle del Hostal, Hoyo de Manzanares, 28248 Madrid, Spain
Interests: physical fitness; exercise science; exercise physiology; exercise performance; sports science; strength & conditioning; resistance training; sport physiology ergometry; rehabilitation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Gema Barrientos Vicho

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Guest Editor

Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Education, Pontifical University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
Interests: fitness; physical condition; health; physical activity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, numerous studies have revealed a dose-response relationship between physical activity and health status in all stages of life, especially in adults, the elderly and populations, such as pregnant or menopausal women. Life expectancy is increasing in modern societies, and so are noncommunicable diseases, which account for more than 70% of all deaths globally. Many of these diseases can be prevented by following a healthy diet, refraining from tobacco or alcohol use and engaging in physical activity. Sedentary behaviour is an underappreciated cause of almost all chronic diseases/conditions, the outcomes of which increases mortality and decreases lifespan. With adequate programming, regular physical activity is an effective way to improve physical performance, improve physical and mental health, and reduce the risk factors for many noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases, metabolic syndrome, sarcopenia, osteoporosis and depression. For this Special Issue, we invite submissions that describe interventions to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour in all stages of life, with a clear focus on strategies to enhance adherence and implementation in practice. We are particularly interested in high-quality research related to evaluating the effect and/or process of health promotion interventions to reduce physical inactivity. Researchers are invited to contribute novel work to be considered for publication in this Special Issue, including original articles, short communications, systematic reviews or meta-analyses.

Dr. María Concepción Robles Gil
Dr. Fco Javier Grijota Pérez
Dr. Gema Barrientos Vicho
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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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 monthly 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 2500 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

exercise
physical activity
health
diseases
elderly
menopause

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1277 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Multi-Component Educational Intervention for Addressing Levels of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors of Schoolchildren

by Ana Vilardell-Dávila, Gloria Martínez-Andrade, Miguel Klünder-Klünder, América Liliana Miranda-Lora, Eugenia Mendoza, Samuel Flores-Huerta, Jorge Eduardo Vargas-González, Ximena Duque and Jenny Vilchis-Gil

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3003; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043003 - 09 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2424

Abstract

Physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors for excess weight and obesity in childhood. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt strategies which can modify these behaviors during childhood, the age at which habits are formed. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention using digital media and face-to-face activities involving children, parents, and the school community on the level of physical activity and sedentary behavior among schoolchildren. This was a secondary analysis of data obtained from a community trial in which students from four primary schools in Mexico City participated. Two schools were assigned to the intervention group (IG) and two to the control group (CG). The intervention lasted 12 months and included a face-to-face component, which involved sessions and workshops for parents and children, as well as visual material for children and a distance component utilizing electronic means (web portal and text messages to mobile phones) for parents. Anthropometric measurements were taken and information was collected on moderate to vigorous physical activity performed by the children and on the time that the schoolchildren spent in front of screens at the beginning of the study and at 6 and 12 months. Information on 201 children from the IG and 167 children from the CG was included in the analysis. At 12 months, the IG showed a mean decrease of 33.4 min/d [95% CI: −53.5 to −13.3] in screen time, while the CG showed an increase of 12.5 min/d [CI 95%: −10.5 to 35.6], p = 0.003. After 12 months of follow-up, applying this educational intervention reduced the time that schoolchildren spent in front of screens. Educational intervention is a feasible and accessible strategy for promoting changes in sedentary behaviors in the school-age population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Health Status in All Stages of Life)

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13 pages, 410 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physical and Recreational Activities, Sedentary Screen Time, Time Spent with Parents and Drug Use in Adolescents

by Emanuel Adrian Sârbu, Marius Marici, Simona Bostan and Liviu Gavrila-Ardelean

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1434; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021434 - 12 Jan 2023

Viewed by 2018

Abstract

In a context in which sedentary screen time is on the rise and adolescents are less eager to engage in free-time activities, physical and recreational activities, although too often ignored, have proven to be an antidote for a large array of psychological and behavioral problems in adolescents, including drug use. The present study is a cross-sectional investigation of the association between physical and recreational activities, sedentary screen time, and time spent with parents and the intensity of drug use in adolescents. The participants were part of a representative sample of 2677 adolescents from Bucharest, Romania. The results indicate that vigorous physical and recreational activities, as well as time spent with parents, were negatively associated with an index of drug use (13 drugs), while screen time positively predicted the intensity of drug use. These findings raise the question of the involvement of parents and educational authorities in promoting healthy behaviors and good practices for the prevention of drug use and improving public adolescents’ health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Health Status in All Stages of Life)

15 pages, 927 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of a Three-Month HOPSports Brain Breaks^® Intervention Program on the Physical Fitness Levels of Grade 6-Learners in South Africa

by Jacqueline Bonnema, Dané Coetzee and Anita Lennox

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11236; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811236 - 07 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1325

Abstract

Despite the numerous health benefits of being physically active, children are not active enough. Various researchers have indicated that intervention programs improve physical fitness levels. Still, only a few have focused on improving physical fitness levels by incorporating technology. HOPSports Brain Breaks^® are designed and presented as physical activity solutions with online videos requiring the participants to imitate the movements. These videos are 2–5-min classroom activity breaks. This study determined the effect of a three-month HOPSports Brain Breaks^® intervention program on the physical fitness levels of Grade 6-learners. Physical fitness was measured with the EUROFIT test battery. The experimental group consisted of 79 children (26 boys and 47 girls) and the control group of 47 children (16 boys and 33 girls). The mean age for the entire group was 11.92 (±0.36) years. The results indicated that there was a statistically (p ≤ 0.05) and practically (d ≥ 0.20) significant difference between the experimental and control group for percentage body fat; stork balance; plate tapping; sit-and-reach; standing jump; sit-ups; and 10 × 5 m shuttle run and 20 m shuttle run between the pre-and post-test. Therefore, considering the results mentioned above, the HOPSports Brain Breaks^® intervention program can indeed contribute to the improvement of physical fitness, and motor skills of children. Therefore, future studies should be conducted to determine the effect of HOPSports Brain Breaks^® between genders as well as what impact it will have on academic performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Health Status in All Stages of Life)

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13 pages, 561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intention for Warm-Up among Children and Adolescents Scale: Development and Initial Validation

by Liyi Ding, Judy L. Van Raalte, Marcia Mackey, Britton W. Brewer, Min Jin, Minming Chu and Lijun Weng

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 11033; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711033 - 03 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1215

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Intention for Warm-up among Children and Adolescents Scale (IWCAS). There were four phases and four sets of participants in the development of the IWCAS. In the first phase, the domains of intention were defined, and related components were developed, organized, and validated. In the second phase, 446 elementary and middle school students participated in a pilot study for the first version of the scale, which was revised based on the information obtained. In the third phase, 12 graduates in sports pedagogy served on an expert panel and organized the items into domain areas and developed a second version of the IWCAS. In the final phase, 1322 elementary and middle school students from three k-12 schools completed the revised version of the IWCAS, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Based on the results, the IWCAS was shortened by deleting some items in two domains; this resulted in 11 items of the final version with 3 domains: (1) attitude toward warm-up, (2) subjective norm, and (3) perceived behavioral control that, according to the indices, generate reliable and structurally valid scores. The composite internal consistency for the three domains ranged from 0.74 to 0.85. The researchers hypothesized the IWCAS is a valid and reliable scale, which can be used by P.E. teachers or coaches to evaluate the intention of primary and secondary school students to perform warm-ups. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Health Status in All Stages of Life)

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17 pages, 2623 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Exploratory Investigation of the Effect of a Sports Vision Program on Grade 4 and 5 Female Netball Players’ Visual Skills

by Dané Coetzee and Elna de Waal

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 9864; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169864 - 10 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1464

Abstract

Vision is one of the most complex and dominant sensory systems necessary for information feedback from the environment. Few studies have already reported a positive effect of a sport vision program on elite sport teams’ visual skills; however, few studies have focused on the effect of sport vision programs on children’s visual skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of a sports vision program on Grade 4 and 5 female netball players’ visual skills. Girls (N = 25) with a mean age of 10.08 years (SD = 0.65) formed part of this study. A pre-test–post-test design was followed with a retention test. The eight-week sports vision program was executed twice a week for 60 min on the experimental group (n = 13). The Developmental Test of Visual–Motor Integration (VMI-4), the Wayne Saccadic Fixator (WSF) and the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test were used to evaluate the girls’ visual skills, hand–eye coordination, visual reaction time, peripheral vision and saccadic eye movements. No statistical differences were found between the two groups before starting with the sports vision program. After intervention, significant differences between the two groups were reported, with the experimental group performing better in hand–eye coordination (p = 0.001) and reaction time (p = 0.001). Results further indicated that the experimental group experienced significant improvements (p ≤ 0.05) in motor coordination, hand–eye coordination, reaction speed and visual tracking after intervention with significant lasting effects (p ≤ 0.05). The control group performed significantly worse in reaction time (p = 0.01). A sports vision program can be recommended for Grade 4 and 5 female netball players to improve certain visual skills. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Health Status in All Stages of Life)

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12 pages, 1102 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions of Promoting Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Pregnant Migrant Women and the Potential of a Digital Support Tool—A Qualitative Study

by Emmie Söderström, Ulrika Müssener, Mikaela Löfgren, Linnea Sandell, Kristin Thomas and Marie Löf

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(4), 2328; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042328 - 17 Feb 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2351

Abstract

Eating healthily and being physically active during pregnancy are important for maternal and offspring health. Maternity healthcare is a key arena for health promotion; however, 20% of pregnant women in Sweden are foreign-born, which may reduce reach due to language and cultural barriers. The aims of this study were to explore healthcare professionals’ perceptions about (a) promoting health behaviors (i.e., healthy diet, physical activity, and weight gain) among Arabic- and Somali-speaking pregnant women and (b) how a translated version of the previously evaluated Swedish app (HealthyMoms) can be tailored and used as a tool in their clinical work. Healthcare professionals in Swedish maternity care (n = 14) were interviewed. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Healthcare professionals expressed challenges in health promotion work, including cultural and educational aspects and low awareness of health behaviors among women themselves and their social environment. Further, a lack of resources within the clinical practice and a need for cultural awareness among healthcare professionals were highlighted. Finally, it was perceived that a translated app has potential to provide basic and culturally adjusted information, facilitate communication and thus has potential to become a helpful tool in maternity care to support healthy lifestyle behaviors in Arabic- and Somali-speaking pregnant women. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Health Status in All Stages of Life)

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