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The Physiological Effects of Sports and Exercise
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The Physiological Effects of Sports and Exercise

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-Related Quality of Life".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1207

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Leonardo Henrique Dalcheco Messias

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Guest Editor
Research Group on Technology Applied to Exercise Physiology—GTAFE, Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, São Francisco University, Bragança Paulista 12916-900, SP, Brazil
Interests: exercise physiology; physical training; bioenergetics; metabolomics; systematic review; meta-analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Pedro Paulo Menezes Scariot

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Group on Technology Applied to Exercise Physiology—GTAFE, Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, São Francisco University, Bragança Paulista 12916-900, SP, Brazil
Interests: exercise physiology; metabolism; fat oxidation; lactate metabolism; aerobic and anaerobic performance; spontaneous physical activity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Monitoring physiological responses during training is essential not only for optimizing sports performance but also for improving health outcomes and enhancing overall quality of life. Physiological and biochemical adaptations to physical exercise directly influence athletic performance and contribute to physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being. Understanding how these adaptations can improve health-related quality of life, particularly in non-athletes, sedentary individuals, and those with chronic health conditions, is crucial for promoting long-term well-being and disease prevention.

This Special Issue invites submissions that explore how innovative physiological assessment protocols and extensive physiological monitoring can enhance quality of life, considering diverse environmental, social, and cultural contexts. We particularly encourage studies that bridge physiological outcomes with multidisciplinary aspects, including the influence of environmental factors (both built and natural), behavioral adaptations, health promotion, and disease prevention. The aim is to demonstrate how physical training can improve quality of life across various populations—athletes, non-athletes, and physically active and sedentary individuals—by contributing to disease prevention, reducing chronic disease risk factors, and enhancing people’s daily functioning.

Research incorporating the rigorous validation of new evaluation protocols and monitoring strategies, particularly those addressing the broader context of health and well-being, is highly encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Leonardo Henrique Dalcheco Messias
Dr. Pedro Paulo Menezes Scariot
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • quality of life
  • physiological adaptations
  • physiological monitoring
  • physical training
  • health promotion
  • disease prevention
  • social well-being
  • environmental factors
  • public health
  • diverse populations

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 476 KB  
Article
Health and Performance in the National Para Powerlifting Team: Associations Between Injuries, Sleep Parameters, Nutritional Factors, Mood States, and Performance
by Thaiany de Paula Giacomini, Fabrizio Veloso Rodrigues, Thiago Fernando Lourenço, Samuel Bento da Silva, Vivian De Oliveira and Andre Luis Aroni
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23(4), 459; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23040459 - 3 Apr 2026
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Abstract
Background: Monitoring health-related variables across a competitive season is essential to understand factors associated with performance in Paralympic athletes. However, evidence on the interplay between sleep, mood states, nutritional factors, injuries, and performance remains limited. Objective: To examine the associations between injuries, sleep [...] Read more.
Background: Monitoring health-related variables across a competitive season is essential to understand factors associated with performance in Paralympic athletes. However, evidence on the interplay between sleep, mood states, nutritional factors, injuries, and performance remains limited. Objective: To examine the associations between injuries, sleep parameters, nutritional factors, mood states, and performance in Para powerlifting athletes during a competitive cycle. Methods: Twenty-four athletes from the Brazilian National Para powerlifting team were assessed at three time points: baseline (~3 months pre-competition), pre-competition (upon arrival), and post-competition (day after the event). Data were collected using standardized instruments and analyzed in R. Descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U tests, Spearman’s correlations, Friedman tests, and individual delta values (Δ) were applied. Results: No significant between-group differences were observed in pre-competition cross-sectional analyses. Longitudinally, sleep duration was the only variable consistently differing between performance groups. Athletes who matched or improved performance showed greater sleep stability, whereas those who did not improve exhibited larger post-competition increases in sleep duration. Negative mood states decreased over time, and baseline vigor was higher in the higher-performing group. Sleep duration changes were negatively correlated with performance variation (ρ = −0.575, p = 0.003). Conclusions: Sleep duration was the variable most consistently associated with performance variation. Mood changes reflected reduced negative affect over time. Findings support longitudinal monitoring in Para powerlifting, although caution is warranted due to the observational design and small sample. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiological Effects of Sports and Exercise)
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15 pages, 1851 KB  
Article
In Silico Analyses Suggest That Exercise-Induced Irisin-Mediated Neuroprotection Supports Non-Pharmacological Preventive Strategies for Alzheimer’s Disease in Public Health
by Moara Manias, João Victor Rossetti Vieira and Aline Sampaio Cremonesi
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23(4), 449; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23040449 - 1 Apr 2026
Viewed by 462
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and imposes a high economic and social burden on healthcare systems. In Brazil, the consistent increase in costs associated with AD hospitalizations, coupled with the absence of curative therapies and population aging, reinforces the [...] Read more.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and imposes a high economic and social burden on healthcare systems. In Brazil, the consistent increase in costs associated with AD hospitalizations, coupled with the absence of curative therapies and population aging, reinforces the need for low-cost, broadly applicable preventive strategies. This study investigated the role of irisin, a myokine induced by physical activity, in the prevention of AD, integrating epidemiological and bioinformatic analyses. Public data on the nutritional status of the Brazilian population in the early 2000s and on AD hospitalizations approximately 20 years later were analyzed, assessing the temporal association using a lagged Spearman correlation. Additionally, genes associated with AD were analyzed through protein–protein interaction networks and functional enrichment. Structural models of irisin and the integrin αV/β5 receptor were employed in molecular docking and molecular dynamics analyses. Historical data indicated a high prevalence of excess weight in the early 2000s (46.7% ± 4.2% of the adult population) and a strong positive correlation with AD hospitalizations two decades later (ρ = 0.88; p = 0.033). Functional analyses revealed enrichment of pathways related to neurodegeneration, neurotrophins, and neuronal plasticity, involving proteins such as BDNF, AKT, ERK1/2, and CREB. Docking and molecular dynamics indicated a stable interaction of irisin with the αV/β5 receptor, suggesting activation of neuroprotective pathways. The findings reinforce physical exercise as a strategic public health tool for the prevention of AD, providing an epidemiological and molecular basis to reduce the future burden of the disease, thereby shifting the focus of public health policy from treatment to prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiological Effects of Sports and Exercise)
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