Sports Medicine and Public Health, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology (ISSN 2411-5142). This special issue belongs to the section "Sports Medicine and Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 465

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor

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Guest Editor
Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
Interests: physical activity; sport training; disabled athletes; flywheel training
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are all aware of the benefits of physical activity in preventing any pathologies and/or slowing down the progression of disease. The combination of sports medicine and innovative exercise protocols aims to optimize the overall management and well-being of special populations affected by various pathologies.

The application of modern technologies could help to create specific and useful training protocols to facilitate physical activity proposed for fragile populations and encourage medium–long-term adaptations and active lifestyles.

This Special Issue of the JFMK aims to cultivate a multidisciplinary dialogue centered around current scientific insights in this field. We invite authors to contribute by submitting original research or targeted reviews, with the goal of advancing the comprehension of the management of physical activity in adult populations and its benefits, with positive repercussions on public health.

Dr. Giovanni Fiorilli
Dr. Andrea Buonsenso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1800 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 exercise
  • disease prevention
  • adult population
  • physical well-being
  • gender difference

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 956 KB  
Article
The Impact of Body Surface Area on Morpho-Functional and Cardiometabolic Parameters in a Large Cohort of Olympic Athletes: Distinct Bodies, Distinct Physiology
by Giuseppe Di Gioia, Maria Rosaria Squeo, Armando Ferrera, Lucrezia Macori, Margherita Rigillo, Raffaella Spada and Antonio Pelliccia
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2025, 10(4), 405; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10040405 - 18 Oct 2025
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Abstract
Background: Body surface area is a key determinant of cardiac morphology and function, but it is often underestimated in the interpretation of athlete’s cardiac phenotypes. Aims: This study aimed to assess the role of anthropometric characteristics and whether particularly high vs. low body [...] Read more.
Background: Body surface area is a key determinant of cardiac morphology and function, but it is often underestimated in the interpretation of athlete’s cardiac phenotypes. Aims: This study aimed to assess the role of anthropometric characteristics and whether particularly high vs. low body surface area (BSA) is associated with distinct morpho-functional and cardiometabolic features in elite athletes. Methods: We retrospectively included 2518 Olympic athletes. All underwent a pre-participation screening, including physical examination, ECG, blood analysis, echocardiography, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Participants were grouped by sex-specific BSA percentiles: Group A (<5th percentile), Group B (25th–75th), and Group C (>95th percentile). Functional, echocardiographic, and cardio-metabolic parameters were compared among groups. Results: In male athletes, Group C showed higher resting systolic blood pressure (123.8 ± 10.4 mmHg) than Group B (117.4 ± 9.6, p < 0.0001) and Group A (110.4 ± 13, p < 0.0001), and a higher prevalence of dyslipidemia (31.7% vs. 11.1% in Group B and 4% in Group A, p = 0.031). Despite greater LVEDD (59 ± 3 mm in Group C vs. 55 ± 2.9 in B and 51.1 ± 3.1 in A, p < 0.0001) and LV mass (p < 0.0001), functional performance was lower in Group C, with VO2 max/kg of 35.2 ± 13.2 mL/min/kg vs. 44 ± 7.1 in B, and 47.8 ± 7.3 in A (p < 0.0001). Similar trends were observed in females for morpho-functional parameters, though lipid profiles did not significantly differ among groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Anthropometric traits significantly influence the cardiovascular and metabolic phenotype of elite athletes. Our findings support the integration of anthropometric profiling into the routine cardiovascular assessment of athletes, especially those at the extremes of body size, to better interpret physiological adaptations and risk profiles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sports Medicine and Public Health, 2nd Edition)
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