Changes in quality of life, strength and heart rate variability after 4-weeks of supervised online burpees training during the covid-19 quarantine in healthy young adults

In order to maintain physical fitness during the COVID-19 quarantine, we designed a short-term intervention with one body-weight exercise – burpees. Thus, the aim of this study was to understand level of feasibility and potential benefits of our protocol to different variables in young adults during the COVID-19 quarantine. An online 4-week intervention was administered to 13 young adults (age 22.5±1.39 years, weight 71.8±10.1 kg). The main phase of each session consisted of burpees, a calisthenics body-weight exercises. The training was administered daily. Data regarding quality of life (QoL), body composition, posture, heart rate variability (HRV), cardiovascular health, and strength were…

Editorial: Psychological Factors in Physical Education and Sport

Sports, Executive Functions and Academic Performance: A Comparison between Martial Arts, Team Sports, and Sedentary Children

It is well known that curricular physical activity benefits children’s executive functions and academic performance. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether there is an influence of extracurricular sports on executive functions and academic performance. However, it is less known which specific types of the sport better enhance executive functions in children

Factors associated with the subjective health complaints among adolescents: Results from the ASSO Project

Objectives. Subjective health complaints (e.g. headache and feeling low) are common among adolescents. The objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with the subjective health of adolescents from a population-based point of view. Material and methods. A sample of 712 students was recruited within the web-based Project ASSO (Adolescents and Surveillance System for the Obesity prevention), funded by the Italian Ministry of Health and piloted in Palermo. A 0-100 quantitative score (arbitrarily named "psychosomatic malaise index") based on the frequency of occurrence of seven subjective health complaints was created and used as outcome; socio-demographic characteristics, me…

Percentile values of the standing broad jump in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years old

The standing broad jump (SBJ) is a valid, reliable and feasible field-based test, which can evaluate explosive strength of the lower limbs and physical fitness. This study aimed to provide normative data for the SBJ for male and female children and adolescents and describe differences in performance between age groups and genders. A total number of 2140 children and adolescents, sampled in seven European nations have been included for analysis. The SBJ was performed to derive percentile values for gender and each age group. In general, males have greater jumping performance compared to females. Data demonstrate a linear increase in the jumping distance for both males and females until adole…

The importance of standard operating procedures in physical fitness assessment: a brief review

Abstract Background Physical fitness status is a key aspect of health and, consequently, it is important to create and adopt appropriate interventions to maintain or improve it, and assess it using valid measures. While in other testing contexts, standard operating procedures (SOPs) are commonly and widely adopted, in physical fitness testing, a variety of unstandardized testing protocols are proposed. Aims The topic of this review was to evaluate the existing literature on SOPs in physical fitness assessment and to provide guidelines on how SOPs could be created and adopted. Method The electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were screened and original, peer-reviewed studies …

Field-based tests for the assessment of physical fitness in children and adolescents practicing sport: a systematic review within the ESA program

High levels of physical fitness (PF) can positively affect both health and cognitive function, thus monitoring its levels in youth can help increase health and quality of life in adult populations later on. This systematic review aims to identify PF field-based tests used in young European populations practicing sport to find tools that are adequate for the considered target involving a new battery within the Enriched Sport Activities (ESA) project. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was followed. In the 83 identified articles, the main tests used were: vertical/horizontal jumps (for muscular strength/power); push-ups, running at maximu…

The Influence of an Enriched Sport Program on Children’s Sport Motivation in the School Context: The ESA PROGRAM

Purpose: Besides the evident positive effect on body development, physical activity has proven to boost executive functions, especially if the exercises are enriched with cognitive stimuli. Previous studies have shown that introducing challenging exercises in the physical activity routine can also enhance motivation. Therefore, enriching a physical education program with cognitively challenging exercises may also foster children’s motivation during physical education classes, where the motivation is high at the beginning of the school year and low at the end of it. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to test if a sport program enriched by cognitive stimuli may improve kids’ motivation o…

Cognitive and Physical Activity-Related Aspects of Children Associated to the Performance of the Crunning Movement

The aim of this investigation was to identify possible related factors associated to the performance of the crunning test in European children and adolescents. A total number of 559 children and adolescents (age range 6&ndash

Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical Activity

Background: Many research studies have investigated motor impairments and delayed development in children with Down Syndrome (DS). However, very few studies detected these features in adults with DS. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between motor coordination and global development in subjects with DS, including adults. Furthermore, the second aim was to detect any differences in motor coordination and global development as a function of the practice of physical activity (PA) in this population. Methods: Twenty-five participants with DS (10 f, 15 m), with a chronological mean age of 27.24 years and development mean age of cognitive area of 4.93 years, were enrolled an…

Effects of a Physical Activity Intervention on Physical Fitness of schoolchildren: The Enriched Sport Activity Program

Background: Physical fitness in youth is a predictor of health in adulthood. The main objective of the present study was to understand if an enriched sport activity program could increase physical fitness in a population of schoolchildren. Methods: In a sample of 672 children aged 10.0 &plusmn

The Effect of an enriched sport program on children's executive functions: the ESA program

Purpose: The effects of physical exercise on executive functions (EFs) are well documented. EFs are involved in daily activities, and their development determines the quality of people’s future life, both in terms of mental health and quality of life. The purpose of the current paper is to evaluate the effects of a physical education program, elaborated within the Enriched Sports Activity Program (ESA Program), an Erasmus + Project, on EFs, namely, visuospatial working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and task switching. Method: Data were collected on November 2017 (t1) and May 2018 (t2). At t1, a sample of 357 children from four European countries (Italy, Germany, Lithuan…

Effects of Commitment on Fear of Failure and Burnout in Teen Spanish Handball Players

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors if they are requested, and without undue reservation (jgonzalez@ugr.es).

Cognitive and motivational monitoring during enriched sport activities in a sample of children living in Europe. The ESA program

Enriched Sport Activities (ESA) Program is an Evidence-based Practice Exercise Program cofounded by the Erasmus + Programme of the European Union (Key action: Sport-579661-EPP-1-2016-2-IT-SPO-SCP). It aims to enhance social inclusion, equal opportunities and psycho-physical wellbeing in children with typical development and special needs. This aim will be pursued through two ways: (1) Children and preadolescents’ participation in Enriched Sport Activities (ESA) Program; (2) Parents’ involvement and education on cognitive, motivational and social benefits of Physical Activities (PA) in their children. Recent research showed that high-level cognitive processes, such as inhibition, shifting, w…

An Exploratory Analysis of Factors Associated with Health-Related Physical Fitness in Adolescents. The ASSO Project

Monitoring physical fitness (fitness) and identifying, since the beginning, possible determinants in youth could be useful to preserve health and avoid morbidities in adulthood. The main objective of this study is to provide details on the fitness levels of a sample of adolescents living in the Southern area of Italy and describe its associations with biological/genetic, socio-cultural/environmental, and lifestyle (physical activity/sedentariness, alcohol/smoking, meal patterns/habits) factors. The study was conducted within the Adolescence Surveillance System for Obesity Prevention (ASSO) project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health and examining adolescents&rsquo

The Effects of Different High-Protein Low-Carbohydrates Proprietary Foods on Blood Sugar in Healthy Subjects.

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects on blood sugar concentrations through the calculation of the glycemic score (GS) of 10 different high-protein low-carbohydrates (CHOs) proprietary foods that are commonly used as meals during very low-CHO ketogenic diets or during low-CHO diets. Fourteen healthy females were tested for their glycemic response curve elicited by 1000 kJ of glucose three times within a 3-week period (one test each week) compared with one of 10 test foods once on separate days twice a week. After determining the GS of each food in each individual, the mean GS of each test food was calculated. All test foods, compared with glucose, produced a significantly lower g…

Importance of the Motivational Climate in Goal, Enjoyment, and the Causes of Success in Handball Players

The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of the motivational climate created by the coach and perceived by a group of young handball players on their goal orientations, their beliefs regarding reasons for success and their self-satisfaction. The study participants were 159 young handball players. Players were administered a battery composed of tests to measure the above-mentioned motivational constructs. Results showed that a perceived mastery-oriented motivational climate was positively related to a task-centered goal orientation, enjoyment, and a belief that success may be achieved through effort. In contrast, a perceived performance-orientated training climate was linked to an …

Motor differentiation`s and cognitive skill in pre-scholar age

espanolExiste escasa literatura cientifica sobre la preparacion para la alfabetizacion en ninos de Educacion Infantil con riesgo de Trastorno o Desorden del Desarrollo de la Coordinacion (DCD), a pesar de que esta edad es una de las etapas mas importantes para el desarrollo motor y cognitivo. En este estudio, comparamos las habilidades de pre- alfabetizacion entre ninos de infantil con riesgo de DCD y ninos con desarrollo tipico (TD). La muestra estuvo formada por 26 ninos italianos, con una edad media de 5,1 anos, de los cuales, 13 con riesgo de DCD y 13 TD que asistian a diferentes escuelas de Educacion Infantil. Las habilidades de pre-alfabetizacion se midieron a traves de diversas tarea…

Effects of a Motivational Climate on Psychological Needs Satisfaction, Motivation and Commitment in Teen Handball Players

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the motivational climate created by the coach and perceived by a group of young high-performance handball players on their sport motivation, self-determination, sport psychological needs and sport commitment. The study participants were 479 young handball players. The age range was 16&ndash