Judo as a tool for social integration in adolescents at risk of social exclusion: A pilot study
Purpose: Social policies of the advanced countries have begun to incorporate sport to speak on manifestations of social exclusion, as tool to reach out to young people, strengthen their identity or enhance self-esteem vulnerable groups. Judo can be a good tool for the fulfilment of this purpose because has a philosophy and educational practice that contains much of the core competencies of the educational system. The aim of this study is to analyse the incidence of judo practice in changing attitudes, values, norms and capabilities across organizational forms as a means of enhancing socialization in their interventions with young people at risk of social exclusion. Material/Methods: We used…
Effects of an incremental maximal endurance exercise stress-induced cortisol on cognitive performance
Exercise; Cognitive functions; Cortisol Ejercicio físico; Funciones cognitivas; Cortisol Exercici físic; Funcions cognitives; Cortisol Objectives: It can be hypothesized that cognitive performance decreases after fatigue protocol when it coincides with the maximum peak of cortisol. The first aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of a single bout of high intensity exercise on behavioural (i.e., attention and memory) and physiological (i.e., salivary cortisol) responses. The second objective was to evaluate the effect of the performance of the cognitive tasks on cortisol levels. Methods: Thirty-four physically active men (at least 5 days/week of physical activity practice) 38.11 (1.5…
Working Memory Task Influence in Postural Stability and Cognitive Function in Adolescents.
This paper describes a study on postural stability and cognitive function according to the difficulty increment of a working memory task (WMT) and age group in adolescents. One hundred and twenty-three participants (13–16 years) performed single and dual tasks in a bipedal standing position while barefoot. Four trials were conducted, consisting of single and dual tasks in three progressively difficult WMT conditions (i.e., 3-, 5-, and 7-digit sequences). Friedman’s analysis of variance and Kruskal–Wallis tests were conducted to test the effect of the WMT and age group, respectively. Both the WMT and age were found to affect performance (p < .01). As the cognitive requirements increased, the…
Obesity Affects Postural Control in Middle Childhood and Adolescence but not in Early Childhood
Introduction:Overweight/obese children have postural control differences compared with normal-weight children. Nevertheless, there are not studies that analyze the effect of obesity during the entire period comprised between childhood and adolescence. The objective of this study was to determine the differences in postural control between normal-weight and overweight/obese participants during early and middle childhood and adolescence.Methods:359 children were divided into six groups according to age and weight status. Each participant carried out one 30-s trial with eyes open (EO) and one 30-s trial with eyes closed (EC). Center of pressure signals were acquired using a Wii Balance Board. …
Fatigue does not conjointly alter postural and cognitive performance when standing in a shooting position under dual-task conditions
ABSTRACTThis study investigated the effects of fatigue on balance control and cognitive performance in a standing shooting position. Nineteen soldiers were asked to stand while holding a rifle (single task – ST). They also had to perform this postural task while simultaneously completing a cognitive task (dual task – DT). Both the ST and DT were performed in pre- and post-fatigue conditions. In pre-fatigue, participants achieved better balance control in the DT than in the ST, thus suggesting that the increased cognitive activity associated with the DT improves balance control by shifting the attentional focus away from a highly automatised activity. In post-fatigue, balance control was deg…