0000000000512195

AUTHOR

Timo Lakka

Determinants of Cognitive Performance in Children and Adolescents : A Populational Longitudinal Study

We evaluated the determinants of cognitive performance in children and adolescents. This is a longitudinal study, secondary analysis of the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) study. We assessed 502 children (51.6% girls) at middle childhood (range: 6.6 to 9.0 years), at late childhood, 437 children (51.0% girls, range: 8.8 to 11.2 years), and in 277 adolescents (54.5% girls, range: 15.0 to 17.4 years). Raven’s progressive matrices tests estimated the participants’ cognitive performance (outcome variable) at all time points. In total, we evaluated 29 factors from various dimensions (prenatal, neonatal, child fitness, lifestyle and anthropometrics). None of the neonatal and a…

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European fitness landscape for children and adolescents: updated reference values, fitness maps and country rankings based on nearly 8 million test results from 34 countries gathered by the FitBack network

Objectives (1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness in European children and adolescents aged 6–18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multilanguage fitness platform (FitBack); (2) to provide comparisons across European countries. Methods This study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity and fitness at population level (ALPHA) test battery as it comprises tests with the h…

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Lasten ja nuorten kestävyyskunto

Kestävyyskunto on yksi tutkituimmista terveyteen ja suorituskykyyn yhdistetyistä fyysisen kunnon osa-alueista lapsilla ja nuorilla. Kestävyyskunnon mittaamiseen, sitä koskevien mittaustulosten tulkintaan, kestävyyskunnon harjoitettavuuteen sekä kestävyyskunnon terveysvaikutusten tutkimiseen lapsilla ja nuorilla liittyy yhä haasteita. nonPeerReviewed

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An Overview on the Associations between Health Behaviors and Brain Health in Children and Adolescents with Special Reference to Diet Quality.

Unhealthy diet has been associated with overweight, obesity, increased cardiometabolic risk, and recently, to impaired cognition and academic performance. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the associations between health behaviors and cognition and academic achievement in children and adolescents under 18 years of age with a special reference to diet quality. Dietary patterns with a low consumption of fish, fruits, and vegetables, and high in fast food, sausages, and soft drinks have been linked to poor cognition and academic achievement. The studies on the associations between the high intake of saturated fat and red meat and low intake of fiber and high-fiber grain produ…

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