Promoting Factors for Physical Activity in Children with Asthma Explored through Concept Mapping

For children with asthma, physical activity (PA) can decrease the impact of their asthma. Thus far, effective PA promoting interventions for this group are lacking. To develop an intervention, the current study aimed to identify perspectives on physical activity of children with asthma, their parents, and healthcare providers. Children with asthma between 8 and 12 years old (n = 25), their parents (n = 17), and healthcare providers (n = 21) participated in a concept mapping study. Participants generated ideas that would help children with asthma to become more physically active. They sorted all ideas and rated their importance on influencing PA. Clusters were created with multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. The researchers labelled the clusters as either environmental or personal factors using the Physical Activity for people with a Disability model. In total, 26 unique clusters were generated, of which 17 were labelled as environmental factors and 9 as personal factors. Important factors that promote physical activity in children with asthma according to all participating groups are asthma control, stimulating environments and relatives, and adapted facilities suiting the child’s needs. These factors, supported by the future users, enable developing an intervention that helps healthcare providers to promote PA in children with asthma.

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Translating promoting factors and behavior change principles into the blended and technology supported intervention “Foxfit” to stimulate physical activity in children with asthma: Design study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.34121 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Annette Brons ◽

Katja Braam ◽

Aline Broekema ◽

Annieck Timmerman ◽

Karel Millenaar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Behavior Change ◽

Developmental Process ◽

Intervention Mapping ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Children With Asthma ◽

Change Principles ◽

And Behavior ◽

The Impact ◽

Functional Components

BACKGROUND Children with asthma can decrease the impact of their disease by improving their physical activity (PA). However, healthcare providers lack in interventions for children with asthma that effectively increase their PA levels and achieve behavior change regarding PA. A technology supported approach can positively influence PA and physical functioning in children. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to develop a technology supported intervention that facilitates healthcare providers in promoting PA for children with asthma and to systematically describe this developmental process. METHODS Intervention mapping (IM) was applied to develop a blended and technology supported intervention in co-creation with children with asthma, their parents, and healthcare providers. According to the IM framework, the following steps were performed: 1) conduct a needs assessment; 2) define the intervention outcome, performance objectives, and change objectives; 3) select theory based intervention methods and strategies; 4) create components of the intervention and conduct pilot tests; 5) create an implementation plan; and 6) create an evaluation plan. RESULTS We developed the blended intervention “Foxfit” that consists of an app with a physical activity monitor (PAM) for children with asthma, and a web-based dashboard for their healthcare provider. The intervention focusses on PA in everyday life to improve social participation. Foxfit contains components based on behavior change principles and gamification: goal setting, rewards, action planning, (self-)monitoring, shaping knowledge, a gamified story, personal coaching and feedback, and a tailored approach. CONCLUSIONS The IM framework was very useful to systematically develop a technology supported intervention and to describe the translational process from scientific evidence, the needs and wishes of future users, and behavior change principles into this intervention. This has led to the technology supported intervention Foxfit that facilitates healthcare providers in promoting PA in children with asthma. The structured description of the development process and functional components shows the way behavior change techniques are incorporated in the intervention. CLINICALTRIAL Dutch Trial Register: NTR6658

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Impact of Work and Recreational Physical Activity on Prediabetes Condition among U.S. Adults: NHANES 2015–2016

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041378 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1378

Author(s):

Lenin Pazmino ◽

Wilmer Esparza ◽

Arian Ramón Aladro-Gonzalvo ◽

Edgar León

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Protective Factor ◽

Hemoglobin A1c ◽

Physical Activities ◽

Recreational Physical Activity ◽

Physically Active ◽

Hba1c Test ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

The Impact

More minutes of physical activity (PA) accumulated during a day are associated with a lower risk of diabetes mellitus type 2. However, it is less known if distinct dimensions of PA can produce a different protective effect in the prevention of prediabetes. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of work and recreational PA on prediabetes among U.S. adults during the period 2015–2016 using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. Individuals (n = 4481) with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test values of 5.7% to 6.4% were included. A logistic regression multivariate-adjusted analysis was conducted to estimate the association between the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of prediabetes, with work and recreational PA. The prevalence of prediabetes among U.S. adults was lower in physically active individuals both at work (~24%) and recreational (~21%) physical activities compared to individuals who were not physically active (27 to 30%). Individuals lacking practice of recreational PA had a high risk of prediabetes (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.080 to 1.466). PA may be a protective factor for prediabetes conditions depending on gender, age, ethnic group, waist circumference, and thyroid disease.

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Body Mass, Physical Activity and Eating Habits Changes during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in Poland

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115682 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5682

Author(s):

Hubert Dobrowolski ◽

Dariusz Włodarek

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Body Weight ◽

Body Mass ◽

Social Life ◽

Eating Habits ◽

High Energy ◽

High Energy Density ◽

Average Weight ◽

Study Participants ◽

The Impact

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a number of changes in social life around the world. In response to the growing number of infections, some countries have introduced restrictions that may have resulted in the change of the lifestyle. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of the lockdown on body weight, physical activity and some eating habits of the society. The survey involving 183 people was conducted using a proprietary questionnaire. The mean age of the study participants was 33 ± 11 and mean height 169 ± 8 cm. An average increase in body weight was observed in 49.18% by 0.63 ± 3.7 kg which was the result of a decrease in physical activity and an increase in food consumption. We also observed a decrease in PAL from 1.64 ± 0.15 to 1.58 ± 0.13 and changes in the amount of food and individual groups of products consumption, including alcohol. Among the study participants who did not lose body mass, there was an average weight gain of 2.25 ± 2.5 kg. In conclusion, an increase of weight was shown in about half of the respondents in the study group which was associated with a decrease in physical activity and an increase in the consumption of total food and high energy density products.

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Impact of Regular Physical Activity on Aortic Diameter Progression in Paediatric Patients with Bicuspid Aortic Valve

Pediatric Cardiology ◽

10.1007/s00246-021-02591-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Emanuele Monda ◽

◽

Adelaide Fusco ◽

Alessandro Della Corte ◽

Martina Caiazza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Ascending Aorta ◽

Regular Physical Activity ◽

Aortic Diameter ◽

Sinus Of Valsalva ◽

Physically Active ◽

The Impact ◽

Aorta Diameter ◽

Sedentary Subjects

AbstractPatients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) have an increased risk of aortic dilation and aortic dissection or rupture. The impact of physical training on the natural course of aortopathy in BAV patients remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of regular physical activity on aortic diameters in a consecutive cohort of paediatric patients with BAV. Consecutive paediatric BAV patients were evaluated and categorized into two groups: physically active and sedentary subjects. Only the subjects with a complete 2-year follow-up were included in the study. To evaluate the potential impact of physical activity on aortic size, aortic diameters were measured at the sinus of Valsalva and mid-ascending aorta using echocardiography. We defined aortic diameter progression the increase of aortic diameter ≥ 10% from baseline. Among 90 BAV patients (11.5 ± 3.4 years of age, 77% males), 53 (59%) were physically active subjects. Compared to sedentary, physically active subjects were not significantly more likely to have > 10% increase in sinus of Valsalva (13% vs. 8%, p-value = 0.45) or mid-ascending aorta diameter (9% vs. 13%, p-value = 0.55) at 2 years follow-up, both in subjects with sinus of Valsalva diameter progression (3.7 ± 1.0 mm vs. 3.5 ± 0.8 mm, p-value = 0.67) and in those with ascending aorta diameter progression (3.0 ± 0.8 mm vs. 3.2 ± 1.3 mm, p-value = 0.83). In our paediatric cohort of BAV patients, the prevalence and the degree of aortic diameter progression was not significantly different between physically active and sedentary subjects, suggesting that aortic dilation is unrelated to regular physical activity over a 2-year period.

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Physically Active Breaks in the Teaching Process

Collegium Antropologicum ◽

10.5671/ca.45.3.7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 235-242

Author(s):

Ivan Holik ◽

Vesna Štemberger ◽

Petra Pejić Papak ◽

Vilko Petrić ◽

Matea Kitak

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Educational Achievement ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Educational Process ◽

T Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Teaching Process ◽

Physically Active ◽

Active Breaks ◽

The Impact

The aim of this research is to study the impact of physically active breaks, accompanied by video materials, on the level of pupils’ educational achievement and their attitudes toward physically active breaks during the teaching process in the classroom. The research lasted for two months, and the apposite sample consisted of a total of 38 pupils aged 10 to 11. The influence of physically active breaks on the educational achievement was estimated by the percentage of correct answers in the tasks of mathematics, while the Croatian version of the questionnaire Attitudes towards the Physical Activity Scale (APAS) was used for evaluating the attitudes toward physically active breaks with video materials. Differ ences between the initial and final measuring inside the same group were tested by the Student’s dependent sample t-test, while for differences between the experimental and control group the Student’s independent sample t-test was used. The obtained results showed that the ability to solve mathematical tasks in the experimental group has significantly improved when compared to the control one and that physically active breaks have a positive influence on the pupils’ attitudes toward physical activity. The implementation of physically active breaks into teaching has an impact on pupils’ productivity in the educational process, while at the same time their need for movement is fulfilled.

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Systematic review of acute physically active learning and classroom movement breaks on children’s physical activity, cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour: understanding critical design features

BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine ◽

10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000341 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. e000341 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Andy J Daly-Smith ◽

Stephen Zwolinsky ◽

Jim McKenna ◽

Phillip D Tomporowski ◽

Margaret Anne Defeyter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Active Learning ◽

Good Practice ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Physically Active ◽

Classroom Behaviour ◽

The Impact

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of acute classroom movement break (CMB) and physically active learning (PAL) interventions on physical activity (PA), cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesPubMed, EBSCO, Academic Search Complete, Education Resources Information Center, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, SCOPUS and Web of Science.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesStudies investigating school-based acute bouts of CMB or PAL on (PA), cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour. The Downs and Black checklist assessed risk of bias.ResultsTen PAL and eight CMB studies were identified from 2929 potentially relevant articles. Risk of bias scores ranged from 33% to 64.3%. Variation in study designs drove specific, but differing, outcomes. Three studies assessed PA using objective measures. Interventions replaced sedentary time with either light PA or moderate-to-vigorous PA dependent on design characteristics (mode, duration and intensity). Only one study factored individual PA outcomes into analyses. Classroom behaviour improved after longer moderate-to-vigorous (>10 min), or shorter more intense (5 min), CMB/PAL bouts (9 out of 11 interventions). There was no support for enhanced cognition or academic performance due to limited repeated studies.ConclusionLow-to-medium quality designs predominate in investigations of the acute impacts of CMB and PAL on PA, cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour. Variable quality in experimental designs, outcome measures and intervention characteristics impact outcomes making conclusions problematic. CMB and PAL increased PA and enhanced time on task. To improve confidence in study outcomes, future investigations should combine examples of good practice observed in current studies.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017070981.

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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity practice of people with disabilities

EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY ◽

10.3280/ess1-2021oa11886 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 240-251

Author(s):

Márcia Greguol ◽

Cristiana Conti ◽

Bruno Marson Malagodi ◽

Bruna Barboza Seron ◽

Elaine Cappellazzo Souto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Eating Habits ◽

People With Disabilities ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

World Population ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Physically Active ◽

Healthy Habits ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

The Impact

The global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 has profoundly changed the daily life of most of the world population. People with disabilities have been particularly affected by these changes, which often have accentuated their isolation and marginalization also due to greater difficulties in accessing healthcare services. People with disabilities have also been impacted in relation to their ability to participate in physical activity with even more adverse consequences for their quality of life and health. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity practice of people with disabilities and to understand the changes that caregivers have perceived for the participation in physical activity of this specific population. It emerged that, regardless of the type of disability, people with this condition experienced drastic reductions in their physical activity levels during the pandemic and in most cases did not have access to any type of remote guidance. Furthermore, a higher prevalence of sedentary behavior and negative changes in eating habits have been reported by the caregivers, highlighting the need for specific strategies and initiatives for people with disabilities to maintain healthy habits and a physically active lifestyle.

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Physical Activity of Polish and Norwegian Local Communities in the Context of Self-Government Authorities’ Projects

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16101710 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. 1710

Author(s):

Anna Maria Urbaniak-Brekke ◽

Beata Pluta ◽

Magdalena Krzykała ◽

Marcin Andrzejewski

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Local Governments ◽

Local Authorities ◽

Physically Active ◽

Time Pattern ◽

Outdoor Sports ◽

Action Model ◽

Recreation Facilities ◽

Sport And Recreation ◽

The Impact

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between the physical activity (PA) undertaken by two groups of residents living in Poland and Norway, and projects run by their respective local authorities. A secondary goal is to determine PA levels in the studied social groups. Two representative groups (one from each country) were examined using a diagnostic survey, supported by questionnaires and interviews. The Polish cohort consisted of 382 respondents who were residents of 11 municipalities in the Kalisz district of the Greater Poland voivodship. The Norwegian cohort was made up of 378 residents of 8 Indre Sogn municipalities from the Sogn og Fjordane region. Norwegians are twice as physically active as Poles and assess their municipal sport and recreation facilities to be much better. There is no statistically significant relationship between Polish and Norwegian PA levels in the two studied groups and their positive views on the impact of their local governments’ projects to promote PA. Statistically significant correlations occurred between the frequency of PA undertaken, the time pattern of class unit, MET level (metabolic equivalent) and the declared use of the sport and recreation facilities of the two communities. Both groups are more willing to be active outdoors than indoors and thus municipal authorities should take particular care about the state of outdoor sports and recreation infrastructure. An innovative and original action model is presented to assist local authorities in their attempts to raise PA levels in their communities.

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Leisure Activities of Healthy Children and Adolescents

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16122078 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. 2078 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Lea Auhuber ◽

Mandy Vogel ◽

Nico Grafe ◽

Wieland Kiess ◽

Tanja Poulain

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Social Life ◽

Economic Status ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

Age Groups ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Older Children ◽

Physically Active ◽

Mobile Phone Use ◽

Study Participants

The objective of the present study was to give a detailed overview on the leisure behavior of adolescents (frequency, differences between gender, age groups and social class, time trends, and inter-relations). In total, 1449 10- to 18-year-old German adolescents were included in the study. Participants answered questionnaires about their media use, physical activity, outdoor time, engagement in choir/orchestra and theater/dancing, social life and socio-economic status (SES). The results revealed that girls, children with lower SES as well as older children reported to use screen-based media more often and that girls, older children and children with lower SES were less physically active. In addition, boys and children with lower SES engaged less frequently in choir/orchestra and theater/dancing, while children with higher SES met their friends more often. The time trend analysis showed that mobile phone use increased drastically from 2011 to 2017, while engagement in choir/orchestra and theater/dancing decreased. Regarding the inter-relation between leisure activities, high screen times were significantly associated with less physical activity and less outdoor time. Physical activity, in contrast, was significantly related to better social life and more outdoor time. These findings highlight the growing importance of electronic media in adolescents’ lives and their tendency to displace other leisure activities.

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