scholarly journals Comparison of somatic characteristics and motion prerequisites between children who perform organized physical activities, and children not engaged in sports

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Svatora K ◽  
Spottova P ◽  
Fajfrlikova T

Low physical activity in children of pre-school and younger school age has been a multifaceted problem for several years, which is being addressed by several scientists, primarily doctors, educationalists, and psychologists. The purpose of our study is to compare somatic and motion prerequisites among physically active and physically inactive children from the first grades of primary schools in the Pilsen region. The research sample consisted of 753 pupils from the first grades of primary schools in the Pilsen region, of which 421 boys and 332 girls. Of a total number of pupils, 176 (23.4%) girls and 275 (36.5%) boys are engaged in any sporting activities. At the time of measurement, their average age was 6.87±0.59 years. To obtain somatic characteristics, body heights and weights of children were measured, and from the measured data, a body mass index (BMI) for the child category was calculated. To determine the level of motion prerequisites, we used the DMT 6-18 test battery, consisting of 8 tests. The tests are aim to assess the level of dynamic and explosive power, speed, coordination, balance, flexibility, and endurance. The results of our study highlight the fact that even in the age range of 6 to 7 years, there are significant differences between physically active and physically inactive children in the tests, which monitor motion prerequisites of children. Statistically significant differences were seen primarily in tests which monitor the level of fitness abilities, i.e. the components of the body health-oriented fitness.

Author(s):  
Leona Roca ◽  
Marko Badrić

The objective of the research was to investigate to what extent students of first and second grades of primary school participate in physical activities in their free time. We are living in the age of sedentary lifestyle, which is becoming a problem of public health. 189 respondents took part in this research of which 93 girls and 96 boys aged 7 to 9. To assess the level of students’ activity in their free time, a poll was used consisting of eight questions from the questionnaire “Fels physical activity questionnaire for children” (FPAQ). Based on queries from the questionnaire, indices were calculated from the area of sports (IS), free time (ISV; household chores (IKP) and total physical activity result (UTA). To assess body composition, anthropometric measures of height, mass, BMI and percentage of fat in the body were used. To assess those, we used the device for measuring physical composition– Omron BF500 Body Composition Monitor. Results indicate that 59.26% do not meet daily recommendations for participating in physical activities. As regards the difference in students’ age, it is notable that second grade students are somewhat more physically active. Observing average results, it is clear that students were most physically active in their free time. The lowest values were recorded in the area of sports at school, (1.15), yet lower values were also obtained from sports club activities (2.06). It is evident that students of that age are minimally active during their PE classes and this is a segment where the number of physically active students can be increased. Increasing physical activity at school shall encourage students to participate in physical activity outside educational institutions.


2016 ◽  
pp. 91-105
Author(s):  
Carmen Palumbo ◽  
Susana Franco ◽  
Ferdinando Cereda

The aim of this descriptive study is to reflect on the development of physical education in Italian schools by delineating the key milestones in the development of motor and physical activities in nursery and primary schools with reference to the national guidelines provided by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research.These reflections focus on the potentiality of corporeality for a personalized didactics, with the aim of reconsidering the importance of body and movement as privileged areas for the education of the person, which finds its roots in the adoption of a didactics of the body that reinstates the role of physical-motor sciences within the educational processes, thus creating the possibility for teaching movement and teaching through movement.  


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-78
Author(s):  
Monika Guszkowska

Abstract Introduction. The aim of the study was to compare the image of the body, the level of its acceptance and satisfaction with it, as well as anxiety about one’s physical appearance and overall self-esteem in a group of adult women who did fitness exercise and those who were physically inactive. Material and methods. The study involved 464 women aged 18 to 35 years (M=25.49; SD=5.24), including 277 women who exercised regularly in fitness clubs in Warsaw and 187 women who did not engage in regular physical activity. The following instruments were adapted and used for the purposes of the study: the Figure Rating Scale, the Body Satisfaction Scale, the Self-Esteem Scale, the Social Physique Anxiety Scale, and a questionnaire designed by the authors. Student’s t-test was used to determine the differences between the two groups. Results. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of actual and ideal body parameters; however, the discrepancies between actual and ideal height and BMI were greater in women who were not physically active. The women who did fitness exercise were less dissatisfied with their overall and facial appearance, and they had higher self-esteem and lower anxiety about their physical appearance that those who were inactive. No significant intergroup differences were found for the subjects’ ideal and actual figures or for those preferred by women and preferred by men, nor for the discrepancies between these figures. Conclusions. Differences in the body image of adult women who did fitness exercise and those who were physically inactive were revealed for the emotional aspects of body image, but not for the cognitive ones. The differences found in the study are likely to be due to the selection of subjects and they do not provide sufficient evidence to prove that exercise has a positive impact on body image.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (101) ◽  
pp. 364-374
Author(s):  
Wasim Khan ◽  
Asif Ali ◽  
Salahuddin Khan ◽  
Naveed Yazdani

Sound health is considered a prerequisite for performing any action, whether it is participation in sports or performing any other activity of life. From the perspective of Islam, health and fitness are imperative for the appropriate performance of various religious obligations. Sports and other physical activities are considered very effective means to achieve good health. In this paper, the researchers analyzed diverse Islamic standards and rules with reference to participation in games. Moreover, researchers also analyzed the preservation and maintenance of health in the light of the teachings of Islam. After a brief discussion, it was concluded that the Islamic approach is very clear and Islam endorses the upkeep and maintenance of health, fitness and physical power. It was also concluded that sports and other physical activities of today are variations of such activities performed in the past. The study also claims that Islam promotes involvement in leisure sports and other physical activities carried out to strengthen the body and to retain fitness, while observing Islamic teachings, formulated rules and regulations. It can be inferred that the Holy Prophet (SAW) not only took part in different games but also convinced and encouraged his disciples to take part in sporting activities.


Author(s):  
Youngjun Park ◽  
Sunjae Lee ◽  
Sohyun Park

Despite the overall increase in physical activities and park uses, the discrepancies between physically inactive and active people have increasing widened in recent times. This paper aims to empirically measure the differences in walking activity in urban parks between the physically inactive and active. As for the dataset, 22,744 peoples’ 550,234 walking bouts were collected from the mHealth system of the Seoul government, using the smartphone healthcare app, WalkOn, from September to November 2019, in Seocho-gu district, Seoul, Korea. We classified the physically inactive and active sample groups, based on their regular walking (≥150 min of moderate-to-vigorous walking activity a week), and analyzed their park walking activities. We found that while there was no significant difference in walking measures of non-park walking between the sample groups, the difference did exist in park walking. The park walking average in the physically active group had more steps (p = 0.021), longer time (p = 0.008), and higher intensity (p < 0.001) of walking than that in the inactive group. Each park also revealed differences in its on-site park walking quantity and quality, based on which we could draw the list of ‘well-walked parks’, which held more bouts and more moderate-to-vigorous physical activities (MVPAs) than other parks in Seocho-gu district. This paper addresses how park walking of physically inactive and active people is associated with multiple differences in everyday urban walking.


2011 ◽  
Vol 219 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babett Voigt ◽  
Ingo Aberle ◽  
Judith Schönfeld ◽  
Matthias Kliegel

The present study examined age differences in time-based prospective memory (TBPM) in primary school age children and tested the role of self-initiated memory retrieval and strategic time monitoring (TM) as possible developmental mechanisms. Fifty-four children were recruited from local primary schools (27 younger children, mean age = 7.2 ± 0.55 years, and 27 older children, mean age = 9.61 ± 0.71 years). The task was a driving game scenario in which children had to drive a vehicle (ongoing task) and to remember to refuel before the vehicle runs out of gas (TBPM task, i.e., the fuel gauge served as child-appropriate time equivalent). Fuel gauge was either displayed permanently (low level of self-initiation) or could only be viewed on demand by hitting a button (high level of self-initiation). The results revealed age-dependent TBPM differences with better performance in older children. In contrast, level of self-initiated memory retrieval did not affect TBPM performance. However, strategies of TM influenced TBPM, as more frequent time checking was related to better performance. Patterns of time checking frequency differed according to children’s age and course of the game, suggesting difficulties in maintaining initial strategic TM in younger children. Taken together, the study revealed ongoing development of TBPM across primary school age. Observed age differences seemed to be associated with the ability to maintain strategic monitoring.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Greta

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis is a widespread and in many cases a fatal, infectious disease caused by many strains of mycobacterium complex usually mycobacterium tuberculosis. It can affect any part of the body but mainly the lungs hence called pulmonary tuberculosis. Tuberculosis in children has been less of a public health priority in the recent years despite the fact that TB has been a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide with difficulties in diagnosis. Data on trends of childhood TB is rarely in published literature hence need for this research which will help in publishing OBJECTIVE To establish the trends in TB among children aged 1-12 years and its management over a period of five years from 2011- 2015 at Arthur Davison children’s hospital in Ndola and also to determine the proportion of TB in these children and to establish the age group most affected by TB over the period of five years and lastly to assess the proportion of TB and HIV as a co-morbidity METHODS The study reviewed all records that were registered in the MOH TB register at ADH from 2011 to 2015 coming up with a total number of 483 TB records and these records had satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data capturing tool was used to collect the data. RESULTS : This study determined the trends of TB in children aged 1 to 12 over the five years period from a total of 483 reviewed paediatric TB cases , its proportion in these children, the age range most affected by TB and lastly assessed TB and HIV as a co-morbidity at Arthur Davison Children’s hospital. It revealed that the trends were decreasing and that out of 483 TB patient, the majority 157(32.5%) of the TB patients were seen in the year 2011, followed by 129(26.7%), 84(17.4%), 57(11.8%) and 56(11.6%) representing the year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. Findings on the age range most affected are that the majority 282(58.4%) of the TB patients were aged (5-12) years old while 201(41.6%) were aged between (1-5) years old. Therefore, the age range most affected by TB was between (5-12) years. The TB proportion results showed that Out of 483, the majority 467(96.7%) of the TB patient type were newly diagnosed, followed by 13(2.7%), 2(.4%) and the rest 1(.2%) that were Relapse, Trans-in and Treatment resumed respectively. And that many 467(96.7%) of TB condition types were PTB while 16(3.3%) were EPTB. Furthermore, the majority of 463(95.9%) were diagnosed by X-ray while 20(4.1%) were diagnosed by smear microscopy. And lastly In terms of HIV as a co-morbidity, the majority 175(36.2%) of the TB patients were HIV positive, followed by 173(35.8%) that were HIV negative while the rest 135(28%) of the TB patients were not tested for HIV CONCLUSIONS This study reports that the trends of TB in children aged 1-12 years have been decreasing from 2015 to 2011 .And the age range most affected was found to have been 5-12 years and the proportion of TB cases were mostly newly diagnosed and the diagnosis was made by use x-ray and lastly the large proportion of TB patients had tested positive for HIV as a co-morbidity. Therefore efforts should be made to sustain this decreasing trend of childhood TB.


Author(s):  
Lenin Pazmino ◽  
Wilmer Esparza ◽  
Arian Ramón Aladro-Gonzalvo ◽  
Edgar León

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.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Crooks ◽  
Laura Alston ◽  
Melanie Nichols ◽  
Kristy A. Bolton ◽  
Steven Allender ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Environments within schools including the physical, social-cultural and policy/practice environments have the potential to influence children’s physical activity (PA) behaviours and weight status. This Australian first study comprehensively examined the association(s) of physical, social-cultural and policy/practice environments with PA, active transport (AT) and weight status among regional primary school children. Methods Data were from two childhood obesity monitoring systems in regional Victoria, Australia. Measured height and weight were collected from students in Year 2 (aged approx. 7–8 years), Year 4 (9–10 years), and Year 6 (11–12 years). Self–reported PA behaviour, including AT were collected from students in Year 4 and 6 and a sub-sample wore an ActiGraph (wGT3X-BT) accelerometer for 7-days. A school physical activity environment audit was completed by the school principal and responses were used to calculate school physical activity environment scores (PAES) and active transport environment scores (ATES). Mixed effects logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between the proportion of students meeting the PA guidelines (≥60mins/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA) and PAES tertiles (low, medium, high) and those using AT and school ATES tertiles, controlling for gender, school size/type and socioeconomic composition. Results The analysed sample included 54/146 (37%) schools and 3360/5376 (64%) students. In stratified analysis, girls in schools with a medium PAES score were more likely to meet the objectively measured PA guideline compared to low PAES score (OR 2.3, 95%CI 1.27, 4.16). Similarly, students in schools with a medium or high ATES score had higher odds of self-reported AT (medium OR 3.15, 95%CI 1.67, 5.94; high OR 3.71, 95%CI: 1.80, 7.64). No association between PAES or ATES and weight status were observed. Self-reported AT among boys (OR 1.59, 95%CI 1.19, 2.13) and girls (OR 1.56, 95%CI 1.08, 2.27) was associated with higher odds of meeting self-reported PA guidelines on all 7-days than those who did not report using AT. Conclusions In this study of regional Victorian primary schools, PA environments were only associated with girls’ adherence to PA guidelines. School AT environments were strongly associated with students’ AT behaviours and with increased likelihood of students being physically active.


Obesity Facts ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Liesa Marie Lier ◽  
Christoph Breuer ◽  
Nina Ferrari ◽  
David Friesen ◽  
Fernanda Maisonave ◽  
...  

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Up to now, there is limited clarity on factors that determine the effectiveness of childhood obesity interventions. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> This study intends to uncover individual- and program-level predictors of BMI-SDS and fitness to achieve significant, sustainable health improvements. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Data of 249 children with obesity or overweight who participated in an outpatient multidisciplinary program were analysed and compared to 54 waitlist controls. Linear regression models were used to examine associations between individual- and group-level variables and BMI-SDS and fitness. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Among intervention children, BMI-SDS decreased by 0.19 units and physical fitness increased by 11.5%, versus a BMI-SDS decrease of 0.07 and a 1.8% decrease in fitness in the control group. Participants who reported being physically active before the program start achieved greater improvements in BMI-SDS (β = –0.177, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05) and physical fitness (β = 0.174, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05) than inactive peers. BMI-SDS decreased significantly more for members of gender-heterogeneous groups (β = 0.194, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05) with a narrow age range (β = 0.152, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The program under review is effective in counteracting juvenile obesity. The results give reason to believe that forming mixed-gender groups with a small age range and providing increased support for reportedly inactive children may improve program effectiveness.


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