1,394 research outputs found

    Effects of the Boy Scouts of America Personal Fitness Merit Badge on Cardio-Metabolic Risk, Health Related Fitness and Physical Activity in Adolescents Boys

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    International Journal of Exercise Science 10(7): 964-976, 2017. A growing number of adolescents are more sedentary and have fewer formal opportunities to participate in physical activity. With the mounting evidence that sedentary time has a negative impact on cardio-metabolic profiles, health related fitness and physical activity, there is a pressing need to find an affordable adolescent physical activity intervention. One possible intervention that has been overlooked in the past is Boy Scouts of America. There are nearly 900,000 adolescent boys who participate in Boy Scouts in the United States. The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the effect of the Personal Fitness merit badge system on physical activity, health-related fitness, and cardio-metabolic blood profiles in Boy Scouts 11-17 years of age. Participants were fourteen (N = 14) Boy Scouts from the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America who earned their Personal Fitness merit badge. Classes were held in the Spring of 2016 where boys received the information needed to obtain the merit badge and data were collected. Results from the related-samples Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that the median of differences between VO2 peak pre-test and post-test scores were statistically significant (p = 0.004). However, it also showed that the differences between the Pre-MetS (metabolic syndrome) and Post-MetS scores (p = 0.917), average steps taken per day (p = 0.317), and BMI (p = 0.419) were not statistically significant. In conclusion, the merit badge program had a positive impact on cardiovascular endurance, suggesting this program has potential to improve cardiovascular fitness and should be considered for boys participating in Boy Scouts

    Factors Influencing Muscular Strength and Endurance in Disadvantaged Children From Low-Income Families

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    International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 306-317, 2016. Examining the correlates of muscular strength and endurance in children from low-income families will provide evidence for interventions to improve these parameters. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors and trends of muscular strength and endurance in at-risk school-aged children. The sample included 1,232 children (Mean age = 8.8 ± 1.6 years; 625 girls, 607 boys; 60% Hispanic) recruited from three U.S. low-income schools. Children performed health-related fitness testing and wore pedometers for one school week. A stratified random subsample (n = 533) also wore accelerometers to record sedentary behaviors, MVPA, and vigorous physical activity. Generalized linear mixed models were employed to calculate odds ratios (OR) for achieving FITNESSGRAM’s push-up and curl-up standards (met standard = HFZ) from various predictors and to determine odds of achievement across grade levels. A student who achieved the HFZ for VO2 Peak had an OR = 1.66 (p \u3c 0.001) for achieving the HFZ for pushups and an OR = 1.99 (p \u3c 0.01) for achieving the HFZ for curl-ups. Additionally, students whose vigorous physical activity was 1% higher had an OR = 3.25 (p \u3c 0.05) for achieving the HFZ for curl-ups. For cohorts of students separated by one grade level, the OR = 0.48 (p \u3c 0.01) for achieving the HFZ for pushups and OR = 0.71 (p \u3c 0.01) for achieving the HFZ for curl-ups. The results suggest that VO2 Peak, vigorous physical activity, and grade level are significant predictors of muscular strength and endurance in at-risk children

    Effect of a 12-Week Summer Break on School Day Physical Activity and Health-Related Fitness in Low-Income Children from CSPAP Schools

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    Background. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 12-week summer break on school day physical activity and health-related fitness (HRF) in children from schools receiving a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP). Methods. Participants were school-aged children (; 624 girls and 608 boys; years) recruited from three low-income schools receiving a CSPAP. Physical activity and HRF levels were collected during the end of spring semester 2015 and again during the beginning of fall semester 2015. Physical activity was assessed using the Yamax DigiWalker CW600 pedometer. HRF measures consisted of body mass index (BMI) and the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER). Results. Results from a doubly MANCOVA analysis indicated that pedometer step counts decreased from 4,929 steps in the spring to 4,445 steps in the fall (mean difference = 484 steps; ; Cohen’s d = 0.30) and PACER laps decreased from 31.2 laps in the spring to 25.8 laps in the fall (mean difference = 5.4 laps; ; Cohen’s d = 0.33). Conclusions. Children from schools receiving a CSPAP intervention had lower levels of school day physical activity and cardiorespiratory endurance following a 12-week summer break

    Associations of 24-hour movement behaviors, parental academic support, and academic achievement in Alaskan adolescents

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    The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between meeting recommendations for 24-hour movement behaviors, parental academic support, and student academic achievement in a sample of Alaskan adolescents. Data were obtained from the 2019 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS; N = 1,897; mean age = 15.8 ± 1.3 years old). The associations between meeting recommendations for the 24-hour movement behaviors of physical activity, screen use, and sleep with high academic achievement (mostly A’s and B’s) were examined using weighted multivariable logistic regressions. Subpopulation analyses determined if associations differed by levels of parental academic support. Approximately 18.8% of the sample met PA recommendations, 70% met screen use recommendations, and 24.6% met sleep recommendations. Parents providing everyday academic support are associated with higher odds of an adolescent reporting mostly A’s and B’s (OR = 2.03, p \u3c .001). Meeting screen use recommendations associated with high academic achievement in adolescents with less than every day pa-rental academic support (OR = 1.87, p = .001) and meeting sleep recommendations associated with high academic achievement in adolescents with less than every day (OR = 2.20, p = .005) and every day (OR = 1.77, p = .038) parental academic support. Meeting PA recommendations did not associate with high academic achievement. These findings elucidate the complexity of these interrelationships but warrant additional longitudinal investigation

    Validation of the Apple Watch for Estimating Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity and Activity Energy Expenditure in School-Aged Children.

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    The Apple Watch is one of the most popular wearable devices designed to monitor physical activity (PA). However, it is currently unknown whether the Apple Watch accurately estimates children's free-living PA. Therefore, this study assessed the concurrent validity of the Apple Watch 3 in estimating moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) time and active energy expenditure (AEE) for school-aged children under a simulated and a free-living condition. Twenty elementary school students (Girls: 45%, age: 9.7 ± 2.0 years) wore an Apple Watch 3 device on their wrist and performed prescribed free-living activities in a lab setting. A subgroup of participants (N = 5) wore the Apple Watch for seven consecutive days in order to assess the validity in free-living condition. The K5 indirect calorimetry (K5) and GT3X+ were used as the criterion measure under simulated free-living and free-living conditions, respectively. Mean absolute percent errors (MAPE) and Bland-Altman (BA) plots were conducted to assess the validity of the Apple Watch 3 compared to those from the criterion measures. Equivalence testing determined the statistical equivalence between the Apple Watch and K5 for MVPA time and AEE. The Apple Watch provided comparable estimates for MVPA time (mean bias: 0.3 min, p = 0.91, MAPE: 1%) and for AEE (mean bias: 3.8 kcal min, p = 0.75, MAPE: 4%) during the simulated free-living condition. The BA plots indicated no systematic bias for the agreement in MVPA and AEE estimates between the K5 and Apple Watch 3. However, the Apple Watch had a relatively large variability in estimating AEE in children. The Apple Watch was statistically equivalent to the K5 within ±17.7% and ±20.8% for MVPA time and AEE estimates, respectively. Our findings suggest that the Apple Watch 3 has the potential to be used as a PA assessment tool to estimate MVPA in school-aged children

    The Association of Virtual Exercise Classes and Well-Being During COVID-19 Among University Employees

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    This cross-sectional study sought to examine the association of virtual exercise with physical activity (PA), general, and mental health during COVID-19 among university employees. Individuals completed an online survey with questions about demographic, sleep, substance use, and virtual exercise participation. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey assessed PA, general, and mental health. Data were analyzed for descriptive, correlation, and multiple regression models. Complete data were collected from 122 participants with a mean age of 45.6±13.1 years. Participation in virtual exercise were highest for twice a week (24.6%) followed by once a month (17.2%) and never (17.2%). Over a quarter of participants reported an increase (29.1%) in alcohol use. No significant differences were found in total MET-min between before (1952 ± 1373) and during-COVID (1973 ± 1692) (p \u3e .05); however, virtual exercise participation significantly associated with an increase in PA (β = 609.08, p=.01). Statistically significant positive relationships were also found between higher PA and better general health (β = .005, p \u3c 0.01), and emotional well-being (β = .004, p \u3c .05). Self-reported COVID disruptiveness was negatively associated with emotional well-being (β = -3.28, p \u3c 0.001). This data suggested that virtual exercise courses were associated with maintaining PA which may indirectly regulate general and mental well-being during the pandemic for university employees

    Effect of a 12-Week Summer Break on School Day Physical Activity and Health-Related Fitness in Low-Income Children from CSPAP Schools

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    Background. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 12-week summer break on school day physical activity and health-related fitness (HRF) in children from schools receiving a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP). Methods. Participants were school-aged children ( = 1,232; 624 girls and 608 boys; mean age = 9.5 ± 1.8 years) recruited from three low-income schools receiving a CSPAP. Physical activity and HRF levels were collected during the end of spring semester 2015 and again during the beginning of fall semester 2015. Physical activity was assessed using the Yamax DigiWalker CW600 pedometer. HRF measures consisted of body mass index (BMI) and the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER). Results. Results from a doubly MANCOVA analysis indicated that pedometer step counts decreased from 4,929 steps in the spring to 4,445 steps in the fall (mean difference = 484 steps; < 0.001; Cohen's d = 0.30) and PACER laps decreased from 31.2 laps in the spring to 25.8 laps in the fall (mean difference = 5.4 laps; < 0.001; Cohen's d = 0.33). Conclusions. Children from schools receiving a CSPAP intervention had lower levels of school day physical activity and cardiorespiratory endurance following a 12-week summer break

    Establishing Waist-to-Height Ratio Standards from Criterion-Referenced BMI Using ROC Curves in Low-Income Children

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    The purpose of this study was to establish health-related waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) cut-points associating with FITNESSGRAM's body mass index (BMI) criterion-referenced standards in low-income children. A secondary aim was to examine the classification agreement between the derived WHtR cut-points and various cardiometabolic blood markers using current recommendations. Participants were 219 children from low-income schools (mean age = 10.5 ± 0.6 years). Waist circumference, height, weight, and cardiometabolic blood markers were collected in a fasting state before school hours. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine WHtR cut-points that associated with a child meeting FITNESSGRAM's age-and sex-specific criterionreferenced standards for BMI. The derived WHtR cut-point was 0.50 (AUC = 0.89, < 0.001; sensitivity = 0.86, specificity = 0.82, and accuracy = 84.3%). Classification agreement using the derived WHtR cut-point with various blood marker standards was statistically significant but considered weak to fair (kappa 0.14-0.34, agreement = 59%-67%, and < 0.01). The WHtR cutpoint of 0.50 can be used with strong accuracy to distinguish low-income children who met FITNESSGRAM's criterion-referenced standards for body composition; however, the evidence was weaker for its use in distinguishing low-income children meeting specific cardiometabolic blood marker recommendations
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