A Single Question of Parent-Reported Physical Activity Levels Estimates Objectively Measured Physical Fitness and Body Composition in Preschool Children: The PREFIT Project

Physical inactivity is recognized as a determinant of low physical fitness and body composition in preschool children, which in turn, are important markers of health through the lifespan. Objective methods to assess physical activity, physical fitness and body composition in preschool children are preferable; however, they have some practical limitations in the school context. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test whether a single question regarding physical activity level of preschool children, reported by their parents, could be used as an alternative screening tool of physical fitness and body composition. The information was obtained from 10 different cities throughout Spain, gathering a total of 3179 healthy preschool children (52.8% boys and 47.2% girls) aged 3-5 years. Physical activity levels of preschool children were reported by parents using a single question with five response options (very low, low, average, high, or very high). Physical fitness and body composition were assessed with the PREFIT fitness battery. The results showed that parents' perception of their children's physical activity was positively associated with all objectively measured physical fitness components (beta(range) = -0.094 to 0.113; all p < 0.020); and negatively with body composition indicators as measured (beta(range) = -0.113 to -0.058; all p < 0.001). The results showed significant differences in all physical fitness and body composition z-scores across the parent-reported physical activity levels (all p < 0.017 and all p < 0.001, respectively), as well as, for the fitness index (p < 0.001). Our study suggests that in school settings with insufficient resources to objectively assess fitness and body composition, parents-reported physical activity level by means of a single question might provide useful information about these important health markers in preschool children

Can cognitive performance predict physical fitness and academic achievement one year later?

Previous studies have shown that physical activity, fitness and academic achievement might predict cognitive performance later in life . However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies examining the inverse relationship, that is, whether cognition may predict fitness and academic achievement in adolescents one year later . Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between cognitive performance and physical fitness and academic achievement one year later .Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Rapid preconditioning of data for accelerating convex hull algorithms

Given a dataset of two-dimensional points in the plane with integer coordinates, the method proposed reduces a set of n points down to a set of s points s ≤ n, such that the convex hull on the set of s points is the same as the convex hull of the original set of n points. The method is O(n). It helps any convex hull algorithm run faster. The empirical analysis of a practical case shows a percentage reduction in points of over 98%, that is reflected as a faster computation with a speedup factor of at least 4

La Antropología Aplicada en una Sociedad Compleja

This article reflects on the definition of applied anthropology in the light of the challenges facing the discipline in the twenty-first century, from the theoretical, methodological and practical application in the broadest sense. While the subject is open to debate and no conclusions can be exhaustive, it is possible to propose some ideas to the debate.El presente artículo reflexiona sobre la definición del término antropología aplicada a la luz de los desafíos que enfrente la disciplina antropológica en el Siglo XXI, desde el punto de vista teórico, metodológico y de aplicación práctica en el más amplio sentido. Si bien el tema está abierto a debate y no se puede llegar a conclusiones taxativas, sí es posible proponer algunas ideas al debate