The Influence of Physical Education on Self-Efficacy in Overweight Schoolgirls: A 12-Week Training Program

The purpose of this randomized controlled study was to investigate the impact of a 12- week physical education (PE) program on the self-efficacy of overweight schoolgirls. We randomly assigned 60 overweight schoolgirls (15–17 years) to either an experimental moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise (∼90 min, three times a week) group (n = 30) or a control group (CG) (n = 30) that received non-specific regular PE lessons with activities chosen by the curricular teacher mainly focused on team games and sports skills that aimed to achieve general psycho-physical wellness (∼90 min, three times a week). To assess the starting level of students and significant changes reached, at baseline and after training, a battery of standardized assessment motor tests and a psychometric scale (generalized self-efficacy scale, GES) were administered. At the end of the intervention, the experimental group reported a considerable decrease in body mass index (BMI) and a large improvement in self-efficacy (p < 0.001). No significant changes were found in the CG. The results suggested that the 12-week moderate to a vigorous aerobic exercise program is an effective weight loss intervention and a vehicle to promote a range of outcomes important to the qualitative growth of adolescents. In fact, it could provide a positive and significant impact on the self-efficacy of overweight schoolgirls

The importance of lipidomic approach for mapping and exploring the molecular networks underlying physical exercise: A systematic review

Maintaining appropriate levels of physical exercise is an optimal way for keeping a good state of health. At the same time, optimal exercise performance necessitates an integrated organ system response. In this respect, physical exercise has numerous repercussions on metabolism and function of different organs and tissues by enhancing whole‐body metabolic homeostasis in response to different exercise‐related adaptations. Specifically, both prolonged and intensive physical exercise produce vast changes in multiple and different lipid‐related metabolites. Lipidomic technologies allow these changes and adaptations to be clarified, by using a biological system approach they provide scientific understanding of the effect of physical exercise on lipid trajectories. Therefore, this systematic review aims to indicate and clarify the identifying biology of the individual response to different exercise workloads, as well as provide direction for future studies focused on the body’s metabolome exercise‐related adaptations. It was performed using five databases (Medline (PubMed), Google Scholar, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library). Two author teams reviewed 105 abstracts for inclusion and at the end of the screening process 50 full texts were analyzed. Lastly, 14 research articles specifically focusing on metabolic responses to exercise in healthy subjects were included. The Oxford quality scoring system scale was used as a quality measure of the reviews. Information was extracted using the participants, intervention, comparison, outcomes (PICOS) format. Despite that fact that it is well‐known that lipids are involved in different sport‐related changes, it is unclear what types of lipids are involved. Therefore, we analyzed the characteristic lipid species in blood and skeletal muscle, as well as their alterations in response to chronic and acute exercise. Lipidomics analyses of the studies examined revealed medium‐ and long‐chain fatty acids, fatty acid oxidation products, and phospholipids qualitative changes. The main cumulative evidence indicates that both chronic and acute bouts of exercise determine significant changes in lipidomic profiles, but they manifested in very different ways depending on the type of tissue examined. Therefore, this systematic review may offer the possibility to fully understand the individual lipidomics exercise‐related response and could be especially important to improve athletic performance and human health

The role of parental involvement in youth sport experience: perceived and desired behavior by male soccer players

Parents play a key role in the youth sports educational experience. They are responsible for the introduction of their children to physical or sporting education and their involvement has been associated with sport participation in early stages. The aims of this cross-sectional study were, first, to assess the perceived and desired parental involvement by children and, secondly, to exam-ine their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with any specific behavior. 80 male soccer players filled the Parental Involvement in Sport Questionnaire (PISQ) before or after a training session in presence of a coach. PISQ results revealed excessive active involvement and pressure, insufficient praise and understanding and satisfactory directive behavior from children’s parents. Our findings suggest that excessive parental involvement can cause pressure on children who would prefer parental participation characterized by praise and understanding. A balance between a supporting involvement without putting too much pressure is needed by the parents. To prevent burnout and dropout and to facilitate future practice, parents should be counseled (possibly by a sport educator) on how to positively support their children concerning their sport experience

Are sEMG, Velocity and Power Influenced by Athletes’ Fixation in Paralympic Powerlifting?

The bench press is performed in parapowerlifting with the back, shoulders, buttocks, legs and heels extended over the bench, and the use of straps to secure the athlete to the bench is optional. Thus, the study evaluated muscle activation, surface electromyography (sEMG), maximum velocity (MaxV) and mean propulsive velocity (MPV), and power in paralympic powerlifting athletes under conditions tied or untied to the bench. Fifteen experienced Paralympic powerlifting male athletes (22.27 ± 10.30 years, 78.5 ± 21.6 kg) took part in the research. The sEMG measurement was performed in the sternal portion of the pectoralis major (PMES), anterior deltoid (AD), long head of the triceps brachii (TRI) and clavicular portion of the pectoralis major (PMCL). The MaxV, MPV and power were evaluated using an encoder. Loads of 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% 1RM were analyzed under untied and tied conditions. No differences were found in muscle activation between the tied and untied conditions; however, sEMG showed differences in the untied condition between AD and TRI (F (3112) = 4.484; p = 0.005) in the 100% 1RM load, between PMCL and AD (F (3112) = 3.743; p = 0.013) in 60% 1RM load and in the tied condition, between the PMES and the AD (F (3112) = 4.067; p = 0.009). There were differences in MaxV (F (3112) = 213.3; p < 0.001), and MPV (F (3112) = 248.2; p < 0.001), between all loads in the tied and untied condition. In power, the load of 100% 1RM differed from all other relative loads (F (3112) = 36.54; p < 0.001) in both conditions. The tied condition seems to favor muscle activation, sEMG, and velocity over the untied condition

Effects of a Complex Physical Activity Program on Children’s Arithmetic Problem Solving and Arithmetic Reasoning Abilities

Research has shown that higher levels of physical activity are associated with better cognitive performance in children. However, the benefits of physical activity on academic achievement and specifically on mathematics performance need to be further explored. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of a complex physical activity (CPA) intervention program, including cognitive involvement, on children's mathematics performance. The participants were 128 children (aged 12-13 years) attending third grade in three middle schools. They were randomly allocated into a CPA intervention (n = 64) or a waitlist control group (n = 64), the latter of which was given a regular and easy-to-perform activity program. At baseline and after the intervention, students' physical fitness was measured using a battery of standardized motor tests (20 m shuttle run test, curl-up test, push-up test, and sit and reach test). In addition, the AC-MT 11-14 test was administered to allow a standardized and comprehensive assessment of arithmetic problem-solving and arithmetic reasoning abilities. In comparison to the control, the intervention group showed significant improvements (p < 0.001) in comprehension and production (d = 1.88), arithmetic reasoning (d = 2.50), and problem solving (d = 1.32), as well as in 20 m shuttle run test (d = 1.81), push-up test (d = 1.88), curl-up (d = 3.52), and sit and reach (d = 2.52). No significant changes were found in the control group. In conclusion, findings showed that a 12-week CPA intervention program can improve mathematical performance in children in the third grade of middle school. CPA intervention may be an effective method to improve academic performance and avoid student failure