An Italian Campaign to Promote Anti-doping Culture in High-School Students

Doping poses a threat to sport worldwide. Studies have revealed that, in addition to elite athletes, amateur and recreational sportsmen and sportswomen are making increasing use of performance-enhancing drugs. Worryingly this trend has been documented among young people. Anti-doping efforts seeking to deter elite athletes from doping through detection of the use of prohibited substances are costly and have not been completely effective either at the top-level or the amateur/recreational level. A thoughtful education program, inspired by honesty and respect, might be more effective in shaping attitudes toward doping in young people and protecting their health. For these reasons, the Italian “Lotta al Doping” (Fight Against Doping) project sought to cause a cultural shift in young people by taking anti-doping seminars to high schools. In the 2017–2018 school year we reached more than 20,800 students from 157 high schools through 202 seminars. Before and after the seminars, we administrated anonymous, voluntarily completed surveys with a set of questions (items = 15), taken from the WADA-Play-True-Quiz. Upon completion of the 2-h seminar, the majority of the answers given by the students resulted correct (13 out of 15 items, p < 0.000001, McNemar) confirming the value of the initiative. This project stands out as promising in the doping prevention process at the youth and amateur levels

Deficit di attenzione ed iperattività: analisi e definizione di un programma motorio

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is difficult to diagnose as it is covered by parental justification about children’s attitudes/character or with behaviors typical of the age of development. Conventional treatment uses targeted behavioral psychotherapy, which may also include pharmaco- logical interventions, which however can lead to adverse effects. In this way, physical activity associated with treatment is recently establishing as an additional and effective approach with no harmful contraindications for the person. The goal of this article, through a review of the scientific literature, is to provide guidelines for treatment through physical activity for the different subjects affected by ADHD.Il disturbo da Deficit di Attenzione ed Iperattività (DAAI) risulta di difficile diagnosi in quanto si rischia, di giustificare gli atteggiamenti del bambino con il carattere dello stesso o con comportamenti tipici dell’età dello sviluppo. Il trattamento convenzionale si avvale di psicoterapia comportamentale mirata, che può includere anche interventi farmacologici, i quali però possono portare ad effetti avversi. Per questo motivo recentemente, l’esercizio fisico associato al trattamento comune si sta affermando come rimedio aggiuntivo, ed efficace, privo di controindicazioni dannose per la persona. L’obiettivo di questo articolo è quello attraverso una revisione della lettera- tura scientifica di dare delle linee guida per il trattamento attraverso l’esercizio fisico per i differenti soggetti affetti da DAAI

Physical education classes improve foot function in high-school students using technological tools

The aim of this study was the evaluation of a coordinative and plyometric training program on the functionality of foot in high school students. The use of modern technologies tools was used to made attractive the didactic approach. Sixty–three students were freely recruited and randomly divided into Training Group and Control Group. Training group consisted in plyometrics, balance and strength exercises while the control’s remained off-training. Subjects were tested for balance ability, reactive-strength and dynamic-ground-contact using high technology tool. The TG significative improved the balance ability performance by 68% while CG remained unchanged. The reactive-strength index revealed a 13% gain in training group although this increase resulted not significantly different from control. The dynamic-ground-contact performance revealed in TG only a tendency of decreasing. A specific training program affected the functionality of foot even if the application of stimulus was time restricted. Moreover, the use of technologies verified an interesting use of tools in school context that could involve students proactively

Combatting Sedentary Behaviors by Delivering Remote Physical Exercise in Children and Adolescents with Obesity in the COVID-19 Era: A Narrative Review

The coexistence of childhood obesity (or its risk) and COVID-19 pandemic put children and adolescents in greater risk to develop respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. In fact, the restrictions introduced to limit the spread of the virus had detrimental effects on various lifestyle components, especially in young population. This resulted in augmented levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors and a reduced time spent in play outdoors or sport practices. Contrariwise, the increased use of technology led clinicians, teachers, and trainers to maintain relations with obese children/adolescents so as to reduce sedentary behaviors and the associated health risks. This narrative review aims to describe the role of Telehealth and Tele-exercise as useful tools in the management of pediatric obesity during COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth and Tele-exercise were effective in promoting self-monitoring and behavioral changes, including adherence to exercise training programs in children and adolescents. Moreover, tele-exercise platforms such as applications or exergames allowed flexible scheduling, limiting the infection risks

Metformin Treatment Prevents Sedentariness Related Damages in Mice

Metformin (METF), historical antihyperglycemic drug, is a likely candidate for lifespan extension, treatment and prevention of sedentariness damages, insulin resistance, and obesity. Skeletal muscle is a highly adaptable tissue, capable of hypertrophy response to resistance training and of regeneration after damage. Aims of this work were to investigate METF ability to prevent sedentariness damage and to enhance skeletal muscle function. Sedentary 12-week-old C57BL/6 mice were treated with METF (250 mg/kg per day, in drinking water) for 60 days. METF role on skeletal muscle differentiation was studied in vitro using murine C2C12 myoblasts. Muscular performance evaluation revealed that METF enhanced mice physical performance (Estimated VO 2max ). Biochemical analyses of hepatic and muscular tissues indicated that in liver METF increased AMPK and CAMKII signaling. In contrast, METF inactivated ERKs, the principal kinases involved in hepatic stress. In skeletal muscle, METF activated AKT, key kinase in skeletal muscle mass maintenance. In in vitro studies, METF did not modify the C2C12 proliferation capacity, while it positively influenced the differentiation process and myotube maturation. In conclusion, our novel results suggest that METF has a positive action not only on the promotion of healthy aging but also on the prevention of sedentariness damages

Explosive strength modeling in children: trends according to growth and prediction equation

© 2020 The Authors. Published by MDPI. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3390/app10186430Lower limb explosive strength has been widely used to evaluate physical fitness and general health in children. A plethora of studies have scoped the practicality of the standing broad jump (SBJ), though without accounting for body dimensions, which are tremendously affected by growth. This study aimed at modeling SBJ-specific allometric equations, underlying an objectively predictive approach while controlling for maturity offset (MO). A total of 7317 children (8–11 years) were tested for their SBJs; demographics and anthropometrics data were also collected. The multiplicative model with allometric body size components, MO, and categorial differences were implemented with SBJ performance. The log-multiplicative model suggested that the optimal body shape associated with SBJs is ectomorphic (H = −0.435; M = 1.152). Likewise, age, sex, and age–sex interactions were revealed to be significant (p < 0.001). Our results confirmed the efficacy of the allometric approach to identify the most appropriate body size and shape in children. Males, as they mature, did not significantly augment their performances, whereas females did, outperforming their peers. The model successfully fit the equation for SBJ performance, adjusted for age, sex, and MO. Predictive equations modeled on developmental factors are needed to interpret appropriately the performances that are used to evaluate physical fitness.Published onlin

Physical Inactivity and Depression: The Gloomy Dual with Rising Costs in a Large-Scale Emergency

At the end of October of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) released “the Global status report on physical activity 2022” [...

Physical Inactivity and Depression: The Gloomy Dual with Rising Costs in a Large-Scale Emergency

At the end of October of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) released “the Global status report on physical activity 2022” [...