Cross-Sectional but Not Prospective Association of Accelerometry-Derived Physical Activity With Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents.

Objectives: This study aims to quantify the cross-sectional and prospective associations between quality of life (QoL) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Methods: This study was based on the Swiss children's Objectively measured PHYsical Activity cohort. The primary endpoint is the overall QoL score and its six dimensions. The main predictor is the average time spent in MVPA per day. Linear mixed effects and linear regression models respectively were used to investigate the cross-sectional and prospective associations between MVPA and QoL. Results: There were 352 participants in the study with complete data from baseline (2013-2015) and follow-up (2019). MVPA was positively associated with overall QoL and physical wellbeing (p = 0.023 and 0.002 respectively). The between-subject MVPA was positively associated with the overall QoL, physical wellbeing, and social wellbeing (p = 0.030, 0.017, and 0.028 respectively). Within-subject MVPA was positively associated with physical wellbeing and functioning at school (p = 0.039 and 0.013 respectively). Baseline MVPA was not associated with QoL 5 years later. Conclusion: Future longitudinal studies should employ shorter follow-up times and repeat measurements to assess the PA and QoL association

The association of breakfast skipping and television viewing at breakfast with weight status among parents of 10-12-year-olds in eight European countries; the ENERGY (EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth) cross-sectional study

Abstract Objective The main objective was to assess the relationship of breakfast skipping, television (TV) viewing at breakfast and breakfast without TV with weight status among parents of 10-12-year-olds in eight European countries. Design A cross-sectional survey assessed breakfast eating and TV viewing at breakfast by three frequency questions and parents were categorized into: (i) breakfast skippers; (ii) breakfast with TV (TV watchers at breakfast); and (iii) breakfast without TV (breakfast eaters who do not watch TV during breakfast). Self-reported weight and height were used to categorize weight status as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted with weight status as the dependent variable and breakfast habits as predictors, adjusting for sex, ethnicity and level of education. Setting The survey was conducted in 2010 in 199 primary schools across eight European countries participating in the ENERGY (EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth) cross-sectional study. Subjects Parents (n 6512) of 10-12-year-olds responded to the questionnaire. Results In the total study sample, with breakfast without TV as the reference group and adjusting for sex, ethnicity and level of education, the OR of being respectively overweight or obese (compared with normal weight) was 1·2 (95 % CI 1·0, 1·4) or 1·8 (95 % CI 1·5, 2·3) for breakfast skippers. The OR of being respectively underweight or obese was 0·5 (95 % CI 0·2, 0·9) or 1·4 (95 % CI 1·1, 1·8) for breakfast with TV. Conclusions Breakfast skippers were significantly more likely to be overweight and obese, and those eating breakfast while watching TV were significantly more likely to be obese and less likely to be underweigh

Large proportions of overweight and obese children, as well as their parents, underestimate children's weight status across Europe.

Objective: To investigate the magnitude and country-specific differences in under- estimation of children’s weight status by children and their parents in Europe and to further explore its associations with family characteristics and sociodemographic factors. Design: Children’s weight and height were objectively measured. Parental anthro- pometric and sociodemographic data were self-reported. Children and their parents were asked to comment on children’s weight status based on five-point Likert-type scales, ranging from ‘I am much too thin’ to ‘I am much too fat’ (children) and ‘My child’s weight is way too little’ to ‘My child’s weight is way too much’ (parents). These data were combined with children’s actual weight status, in order to assess underestimation of children’s weight status by children themselves and by their parents, respectively. Chi-square tests and multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the aims of the current study. Setting: Eight European countries participating in the ENERGY (EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth) project. Subjects: A school-based survey among 6113 children aged 10–12 years and their parents. Results: In the total sample, 42·9% of overweight/obese children and 27·6% of parents of overweight/obese children underestimated their and their children’s weight status, respectively. A higher likelihood for this underestimation of weight status by children and their parents was observed in Eastern and Southern compared with Central/Northern countries. Overweight or obese parents (OR=1·81; 95% CI 1·39, 2·35 and OR = 1·78, 95 % CI 1·22, 2·60), parents of boys (OR = 1·32; 95 % CI 1·05, 1·67) and children from overweight/obese (OR=1·60; 95% CI 1·29, 1·98 and OR=1·76; 95 % CI 1·29, 2·41) or unemployed parents (OR = 1·53; 95 % CI 1·22, 1·92) were more likely to underestimate children’s weight status. Conclusions: Children of overweight or obese parents, those from Eastern and Southern Europe, boys, younger children and children with unemployed parents were more likely to underestimate their actual weight status. Overweight or obese parents and parents of boys were more likely to underestimate the actual weight status of their children. In obesity prevention such underestimation may be a barrier for behavioural change.publishedVersio

COVID-19 pandemic and health related quality of life in primary school children in Switzerland: a repeated cross-sectional study.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting containment measures had and still have a profound impact on everyday life. Both the fear of infection and the imposed restrictions can have biopsychosocial consequences. The aim of the present study was to analyze whether there is a difference in the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of primary school children in 2014/15 compared to in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study included 1,712 children aged 5 to 11 years who either participated in the baseline assessment of the SOPHYA cohort study in 2014/15 or were newly recruited during follow-up of the cohort in 2020. In both surveys, the children invited for participation were identified based on registry data. HRQoL was assessed with the validated KINDL-R questionnaire, which scores HRQoL along six different dimensions. The overall scores (82.4 [81.8; 83.0] vs. 79.6 [79,1; 80.2]), and in particular the emotional well-being scores (85.6 [84.6; 86.6] vs. 83.3 [82.4; 84.2]), were lower during the year of the pandemic (2020) compared to the survey year 2014/15. The highest decrease between 2014/15 and 2020 in the adjusted models was seen for the youngest age group (-3.9 points), followed by children from families with a high income (-3.2 points), girls (-3.1 points), Swiss citizens (-3.1 points) and children from the German-speaking part of Switzerland (-3.1 points). HRQoL was particularly low during periods with restrictions and at the height of the COVID-19 waves in 2020. The SOPHYA-study showed that HRQoL, and especially emotional well-being, was lower in 5 to 11-year-old children in Switzerland during the first year of the pandemic compared to the results from the survey conducted in 2014/15. In the year of the pandemic, the scores were lowest at the height of the COVID-19 waves and their associated restrictions. As it cannot be distinguished whether fear of the disease itself or the restrictions caused this decrease in HRQoL, containment policies should keep COVID-19 infections as low as possible, but still enable children to profit from protective factors such as leisure activities, physical activity and social contact

Entwicklung eines Wirkmodells für die Evaluation des Programms Jugend und Sport

Wirkmodelle werden im Kontext theoriebasierter Evaluationsansätze ein immer häufiger verwendetes Instrument. Viele Fragen in Bezug auf das angemessene Vorgehen bei der Entwicklung und Verwendung von Wirkmodellen bleiben allerdings oft unbeantwortet, nicht zuletzt, da konkrete Fallbeispiele selten genau genug dokumentiert werden. Nach einem kurzen Überblick zur Rolle von Wirkmodellen in der aktuellen Evaluationsliteratur beschreibt der Beitrag am Beispiel des schweizerischen Programms ‚Jugend und Sport‘ ausführlich die Entwicklung eines Wirkmodells, die gleichzeitig literaturbasiert und unter Einbeziehung wichtiger Stakeholdergruppen erfolgte. Erfahrungen werden aus den Perspektiven Auftraggebende, Modellentwicklung und Evaluationstheorie reflektiert. Dabei werden drei häufig genannte Herausforderungen thematisiert: Machen Wirkmodelle blind für nicht intendierte Wirkungen? Sollten Wirkmodelle die Sichtweise von Stakeholdern abbilden oder sich an etablierten wissenschaftlichen Theorien orientieren? Ist der Aufwand für die Entwicklung eines Wirkmodells gerechtfertigt