Towards a Functional Approach to the Assessment of Daily Life Physical Activity in Children: Are the PAQ-C and Fitbit Flex-2 Technically Adequate?

Considering the need for functional physical activity (PA) measures in PA settings, this study sought to determine the technical adequacy of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) and the Fitbit Flex-2, two instruments with promising features for wide use, using the Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer as the criterion reference. A total of 218 Greek children (94 boys, 124 girls; mean age = 10.99 ± 1.52 years) volunteered to join in. Participants wore the PA trackers for seven days and completed the PAQ-C. Moreover, a sub-group (n = 60) recompleted the PAQ-C after a week. Results revealed acceptable internal consistency and excellent test–retest reliability for the PAQ-C. Regarding concurrent validity, weak to moderate correlations with PA parameters recorded by the GT3X+ were revealed for the total PAQ-C and were excellent for the Flex-2, while a Bland–Altman plot indicated good agreement. Finally, in alignment with relevant literature, significant gender, but no age, differences were found in participants’ PA records in all the tools applied. The above results support the use of the PAQ-C and the Fitbit Flex-2 in children. Considering that they shed light into different parameters of children’s habitual PA, their combined utilisation, providing comprehensive information, is strongly recommended.This research was supported by the European Union’s HORIZON 2020 Programme (2014–2020) under ID n 777082, and by the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation through Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP) under Ocariot

Circulating Sclerostin responses to acute weight and non weight bearing sport activity in pre adolescent males

Mechanical loading, i.e. physical activity and/or exercise, promotes bone formation during growth. Sclerostin, a glycoprotein, mediates osteocytes' response to mechanical loading by inhibiting the Wnt/lf-catenin pathway thereby inhibiting bone formation.Published versio

Physical activity in pre-school children: Trends over time and associations with body mass index and screen time

Background: Pre-school years are important for adopting health behaviours; however, today’s children seem to be overweight, present low physical activity (PA) levels and exceed screen time (ST) recommendations. Aim: To examine (a) time trends in PA in Greek pre-school children, (b) the associations among PA, body mass index (BMI) and ST and (c) potential PA differences between boys and girls. Subjects and methods: Data from five cross-sectional cohorts (2005 [n = 252]; 2008 [n = 212]; 2011 [n = 187]; 2014 [n = 194]; 2017 [n = 128]) were compared. PA was assessed using Omron HJ-720IT-E2 pedometers, whereas ST was reported by participants’ parents. A 4-way ANOVA was applied on children’s average week step counts. Results: A significant association (F = 828.90, p  2 hours/day). Conclusion: Effective interventions aiming at reducing ST and enhancing PA seem imperative if children’s health is to be safeguarded

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors of Young Children: Trends from 2009 to 2018

Over the last decade, the lives of children in several countries, including Greece, have been affected by recession. The aim of the present study was (a) to examine time trends in physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) of Greek preschool children, together with their family affluence (FA), from 2009 until 2018, and to explore the associations among them; and (b) to investigate the connections of parental educational level and children’s BMIs to their achieving ST (<1 h/day) and PA (11,500 steps/day) guidelines. A total of 652 children from four cross-sectional cohorts participated. PA was recorded with Omron HJ-720IT-E2 pedometers, whereas ST, family affluence (FA) and parental educational level were reported by participants’ parents. The results of the one-way ANOVAs that were computed revealed statistically significant differences among cohorts, albeit of no practical importance, in PA, ST and FA. According to the regressions calculated, neither BMI nor the educational level was related to membership in ST and PA guidelines groups. ST was a significant predictor of children’s PA in all week periods (school-time, leisure-time, weekend), whereas FA was not such a strong predictor. Multilevel interventions aiming at both ST and PA seem to be imperative for the benefit of young children’s health

Towards a Functional Approach to the Assessment of Daily Life Physical Activity in Children: Are the PAQ-C and Fitbit Flex-2 Technically Adequate?

Considering the need for functional physical activity (PA) measures in PA settings, this study sought to determine the technical adequacy of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) and the Fitbit Flex-2, two instruments with promising features for wide use, using the Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer as the criterion reference. A total of 218 Greek children (94 boys, 124 girls; mean age = 10.99 ± 1.52 years) volunteered to join in. Participants wore the PA trackers for seven days and completed the PAQ-C. Moreover, a sub-group (n = 60) recompleted the PAQ-C after a week. Results revealed acceptable internal consistency and excellent test–retest reliability for the PAQ-C. Regarding concurrent validity, weak to moderate correlations with PA parameters recorded by the GT3X+ were revealed for the total PAQ-C and were excellent for the Flex-2, while a Bland–Altman plot indicated good agreement. Finally, in alignment with relevant literature, significant gender, but no age, differences were found in participants’ PA records in all the tools applied. The above results support the use of the PAQ-C and the Fitbit Flex-2 in children. Considering that they shed light into different parameters of children’s habitual PA, their combined utilisation, providing comprehensive information, is strongly recommended

The Relationship Between Motor Proficiency and Pedometer-Determined Physical Activity in Young Children

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between motor proficiency and pedometer-determined physical activity in 5-6 year-old children. Participants (n = 232) were randomly recruited and assessed from 30 kindergartens in Northern Greece. Two trained researchers administered the measurements for the assessment of children’s motor proficiency by using the BOTMP-SF. Physical activity was assessed by OMRON pedometers. Significant relationships between BOTMP-SF standard score and steps (S), aerobic walking time (AWT) and aerobic steps (AS), < .05) were found. When motor proficiency was divided into quartiles to assess the distribution of the relationship between motor proficiency and pedometer-derived variables, significant associations were found for AWT, S and AS (p < .001). Young children with high levels of motor proficiency were more active in contrast to their peers with lower motor proficiency. The findings add to the growing body of literature that considers motor skills/ abilities as important elements of physical activity participation. (Abbreviations: S-steps per day; AS-aerobic steps per day; AWT-aerobic walking time (minutes.day(-1)); BOTMP-SF-Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Short Form (standard score)

Antioxidation improves in puberty in normal weight and obese boys, in positive association with exercise-stimulated growth hormone secretion

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress is associated with obesity while the evidence for the role of GH in pro- and antioxidation is inconclusive. This study investigates the relationships between growth hormone (GH), pro- and antioxidation in relation to obesity and puberty before and after an acute bout of exercise. METHODS: In this case control study, 76 healthy normal-weight and obese, prepubertal and pubertal boys underwent a blood sampling before and immediately after an aerobic exercise bout until exhaustion at 70% maximal oxygen consumption. Markers of prooxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyls (PCs)) and antioxidation (glutathione (GSH), oxidized glutathione disulfide (GSSG), GSH/GSSG ratio, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)) and hormones (GH, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF-BP-3, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone) were measured. RESULTS: Baseline and postexercise TBARS and PCs were greater, while baseline GSH, GSH/GSSG ratio, GPX, and TAC were lower in obese than that in normal-weight participants. In all participants, waist was the best negative and positive predictor for postexercise GPX and TBARS, respectively. Baseline TAC was greater in pubertal than that in pre-pubertal participants. In all participants, baseline GH was the best negative predictor for postexercise PCs. Significant positive linear correlation exists between the exercise-associated GH, and GSSG increases in pubertal normal-weight boys. CONCLUSIONS: Higher prooxidation and lower antioxidation were observed in obese boys, while antioxidation improves with puberty and postexercise, paralleling GH accentuated secretion