The Effect of Music as a Motivational Tool on Isokinetic Concentric Performance in College Aged Students

International Journal of Exercise Science 7(1) : 54-61, 2014. Music has been identified as a motivational tool in physical activity and associated with improved performance in aerobic and anaerobic exercise. However, the effects of music on isokinetic strength testing have not been examined. The purpose of this study was to measure the difference in lower limb isokinetic force output in males and females when exposed to a motivational environment (arousing music) and non-motivational environment (silence). A 2 x 2 analysis of variance (group x gender) was used with participants (n = 19; 12 male, 7 female) serving as their own control. Participants performed 5 isokinetic concentric repetitions of knee extension and knee flexion at a set velocity of 60°/sec in both a non-music trial and music trial. Testing order was randomized to control for learning effect. No significant interactions were found for both the flexion and extension conditions (p \u3e .05); however, there was a main effect for gender on the extension variable (p \u3c .05). The authors concluded that music had no effect on lower limb force output in either males or females. The study may have been limited by a number of confounding effects, warranting a repeated yet enhanced research design of the study. Strength coaches, athletic trainers, and injury rehabilitation specialists (e.g., physical therapists) can use knowledge of this topic when working with clients and patients who are unmotivated to continue treatment. Music may not serve as an enhancer of patient or athlete performance in isokinetic testing or maximal isokinetic performance, but it may serve to increase enjoyment of otherwise monotonous activity

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified