Establishment of health related physical fitness evaluation system for school adolescents aged 12–16 in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe decline in adolescent physical fitness is a significant global public health concern, and Pakistan is no exception. The country’s absence of a health-related physical fitness (HRPF) evaluation system has compounded this issue. To bridge this gap, this study aims to develop a scientifically-based HRPF evaluation system for the adolescent population that meets international standards. The evaluation system identifies at-risk children and improves adolescent health outcomes, including obesity, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders, chronic diseases, and psychological illnesses, through crucial physical fitness evaluation. This study specifically aims to establish an HRPF evaluation system for school adolescents aged 12–16 in Pakistan.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 2,970 school adolescents aged 12–16 years in the South Punjab, Pakistan. The study used a stratified sampling technique to select participants. The HRPF evaluation system included four components: cardiorespiratory endurance, core muscular endurance, muscular strength, and body composition. Data were collected through standardized tests and anthropometric measurements.ResultsThe study’s results indicated that the HRPF evaluation scoring system was feasible and valid for evaluating the HRPF of school adolescents in the South Punjab region of Pakistan. The results of the evaluation system categorized participants into five groups based on their performance: excellent (6.2%), good (24.9%), medium (50.7%), poor (17%), and very poor (1.2%).ConclusionThe study establishes an HRPF evaluation system for Pakistani school adolescents. This system lays the foundation for implementing effective strategies to improve their physical health. The findings offer valuable insights to policymakers, health professionals, and educators, enabling them to promote fitness and devise impactful interventions for enhancing HRPF in this population

Systemic Review of Swim Bench Training During Last Five Years

Purpose: There are numerous advantages to train the swimmers on swim-bench, which is why this systematic review critically evaluate the published data for this practise. The current review’s purpose is to evaluate the efficacy of swim bench training in light of recent research conducted over the past five years.&#x0D; Methodology / Evidence Acquisitionː Published articles that examined the benefits and uses of a swim bench training on an athlete were reviewed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. An electronic database search based on three databases that include PubMed, Google Scholar, and Taylor &amp; Francis was done using keywords "Swim bench” and “Swim bench training”. The database search was limited to articles between January 2016 to the date to include the data of 5 years. It retrieved 1289 articles on sight. Articles that were originally published in a language other than English or did not have translated version in English were omitted from the study by the researcher. Conclusionsː Jaime &amp; Maria (2017) and González Ravé J et al., (2018) studied isokinetic force production, there was no significant result found related to isokinetic force and in isokinetic power a slight decrease was observed in that of isokinetic force. Whereas, Popovici &amp; Suciu (2017) proved the strength and velocity gain in young female swimmers after swim bench training and also enhanced muscle synchronization as well as improved propulsive force generation and considered it as a source of improvement and immediate instruction for better training purposes. However, swim-bench is widely being used from coaches in several manner of dry land training among swimmers at elite level as well. it is further suggested that further experimental studies needed to observe the swim-bench effect on training as well as rehabilitation purpose scientifically with the principal of specificity of sports training.</jats:p

Systemic Review of Swim Bench Training During Last Five Years

Purpose: There are numerous advantages to train the swimmers on swim-bench, which is why this systematic review critically evaluate the published data for this practise. The current review’s purpose is to evaluate the efficacy of swim bench training in light of recent research conducted over the past five years. Methodology / Evidence Acquisitionː Published articles that examined the benefits and uses of a swim bench training on an athlete were reviewed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. An electronic database search based on three databases that include PubMed, Google Scholar, and Taylor &amp; Francis was done using keywords "Swim bench” and “Swim bench training”. The database search was limited to articles between January 2016 to the date to include the data of 5 years. It retrieved 1289 articles on sight. Articles that were originally published in a language other than English or&nbsp;did not have translated version in English&nbsp;were omitted from the study by the researcher. Conclusionsː Jaime &amp; Maria (2017) and González Ravé J et al., (2018) studied isokinetic force production, there was no significant result found related to isokinetic force and in isokinetic power a slight decrease was observed in that of isokinetic force. Whereas, Popovici &amp; Suciu (2017) proved the strength and velocity gain in young female swimmers after swim bench training and also enhanced muscle synchronization as well as improved propulsive force generation and considered it as a source of improvement and immediate instruction for better training purposes. However, swim-bench is widely being used from coaches in several manner of dry land training among swimmers at elite level as well. it is further suggested that further experimental studies needed to observe the swim-bench effect on training as well as rehabilitation purpose scientifically with the principal of specificity of sports training

Infant Swimming Increase the Risk of Atopy and Respiratory Tract Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose: The benefits of infant swimming must be considered against the risk of adverse occurrences during infant swimming practice. Several research studies have recommended against newborn swimming since there is little data to support its use in preventing drowning in infants. &#x0D; Methodology / Evidence Acquisitionː In the context of the PRISMA guidelines, the researcher did a systematic review and meta-analysis research on infant swimming. From 1950 to 2021, an online database search was conducted using keywords and MeSH terms such as "infant swimming", "safety", "infant swimming lessons", and "infant diving" on healthcare search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar, BioMed Central, Cochrane Library, ERIC, PILOTS, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, AMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, Science Direct, Taylor &amp; Francis, and Med SC. The researcher excluded articles that were first published in a foreign language and did not have an English translation.&#x0D; Findings / Evidence Synthesisː The risk of respiratory tract infection is greater in the control group, 95% confidence interval is 1.95 [1.24, 1.97] (p = 0.000). The difference in risk of atopy is between infant swimmers and the control group is significant, and the risk is greater in the control group compared to swimming infants; 95% confidence interval is 1.36 [1.01, 1.84] (p = 0.000).&#x0D; Conclusions/ Originality Value: Swimming does not raise the risk of infection in infants, nor does it predispose them to asthma. We propose further more research into the benefits of infant swimming in reducing the burden of childhood drowning, which is the leading cause of death in this age group.                                </jats:p

Infant Swimming Increase the Risk of Atopy and Respiratory Tract Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose: The benefits of infant swimming must be considered against the risk of adverse occurrences during infant swimming practice. Several research studies have recommended against newborn swimming since there is little data to support its use in preventing drowning in infants.&nbsp; Methodology / Evidence Acquisitionː In the context of the PRISMA guidelines, the researcher did a systematic review and meta-analysis research on infant swimming. From 1950 to 2021, an online database search was conducted using keywords and MeSH terms such as "infant swimming", "safety", "infant swimming lessons", and "infant diving" on healthcare search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar, BioMed Central, Cochrane Library, ERIC, PILOTS, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, AMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, Science Direct, Taylor &amp; Francis, and Med SC. The researcher excluded articles that were first published in a foreign language and did not have an English translation. Findings / Evidence Synthesisː The risk of respiratory tract infection is greater in the control group, 95% confidence interval is 1.95 [1.24, 1.97] (p = 0.000). The difference in risk of atopy is between infant swimmers and the control group is significant, and the risk is greater in the control group compared to swimming infants; 95% confidence interval is 1.36 [1.01, 1.84] (p = 0.000). Conclusions/ Originality Value: Swimming does not raise the risk of infection in infants, nor does it predispose them to asthma. We propose further more research into the benefits of infant swimming in reducing the burden of childhood drowning, which is the leading cause of death in this age group.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp

Assessment of the Relationship between Body Weight Status and Physical Literacy in 8 to 12 Year Old Pakistani School Children: The PAK-IPPL Cross-Sectional Study

(1) Background: Physical literacy (PL) is a multidimensional concept, since it fosters lifetime engagement in physical activities and reduces obesity; however, empirical evidence is lacking to support this association. This study first aimed to establish PL levels stratified by normal weight children and children with overweight and obesity. Furthermore, this study determined a correlation between PL domains and BMI by weight status among South Punjab school children. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 1360 (Boys: 675 and Girls: 685) children aged 8 to 12, and was conducted using CAPL-2. T-tests and chi-square were used to determine the difference between categorical variables, with MANOVA used to compare weight statuses. Spearman correlation was employed to determine the correlation between variables; p r = 0.001 to 0.737), and the knowledge domain was inversely correlated with the motivation domain (r = −0.023). PL and domain scores were inversely correlated to BMI, except for the knowledge domain. (4) Conclusions: Children with normal weight tend to have higher PL and domain scores, while those with overweight or obesity tend to have lower scores. There was a positive relationship between normal weight and higher PL and domain scores, and an inverse relationship was observed between BMI and higher PL scores

Assessment of the Relationship between Body Weight Status and Physical Literacy in 8 to 12 Year Old Pakistani School Children: The PAK-IPPL Cross-Sectional Study

(1) Background: Physical literacy (PL) is a multidimensional concept, since it fosters lifetime engagement in physical activities and reduces obesity; however, empirical evidence is lacking to support this association. This study first aimed to establish PL levels stratified by normal weight children and children with overweight and obesity. Furthermore, this study determined a correlation between PL domains and BMI by weight status among South Punjab school children. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 1360 (Boys: 675 and Girls: 685) children aged 8 to 12, and was conducted using CAPL-2. T-tests and chi-square were used to determine the difference between categorical variables, with MANOVA used to compare weight statuses. Spearman correlation was employed to determine the correlation between variables; p &lt; 0.05 was considered significant. (3) Results: Normal weight children had significantly higher PL and domain scores, except for the knowledge domain. Most children with normal weights were at the achieving and excelling levels, while children with overweight and obesity were at the beginning and progressing levels. The correlation among PL domains in normal and overweight and obese children ranged from weak to strong (r = 0.001 to 0.737), and the knowledge domain was inversely correlated with the motivation domain (r = −0.023). PL and domain scores were inversely correlated to BMI, except for the knowledge domain. (4) Conclusions: Children with normal weight tend to have higher PL and domain scores, while those with overweight or obesity tend to have lower scores. There was a positive relationship between normal weight and higher PL and domain scores, and an inverse relationship was observed between BMI and higher PL scores.</jats:p