Physical activity in the School Setting: Cognitive Performance is Not Affected by Three Different Types of Acute Exercise

Recent studies indicate that a single bout of physical exercise can have immediate positive effects on cognitive performance of children and adolescents. However, the type of exercise that affects cognitive performance the most in young adolescents is not fully understood. Therefore, this controlled study examined the acute effects of three types of 12-min classroom-based exercise sessions on information processing speed and selective attention. The three conditions consisted of aerobic, coordination, and strength exercises, respectively. In particular, this study focused on the feasibility and efficiency of introducing short bouts of exercise in the classroom. One hundred and ninety five students (5th and 6th grade; 10–13 years old) participated in a double baseline within-subjects design, with students acting as their own control. Exercise type was randomly assigned to each class and acted as between-subject factor. Before and immediately after both the control and the exercise session, students performed two cognitive tests that measured information processing speed (Letter Digit Substitution Test) and selective attention (d2 Test of Attention). The results revealed that exercising at low to moderate intensity does not have an effect on the cognitive parameters tested in young adolescents. Furthermore, there were no differential effects of exercise type. The results of this study are discussed in terms of the caution which should be taken when conducting exercise sessions in a classroom setting aimed at improving cognitive performance

Harmonising data on the correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in young people: Methods and lessons learnt from the international Children's Accelerometry database (ICAD).

BACKGROUND: Large, heterogeneous datasets are required to enhance understanding of the multi-level influences on children's physical activity and sedentary behaviour. One route to achieving this is through the pooling and co-analysis of data from multiple studies. Where this approach is used, transparency of the methodology for data collation and harmonisation is essential to enable appropriate analysis and interpretation of the derived data. In this paper, we describe the acquisition, management and harmonisation of non-accelerometer data in a project to expand the International Children's Accelerometry Database (ICAD). METHOD: Following a consultation process, ICAD partners were requested to share accelerometer data and information on selected behavioural, social, environmental and health-related constructs. All data were collated into a single repository for cataloguing and harmonisation. Harmonised variables were derived iteratively, with input from the ICAD investigators and a panel of invited experts. Extensive documentation, describing the source data and harmonisation procedure, was prepared and made available through the ICAD website. RESULTS: Work to expand ICAD has increased the number of studies with longitudinal accelerometer data, and expanded the breadth of behavioural, social and environmental characteristics that can be used as exposure variables. A set of core harmonised variables, including parent education, ethnicity, school travel mode/duration and car ownership, were derived for use by the research community. Guidance documents and facilities to enable the creation of new harmonised variables were also devised and made available to ICAD users. An expanded ICAD database was made available in May 2017. CONCLUSION: The project to expand ICAD further demonstrates the feasibility of pooling data on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and potential determinants from multiple studies. Key to this process is the rigorous conduct and reporting of retrospective data harmonisation, which is essential to the appropriate analysis and interpretation of derived data. These documents, made available through the ICAD website, may also serve as a guide to others undertaking similar projects

Harmonising data on the correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in young people: Methods and lessons learnt from the International Children's Accelerometry database (ICAD)

Background: Large, heterogeneous datasets are required to enhance understanding of the multi-level influences on children's physical activity and sedentary behaviour. One route to achieving this is through the pooling and co-analysis of data from multiple studies. Where this approach is used, transparency of the methodology for data collation and harmonisation is essential to enable appropriate analysis and interpretation of the derived data. In this paper, we describe the acquisition, management and harmonisation of non-accelerometer data in a project to expand the International Children's Accelerometry Database (ICAD). Method: Following a consultation process, ICAD partners were requested to share accelerometer data and information on selected behavioural, social, environmental and health-related constructs. All data were collated into a single repository for cataloguing and harmonisation. Harmonised variables were derived iteratively, with input from the ICAD investigators and a panel of invited experts. Extensive documentation, describing the source data and harmonisation procedure, was prepared and made available through the ICAD website. Results: Work to expand ICAD has increased the number of studies with longitudinal accelerometer data, and expanded the breadth of behavioural, social and environmental characteristics that can be used as exposure variables. A set of core harmonised variables, including parent education, ethnicity, school travel mode/duration and car ownership, were derived for use by the research community. Guidance documents and facilities to enable the creation of new harmonised variables were also devised and made available to ICAD users. An expanded ICAD database was made available in May 2017. Conclusion: The project to expand ICAD further demonstrates the feasibility of pooling data on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and potential determinants from multiple studies. Key to this process is the rigorous conduct and reporting of retrospective data harmonisation, which is essential to the appropriate analysis and interpretation of derived data. These documents, made available through the ICAD website, may also serve as a guide to others undertaking similar projects

A cluster-randomized controlled trial to reduce sedentary behavior and promote physical activity and health of 8-9 year olds: The Transform-Us! Study

Background: Physical activity (PA) is associated with positive cardio-metabolic health and emerging evidence suggests sedentary behavior (SB) may be detrimental to children&rsquo;s health independent of PA. The primary aim of the Transform-Us! study is to determine whether an 18-month, behavioral and environmental intervention in the school and family settings results in higher levels of PA and lower rates of SB among 8-9 year old children compared with usual practice (post-intervention and 12-months follow-up). The secondary aims are to determine the independent and combined effects of PA and SB on children&rsquo;s cardio-metabolic health risk factors; identify the factors that mediate the success of the intervention; and determine whether the intervention is cost-effective.Methods/design: A four-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a 2 &times; 2 factorial design, with schools as the unit of randomization. Twenty schools will be allocated to one of four intervention groups, sedentary behavior (SB-I), physical activity (PA-I), combined SB and PA (SB+PA-I) or current practice control (C), which will be evaluated among approximately 600 children aged 8-9 years in school year 3 living in Melbourne, Australia. All children in year 3 at intervention schools in 2010 (8-9 years) will receive the intervention over an 18-month period with a maintenance &lsquo;booster&rsquo; delivered in 2012 and children at all schools will be invited to participate in the evaluation assessments. To maximize the sample and to capture new students arriving at intervention and control schools, recruitment will be on-going up to the post-intervention time point. Primary outcomes are time spent sitting and in PA assessed via accelerometers and inclinometers and survey.Discussion: To our knowledge, Transform-Us! is the first RCT to examine the effectiveness of intervention strategies for reducing children&rsquo;s overall sedentary time, promoting PA and optimizing health outcomes. The integration of consistent strategies and messages to children from teachers and parents in both school and family settings is a critical component of this study, and if shown to be effective, may have a significant impact on educational policies as well as on pedagogical and parenting practices.<br /

Effects and moderators of exercise on muscle strength, muscle function and aerobic fitness in patients with cancer:A meta-analysis of individual patient data

To optimally target exercise interventions for patients with cancer, it is important to identify which patients benefit from which interventions. Design We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis to investigate demographic, clinical, intervention-related and exercise-related moderators of exercise intervention effects on physical fitness in patients with cancer. Data sources We identified relevant studies via systematic searches in electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL). Eligibility criteria We analysed data from 28 randomised controlled trials investigating the effects of exercise on upper body muscle strength (UBMS) and lower body muscle strength (LBMS), lower body muscle function (LBMF) and aerobic fitness in adult patients with cancer. Results Exercise significantly improved UBMS (β=0.20, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.14 to 0.26), LBMS (β=0.29, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.35), LBMF (β=0.16, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.24) and aerobic fitness (β=0.28, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.34), with larger effects for supervised interventions. Exercise effects on UBMS were larger during treatment, when supervised interventions included ≥3 sessions per week, when resistance exercises were included and when session duration was >60 min. Exercise effects on LBMS were larger for patients who were living alone, for supervised interventions including resistance exercise and when session duration was >60 min. Exercise effects on aerobic fitness were larger for younger patients and when supervised interventions included aerobic exercise. Conclusion Exercise interventions during and following cancer treatment had small effects on UBMS, LBMS, LBMF and aerobic fitness. Demographic, intervention-related and exercise-related characteristics including age, marital status, intervention timing, delivery mode and frequency and type and time of exercise sessions moderated the exercise effect on UBMS, LBMS and aerobic fitness.Sin financiación12.022 JCR (2019) Q1, 1/85 Sport Sciences3.712 SJR (2019) Q1, 48/2754 Medicine (miscellaneous), 1/284 Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, 1/207 Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, 2/125 Sports ScienceNo data IDR 2019UE

Physical activity and prospective associations with indicators of health and development in children aged <5 years: a systematic review

Background: Early childhood is a critical period for growth and development, yet the association with physical activity during this important period is unknown. The aim of this review is to critically summarize the evidence on the prospective associations between physical activity and health and development in children aged < 5 years. Methods: A systematic search in three electronic databases (Pubmed, PsycINFO, and Sportdiscus) was conducted to identify prospective studies examining the associations between physical activity (all types; specified by quantity) and health indicators (body composition, cardiometabolic health, bone health and risks/harm) or development (motor, cognitive and social-emotional development) in young children (mean age < 5 years at baseline). Two independent researchers assessed the methodological quality using the ‘Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies’ (EPHPP). This tool covers eight quality criteria: selection bias, study design, confounders, blinding, data collection methods, withdrawals and drop-outs, intervention integrity and data-analysis. Results: Thirty-nine studies, predominantly conducted in preschoolers (ages 3–5 years), were included of which nine were rated as high methodological quality. There was moderate evidence for a positive association between physical activity and motor (n = 11 studies) and cognitive development (n = 10 studies) based on consistent findings from studies having low-to-moderate methodological quality. There was insufficient evidence for an association between physical activity and body composition (n = 15 studies), cardiometabolic health indicators (n = 7 studies), social-emotional development (n = 2 studies) and bone health (n = 2 studies) based on inconsistent findings from studies having weak-to-high methodological quality. Conclusions: There is a need for more high-quality research in order to determine the dose-response relationship between physical activity and health and development in early childhood. Special attention should be paid to studies in children below the age of 3 years

PHIT2LEARN, PHysical activity InTerventions to enhance LEARNing in vocational education and training

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) seem to have respectively beneficial and detrimental effects on school performance, but evidence for a causal relationship in vocational education and training (VET) students is lacking. This is surprising, as VET students (±16-20 years) stand to benefit because the prefrontal cortex is developing during this age and is therefore sensitive to PA/SB interventions. Furthermore, students in VET have low activity levels in general, meaning enhanced PA/SB behavior could lead to improvement on cognition and learning. The goal of this project is investigating causal effects of PA/SB interventions on a variety of learning performance measures in VET students. Depending on the kind of intervention and the potential mechanisms underlying acute, short-term, or long-term effects, outcome measures vary from specific effects on cognition, to more general effects on school performance, and vital citizenship/employeeship. Methods: In four closely interlinked studies we investigate the causal effects of ‘sedentary behavior repression interventions’ on cognition, school performance, and 21st century skills in VET students. Study 1 (observational) elucidates habitual, objectively measured PA patterns of VET students and their potential association with cognitive performance, school performance, and proxies of vital citizenship and employeeship. Studies 2 and 3 (fundamental) investigate acute interventions in randomized controlled experiments in school settings, controlling for study discipline (physically active versus sedentary disciplines) to determine possible causal effects of PA/SB interventions on cognitive performance and proxies of vital citizenship and employeeship and their underlying mechanisms. Study 4 (ecological experiment) is a long-term intervention developed for the VET setting based on results from the first three studies and literature. Cognition is tested by the Stroop Test, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, and N-back task. School performance is operationalized as scores on Dutch and mathematics; absenteeism/dropout; and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Vital employeeship/citizenship is measured as collaboration and creativity (GAU, divergent thinking). Where applicable habitual daily activity is measured by accelerometry. Results/Conclusions: Besides scientific output, we deliver tailor-made PA/SB advice and programs for VET students and teachers, taking into account their interests, needs, and possibilities. Furthermore, PHIT2LEARN produces educative materials for students, parents, and teachers

PHIT2LEARN, PHysical activity InTerventions to enhance LEARNing in vocational education and training

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) seem to have respectively beneficial and detrimental effects on school performance, but evidence for a causal relationship in vocational education and training (VET) students is lacking. This is surprising, as VET students (±16-20 years) stand to benefit because the prefrontal cortex is developing during this age and is therefore sensitive to PA/SB interventions. Furthermore, students in VET have low activity levels in general, meaning enhanced PA/SB behavior could lead to improvement on cognition and learning. The goal of this project is investigating causal effects of PA/SB interventions on a variety of learning performance measures in VET students. Depending on the kind of intervention and the potential mechanisms underlying acute, short-term, or long-term effects, outcome measures vary from specific effects on cognition, to more general effects on school performance, and vital citizenship/employeeship. Methods: In four closely interlinked studies we investigate the causal effects of ‘sedentary behavior repression interventions’ on cognition, school performance, and 21st century skills in VET students. Study 1 (observational) elucidates habitual, objectively measured PA patterns of VET students and their potential association with cognitive performance, school performance, and proxies of vital citizenship and employeeship. Studies 2 and 3 (fundamental) investigate acute interventions in randomized controlled experiments in school settings, controlling for study discipline (physically active versus sedentary disciplines) to determine possible causal effects of PA/SB interventions on cognitive performance and proxies of vital citizenship and employeeship and their underlying mechanisms. Study 4 (ecological experiment) is a long-term intervention developed for the VET setting based on results from the first three studies and literature. Cognition is tested by the Stroop Test, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, and N-back task. School performance is operationalized as scores on Dutch and mathematics; absenteeism/dropout; and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Vital employeeship/citizenship is measured as collaboration and creativity (GAU, divergent thinking). Where applicable habitual daily activity is measured by accelerometry. Results/Conclusions: Besides scientific output, we deliver tailor-made PA/SB advice and programs for VET students and teachers, taking into account their interests, needs, and possibilities. Furthermore, PHIT2LEARN produces educative materials for students, parents, and teachers

«My Spelling is Wobbly» – Causes and consequences of word-level disfluencies in written

The aim of this PhD-project was to explore word-level processes involved in writing, and in particular word-level disfluencies. I have investigate what predicts word-level processes and disfluencies, and how word-level disfluencies can influence aspects of the final text. Two broad questions were addressed; What are the causes of wordlevel disfluency in written production?, and What, if any, are the consequences of word-level disfluency when the writer is composing full text? Article 1 investigates the writing process and the written product of a group of dyslexic students and a group of control students. Results from this article indicate that students diagnosed with dyslexia have a word-level focus when writing, and that this word-level focus is related to the writing process and not them struggling to read what they have written. Article 2 is an investigation of the spelling process and spelling accuracy in a group of 6th graders. Results indicate that the spelling process persists beyond typing onset. Moreover, word-split performance and non-word spelling accuracy predict spelling accuracy. Spelling response latency was predicted by non-word spelling response latency, and by key-finding speed. Keystroke intervals within words was predicted by word-split performance, non-word spelling RT and key finding speed. Article 3 investigates the relationship between spelling, motor execution processes involved in keyboarding, text composing processes and text quality measures. Results indicate that the transcription measures; copying, key finding and spelling, all influence word-level processes when producing text. Moreover, results indicate that word-level disfluencies have a negative impact on measures of text quality. Article 4 is a theoretical investigation of existing technical aids for writing support, and the general ideas underpinning these. A shift from having correction as the main element, to a writing aid having fluency as the main principle is suggested. My conclusion is that word-level disfluencies are related to spelling, and that wordlevel disfluencies can influence aspects of the final text