The outcomes of a sport-based intervention on risky sexual behaviours among rural school-going adolescents

The spread of HIV infection in sexually active adolescents and young adults has been attributed to the increasing risky sexual behaviours including early sexual activity, multiple sexual partnership, and irregular condoms use in this population. There are increasing calls to scale up youth-friendly HIV prevention programmes to assist youth in adopting safe sexual behaviours. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a 12-week sports-based HIV prevention programme on the HIV-risk reduction outcomes among rural high school learners. Participants are 430 learners representing 250 learners in the intervention school and 180 learners in the control school respectively. The intervention was delivered in school using the Grassroot Soccer generation skills curriculum consisting of soccer-themed HIV prevention activities including knowledge about HIV risks, self-efficacy to be abstinent and resist peer pressure. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA conducted to compare risk behaviour reduction outcomes at Time 1 (prior to the intervention), Time 2 (following the 12-week intervention) and Time 3 (four-month follow up) showed improvement in HIV knowledge [F (2) = 72.57, p = 0.000], self-efficacy [F (2) = 6.63, p = 0.002] and negotiation skills [F (2) = 4.07, p = 0.02]. Logistic regression analysis comparing risk reduction outcomes between intervention and control group showed statistically significant difference only on self-efficacy scores [β = 1.43 (95% CI: 1.07-1.92); p = 0.018]. There were no significant findigns regarding effect of sport-based HIV prevention programmes on risky sexual behaviours in rural school-going adolescents. The potential effect of the intervention on improvement of HIV knowledge, self-efficacy to refuse sex and negotiation skills for safe sex indicated that sport-based HIV prevention programmes could be used to modify risky sexual behaviours in South African adolescents and young adults.DHE

Association between physical activity and health outcomes (high body fatness, high blood pressure) in Namibian adolescents and adult women

Regular physical activity (PA) is known to promote the physical and mental health of children and adolescents and further prevent the development of health problems in adulthood. Information on body composition and PA is crucial for health promotion strategies and for epidemiological studies informing policies. However, there is limited data on the association between body composition and PA in Namibia. This dearth of published data is a significant shortcoming in the development of strategies and policies to promote PA in Namibia. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the association between PA as a dependent variable and independent variables such as high blood pressure and body fatness as measured by different methods (gold standard deuterium dilution, body mass index, mid upper arm circumference, and waist circumference). The study included 206 healthy adolescent girls aged 13–19 years and 207 young adult females aged 20–40 years from Windhoek, Namibia. PA was measured using the PACE+ questionnaire in adolescents, and the GPAQ questionnaire was used for adults. In adolescents, only 33% of the participants met the recommended guidelines for PA, compared to only 2% for adults. Nevertheless, the study found no statistically significant association between PA and blood pressure indices (p-value < 0.05) among adolescents and adults. However, there was a significant association between PA and high body fatness (p-value < 0.001) and waist circumference (p-value = 0.014) in adolescents. Among adults, PA was significantly related to waist circumference only. In conclusion, failure to meet recommended PA guidelines is strongly associated with abdominal obesity and high body fatness. The knowledge gained from this study may be used by policymakers in the development of strategic policies and interventions aimed at promoting PA as a public priority and improving health outcomes

Body mass index vs deuterium dilution method for establishing childhood obesity prevalence, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia and United Republic of Tanzania

Objective -- To compare the World Health Organization (WHO) body mass index (BMI)-for-age definition of obesity against measured body fatness in African children. Methods -- In a prospective multicentre study over 2013 to 2017, we recruited 1516 participants aged 8 to 11 years old from urban areas of eight countries (Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia and United Republic of Tanzania). We measured height and weight and calculated BMI-for-age using WHO standards. We measured body fatness using the deuterium dilution method and defined excessive body fat percentage as > 25% in boys and > 30% in girls. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of BMI z-score > +2.00 standard deviations (SD) and used receiver operating characteristic analysis and the Youden index to determine the optimal BMI z-score cut-off for classifying excessive fatness. Findings -- The prevalence of excessive fatness was over three times higher than BMI-for-age-defined obesity: 29.1% (95% CI: 26.8 to 31.4; 441 children) versus 8.8% (95% CI: 7.5 to 10.4; 134 children). The sensitivity of BMI z-score > +2.00 SD was low (29.7%, 95% CI: 25.5 to 34.2) and specificity was high (99.7%, 95% CI: 99.2 to 99.9). The receiver operating characteristic analysis found that a BMI z-score +0.58 SD would optimize sensitivity, and at this cut-off the area under the curve was 0.86, sensitivity 71.9% (95% CI: 67.4 to 76.0) and specificity 91.1% (95% CI: 89.2 to 92.7). Conclusion -- While BMI remains a practical tool for obesity surveillance, it underestimates excessive fatness and this should be considered when planning future African responses to the childhood obesity pandemic

Self-Reported Physical Activity is Not a Valid Method for Measuring Physical Activity in 15-Year-Old South African Boys and Girls

Physical activity plays an important role in the prevention of chronic lifestyle-related diseases. The development of valid instruments for the assessment of physical activity remains a challenge in field studies. The purpose of the present study was therefore to determine the level of agreement between physical activity objectively measured by the ActiHeart&reg; (Cambridge Neurotechnology Ltd, Cambridge, UK) device and subjectively reported physical activity by means of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) among adolescents attending schools in the Tlokwe Local Municipality, South Africa. A cross-sectional study design was used with a total of 63 boys and 45 girls aged 15 years who took part in the Physical Activity and Health Longitudinal Study (PHALS). Stature and weight were measured according to standard International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) protocols. Objective physical activity (PA) was measured by a combined heart rate and accelerometer device (ActiHeart&reg;) for seven consecutive days. Time spent in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) was assessed. Subjective physical activity was assessed with the self-reported IPAQ-SF. Objective PA indicated that 93% of the participants were inactive and only 6% were highly active. The IPAQ-SF showed that 24% were inactive, with 57% active. A non-significant correlation (r = 0.11; p = 0.29) between the ActiHeart&reg; measure of activity energy expenditure (AEE) and total physical activity (IPAQ-SF) was observed. The Bland&ndash;Altman plot showed no agreement between the two measurement instruments and also a variation in the level of equivalence. When Cohen&rsquo;s kappa (&kappa;) was run to determine the agreement between the two measurement instruments for estimated physical activity, a poor agreement (&kappa; = 0.011, p &lt; 0.005) between the two was found. The poor level of agreement between the objective measure of physical activity (ActiHeart&reg;) and the IPAQ-SF questionnaire should be interpreted cautiously. Future physical activity research using a combination of subjective and objective assessment methods in a large-scale cohort in adolescents is recommended

Health-related fitness, body composition and physical activity status among adolescent learners: the PAHL study

Physical inactivity (PI) is found to be a major contributor to the high incidence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents. As such, PI was significantly related to risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Studies especially in the 14-years in adolescents' learners are sparse. The purpose of this study was to determine the health-related physical fitness (HRPF), body composition and physical activity (PA) status among adolescent learners. A total of 283 adolescents learners (111 boys and 172 girls) with mean age of 14.90±0.72 years from the Physical Activity and Health Longitudinal Study (PAHLS) were participants in the study. Body composition according to the standard procedures of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK), HRPF using the Eurofit protocol test and PA levels using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were assessed and administered. Subsequently, total PA scores were calculated. The results show that on average, the boys (165.41±9.55cm) were significantly taller than the girls (157.88±6.94cm) (p<0.000). Girls had a slightly higher significant BMI (21.43±4.37 kg/m2) than the boys (20.01±3.71 kg/m2) (p=0.002). When the learners were categorised based on their BMI scores, the girls were more overweight (32.4%) compared to the boys (17.1%). Additionally, the girls (%body fat 26.01±8.51) were substantially (p<0.000) fatter than the boys (13.19±8.56). Furthermore, the results also indicated that the boys had consistently better performances in all the HRPF tests than the girls (p<0.000). More girls (19%) than boys (16%) watched TV for more than 3 hours daily. A total of 85 (30%), 78 (27.5%) and 88 (31.1%) of the adolescent students had low, moderate and high PA involvement. It was concluded that girls were more overweight and less active than boys. In view of the health implications of the findings, there is a need to create enabling environment and opportunities that will promote physically active lifestyle and develop life-long positive attitudes towards PA among the learners. Community-based strategies designed to facilitate effective and sustainable PA intervention programmes in schools are recommended

Association Between Sport Participation, Body Composition, Physical Fitness, and Social Correlates Among Adolescents: The PAHL Study

Background: Evidence suggests that social support impacts on participation in sport or physical activity (PA), and is associated with health benefits, although the link is complex and not well understood. The study aim was to examine whether participation in organized sports is related to body composition, physical fitness, and social correlates for PA. Methods: Cross-sectional data on 238 adolescents (90 boys and 148 girls), mean age 14.9 &#177; 0.8 years, who were participants in the Physical Activity and Health Longitudinal Study, were collected. The participants were divided into two groups: sport participation (SP) and non-sport participation (NSP). Height, weight, and triceps and subscapular skinfolds were assessed according to standard procedures. Weight (kg) and height (m2) were used to calculate body mass index (BMI), and skinfolds were used to calculate body fat percentage. The European Test of Physical Fitness (EUROFIT) battery of tests was used to assess physical fitness. The standardized International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form and Social Support for PA questionnaires were used to obtain information on PA and social correlates for PA, respectively. Participants were asked to choose between participation and non-participation in sport. Results: The SP group had lower BMI component values (p = 0.011, d = 0.52 for percentage body fat (%BF); p = 0.011, d = 0.53 for sum of skinfolds (&#8721;SKF) obtained higher physical fitness scores in selected items (p = 0.003, d = 0.64 for sit ups (SUP); p &lt; 0.000, d = 0.96 for maximal oxygen consumption VO2max) and received higher social support (p &lt; 0.001, d = 0.86 for social support (SS)), than the NSP group. The social support received by those participating in sport correlated positively with most fitness components (p = 0.013, r2 = 18% for bent arm hang (BAH); p = 0.000, r2 = 12% for sit ups (SUP); p = 0.000, r2 = 17% for VO2max). Physical fitness components were negatively associated with most body composition components for both groups. Conclusions: The results provide a better understanding of sport participation in organized sports-related, body composition-related and physical fitness-related associations with changes in social support received by adolescents and may contribute to the development of more accurate promotive strategies to increase children&#8217;s and adolescents&#8217; engagement in sport and PA

Relationship between body composition and selected motor components in 17-year-old adolescents residing in the city of Poznań in Poland

Study aim: The objective of this study was to determine differences in body composition status and levels of selected motor components and assess the relationship between selected motor components and body composition in adolescent girls and boys

The use of anthropometric measurements and the Influence of demographic factors on the prediction of vo2max in a cohort of adolescents: the Pahl study

Background: prediction models have not focused on children and adolescents from South Africa and have not included various demographic factors as possible predictors. Aim: The purpose of this study was, therefore, to determine whether a valid prediction function can be developed from several anthropometric measurements and demographic factors of a cohort of adolescents in South Africa. Subjects and methods: A total of 214 adolescent boys (n = 88) and girls (n = 126) (15.82 ± 0.68 years) were selected. Demographic, sport and maturation data were collected by means of questionnaires, whereas anthropometric measurements were taken by accredited anthropometrists and the 20-m Shuttle Run Test (SRT) executed to determine indirect values. A forward stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the cluster analysis reduced predictors and a cross-validation was performed in order to validate the prediction function. Results: Muscle mass percentage, sport participation level, stature, hip circumference and ectomorphy acted as significant predictors (p < 0.05) of the adolescents’ indirect, 20-m SRT values. Seventy per cent of the variance in the indirect, 20-m SRT values could be explained by this model. Cross-validation also confirmed the model’s validity. Conclusion: Results indicate that the of adolescents from different racial backgrounds, living areas and gender groups can be accurately predicted by making use of a population-specific model