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Objectives: to assess the reliability of the core "plank" test, investigate its correlation with abdominal resistance strength, and examine its longitudinal association before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in schoolchildren during the transition to adolescence. Methods: The initial sample included 221 students aged 6–11 years in 2018 (58.8% of boys). These same students were re-evaluated between May and June 2023, at ages 11–16 years. The baseline assessments encompassed the plank isometric test and the abdominal sit-up (dynamic strength test). Due to resource limitations, only the plank test was conducted during the post-pandemic evaluation. To verify the reliability and reproducibility of the plank test, the two-way intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used, also correlation coefficients (r) were calculated. Results: The final sample comprised 130 boys and 91 girls, and the plank test demonstrated high reliability for both genders, with ICC ranging from 0.623 to 0.869 for boys and 0.695 to 0.901 for girls, as well as high Cronbach's alpha (α) values, indicating internal consistency. The results revealed significant correlations between the plank test and other physical fitness variables for both boys and girls. The sit-up test showed moderate positive correlations with the follow-up plank test in girls, while in boys, the correlation was weak and negative in the baseline evaluation but became moderate and positive when adjusted for age. Conclusions: The isometric plank strength test is highly reliable in children aged 6–16 years and can be used as an alternative measure to assess core strength in school-aged children. In addition, there was a significant and strong relationship between the plank test and the abdominal sit-up strength-resistance test, which provides valuable insights for fitness assessment in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To verify whether percentage of body fat, physical fitness, physical activity and calorie intake mediates the multicomponent intervention effect on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight/obese children, and present the relative contribution of each mediator. Methods: This is an intervention study, developed with 35 overweight/obese school-aged children (control group = 17 and intervention group = 18), aged between 7 and 13 years (9.05 ± 1.90). A 12-week multicomponent intervention was performed, consisting of physical exercise, nutritional education sessions and parental support. The following variables were evaluated at baseline and post-intervention: anthropometric measures and percentage of body fat, physical fitness, physical activity assessed by accelerometer, total calorie intake and biochemical assays. For statistical analysis, generalized linear models were used. Results: The intervention effect on glucose was mediated by percentage of body fat (24%), muscular fitness (22%) and total calorie intake (40%). The same was observed for alanine aminotransferase (ALT), with a mediation proportion of 26, 31 and 35%, respectively, as well as for HDL-C (percentage of body fat − 30%, muscular fitness − 30% and total calorie intake − 33%); while vigorous physical activity mediated the intervention effect on glucose (40%), HDL-C (39%) LDL-C (43%) and total cholesterol (37%). Conclusion: Interventions strategies should focus on reducing percentage of body fat and calorie intake, and enhancing muscular fitness and vigorous physical activity to achieve effective changes on cardiometabolic risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the role of adiposity in the relationship between physical fitness with cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF), adipocytokines and inflammation in children. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis, comprised 150 children (80 boys), aged 6–11 years, from a public school in the city of Porto Alegre/Brazil. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscular fitness (MF), systolic and diastolic blood pressure and percentage of body fat were evaluated. Blood samples were collected to determine leptin, adiponectin and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. CMRF was defined by the z score sum of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, total cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Results: The association between CRF with CMRF (Indirect effect (IE) = − 0.0005; CI − 0.0010 to − 0.0002) and leptin (IE = − 0.0116; CI − 0.0185 to − 0.0062) is influenced by adiposity. The association between MF and CMRF (IE: − 0.0991; CI − 0.1971 to − 0.0217), leptin (IE: − 3.0251; CI − 4.2660 to − 2.0956) and CRP (IE: − 0.3590; CI − 0.6903 to − 0.0981) were also influenced by adiposity. Furthermore, the relationship between CRF and CMRF (β = 0.0001; p = 0.04) and leptin (β = 0.0008; p = 0.02), as well as between MF and CMRF (β = 0.01; p = 0.02) varied according to adiposity level. Conclusion: Adiposity exert an essential role in the relationship of physical fitness with CMRF, adipocytokines and inflammation in children. This findings support the key role of adiposity, indicating that beyond physical fitness increases, intervention programs should also focus on decreasing adiposity in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Obesity is a multifactorial disease and it is related to the occurrence of metabolic syndrome and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFDL) in youth. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 12-week multicomponent intervention program in markers of metabolic syndrome and NAFLD in Brazilian overweight/obese low-income school-aged children. Methods: This quasi-experimental study comprised overweight/obese school-aged children, aged 7–13 years. The participants were assigned to intervention (n = 17) or control group (n = 18). The multicomponent intervention was developed during 12 weeks, consisting of exercise sessions (twice/week; 1 h), nutritional education sessions (once/month), and parental support (twice/week). The following variables were evaluated: anthropometric measures (height, body weight, waist circumference, percentage of body fat); biochemical assays (total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides-TG, high-density lipoprotein-HDL, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase-AST, alanine aminotransferase-ALT), cardiorespiratory fitness, and maturational stage. A cardiovascular disease (CVD) composite z-scores (percentage of body fat, glucose, AST, ALT, TG, and TC/HDL ratio) was also calculated. General linear models were used for data analysis. Results: Compared to the control group, intervention group participants decreased percentage of body fat (Δ − 0.97; p < 0.001), glucose levels (Δ − 0.15; p = 0.005), ALT (Δ − 2.84; p = 0.021), TC/HDL ratio (Δ − 0.93; p < 0.001), CVD composite score (Δ − 0.97; p < 0.001), and total food intake (Δ − 131.44; p = 0.03), while there was no differences between groups on waist circumference, AST, triglycerides, and CRF. Conclusion: A 12-week multicomponent intervention was effective on decreasing some metabolic syndrome parameters in overweight/obese school-aged children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]