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Objectives: This study aimed to identify and synthesize online information/resources related to resistance training provided by governing bodies of the ten most popular youth sports in Australia. Design: A scoping review. Methods: The top 10 organised out-of-school sports were eligible for the review. A systematic search of national sporting organisation and associated websites was conducted, using key search terms. Data were extracted regarding information and/or resources aligning with current international youth muscle-and-bone strengthening activity guidelines (i.e., 5–17 years, three days per week). Results: For all ten sports, information/resources on resistance training were provided for athletes or coaches, however the type of information and level of detail varied. There was lack of consistency between guidelines and information provided by sports. Age of commencement recommendations ranged from four years (athletics) to 14 years (Australian football), whilst others suggested resistance training for all ages (gymnastics) or did not provide an explicit age range (tennis and cricket). Regarding frequency, few sports organisations provided a recommendation for how many days per week resistance training should be performed. Some sports alluded to the need for youth to develop muscular fitness to enhance fitness and performance, whilst others focused primarily on the need for resistance training as an injury prevention tool. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the gap that exists in the provision of information in relation to resistance training in Australian sports. It is important that national sporting organisations look to educate athletes and coaches (and parents) from grassroots levels on the need for muscular fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite the known health and educational benefits of physical activity and the risks of prolonged sedentary behaviour, only one in 10 adolescents globally meet physical activity guidelines, and three-quarters of the school day is spent sitting. TransformUs , an effective and cost-effective whole-of-school programme for promoting primary school children's physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour, has been adapted for secondary schools ( TransformUs Secondary ). The aim of this paper is to describe the protocol for TransformUs Secondary in relation to implementation and scale-up across Australia, and the real-world effectiveness of the intervention on adolescents' physical activity and sedentary time, as well as sitting time, sleep, well-being and class and school engagement., Methods and Analysis: A type II hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial will be conducted using a mixed-methods design. For the implementation trial, TransformUs Secondary will be disseminated via key organisations nationally (eg, state departments of education) and available to all Australian secondary schools (n=1453). Implementation outcomes will be evaluated using the RE-AIM framework (reach, adoption, implementation and maintenance). Data will be collected at the school and teacher levels via the TransformUs website (website analytics), descriptive quantitative surveys, text messages to teachers and qualitative interviews with teachers, students and representatives from key organisations. Descriptive statistics will summarise quantitative data, with regression analyses examining the associations between implementation strategies and outcomes. Implementation levels will be classified as low, moderate or high based on the extent of intervention delivery. Qualitative data will be thematically analysed.We will assess effectiveness outcomes in 10 Victorian secondary schools using a pragmatic 1:1 waitlist control design. The target sample is 600 Year 7-10 students (12-16 years). Primary outcomes include adolescents' physical activity and sedentary time (assessed with accelerometry), and secondary outcomes include health (sleep and well-being), class and school engagement (on-task behaviour assessed via classroom observation and school attendance) and sitting time (assessed with posture monitors). Descriptive analyses will summarise students' demographics, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and engagement, while mixed models will evaluate intervention effects on these outcomes, adjusted for confounders. Additionally, qualitative data will be thematically analysed using deductive and inductive coding in NVivo., Ethics and Dissemination: These trials were approved by the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (2021-269) and by the following education authorities: Australian Capital Territory Education Directorate (RES 2317), New South Wales Department of Education (2022253), Northern Territory Department of Education (20865), Victoria Department of Education (2023_004712), Queensland Department of Education (550/27/2585), South Australian Department of Education (2022-0019), Tasmanian Department of Education (2022-25), Western Australian Department of Education (D23/1152724), and Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (1232). Results from this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal articles, scientific conferences, summary reports to students and schools and stakeholder meetings., Trial Registration Number: Australian Clinical Trials Registration Registry (ACTRN12622000600741)., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group.)

Importance: Mental health problems often arise during adolescence and early adulthood, affecting up to 25% to 30% of young people. Enhancing the ability to identify children and adolescents at increased risk of mental health problems and uncover factors that promote mental health from childhood to adolescence is important., Objective: To investigate if cumulative lifestyle behaviors from childhood to adolescence are associated with perceived stress and depressive symptoms in adolescence., Design, Setting, and Participants: Prospective cohort study in Finland using baseline data collected between October 2007 and November 2009 and 8-year follow-up data collected between December 2015 and December 2017 as part of the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) study of children aged 6 to 9 years. Data were analyzed from January to February 2024., Exposures: Cumulative physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), sleep, and diet quality from childhood to adolescence. PA and screen time (ST) assessed by a questionnaire; PA at different intensities, SB, and sleep duration assessed by a combined movement and heart rate sensor; diet quality assessed by 4-day food records and the Baltic Sea Diet Score computed at baseline, 2-year follow-up, and 8-year follow-up examinations., Main Outcomes and Measures: Perceived stress assessed by the Finnish version of the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, and depressive symptoms by the Beck Depression Inventory at 8-year follow-up examinations. Linear regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between cumulative lifestyle behaviors over 8 years with the outcomes., Results: Altogether, 187 adolescents (97 boys [51.9%]; mean age, 15.8 [0.4] years) had valid data on self-reported lifestyle behaviors, and 170 adolescents had valid data on device-assessed lifestyle behaviors. Perceived stress scores ranged from 2 to 33 and depressive symptoms scores from 0 to 31. Self-reported total PA and supervised exercise were inversely associated with perceived stress (standardized regression coefficient [β] = -0.15; 95% CI, -0.31 to -0.01 and β = -0.15; 95% CI, -0.29 to -0.01, respectively) and depressive symptoms (β = -0.17; 95% CI, -0.31 to -0.02 and β = -0.14; 95% CI, -0.29 to -0.0, respectively). Total ST (β = 0.27; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.41), computer use (β = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.30), and mobile device use (β = 0.28; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.41) were positively associated with perceived stress. Total ST (β = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.44) and mobile device use (β = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.46) were positively associated with depressive symptoms., Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study of Finnish children and adolescents found that higher PA and lower ST from childhood were associated with perceived stress and depressive symptoms in adolescence. These findings emphasize reducing screen time and increasing PA to promote mental health in youth.

Objectives: Late adolescence (15-19 years) is a period of heightened susceptibility to stress, but regular physical activity may attenuate reactivity to stressors. We aimed to explore the effects of physical activity intensity on older adolescents' stress-reactivity and self-reported mental health., Design and Methods: Three-arm randomised controlled trial in New South Wales, Australia (April-June 2021). Thirty-seven older adolescents (16.1 ± 0.2 years, 59.5 % female) were randomised to: i) non-active control (CON), ii) light-intensity physical activity (LPA), or iii) moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). Physical activity groups participated in 2 x 20-min sessions/week for 6 weeks. Salivary cortisol (sCort) reactivity to induced stress was assessed using the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups and quantified as area under the curve (sCort AUC ; Primary outcome). Secondary outcomes included peak cortisol (sCort Peak ), subjective-reactivity, perceived stress, and non-specific psychological distress. Group differences were assessed using multiple linear regression and quantified using Cohen's d., Results: No statistically significant effects were observed for sCort AUC or sCort Peak and the pattern of effects for subjective-reactivity was inconsistent. Effects for self-reported mental health were also non-significant (p > .05 for all) but of meaningful magnitude, favouring LPA and MVPA over CON (d's = -0.38 to -0.54). Delivery fidelity was high, satisfaction was moderate-to-high, and there was no evidence of harm. However, recruitment, retention for sCort measures, and adherence were lower than expected., Conclusion: Suboptimal recruitment, retention, and adherence limited our ability to conclude on the effect of physical activity intensity on older adolescents' sCort-reactivity to induced stress. We observed potentially meaningful effects on self-reported mental health for both physical activity conditions, which could be confirmed in a future powered trial., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)