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Objectives To examine the construct validity of the International FItness Scale (IFIS) (ie, self-reported fitness) against objectively measured physical fitness in women with fibromyalgia and in healthy women; and to study the test-retest reliability of the IFIS in women with fibromyalgia. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Fibromyalgia patient support groups. Participants Women with fibromyalgia (n=413) and healthy women (controls) (n=195) for validity purposes and women with fibromyalgia (n=101) for the reliability study. The total sample was N=709. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Fitness level was both self-reported (IFIS) and measured using performance-based fitness tests. For the reliability study the IFIS was completed on 2 occasions, 1 week apart. Results Women with fibromyalgia who reported average fitness had better measured fitness than those reporting very poor fitness (all P <.001, except 6-minute walk test where P <.05), with similar trends observed in healthy control women. The test-retest reliability of the IFIS, as measured by the average weighted κ, was .45. Conclusions The IFIS was able to identify women with fibromyalgia who had very low fitness and distinguish them from those with higher fitness levels. Furthermore, the IFIS was moderately reliable in women with fibromyalgia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new and recent advances in neuroelectric and neuroimaging technologies provide a new era for further exploring and understanding how brain and cognition function can be stimulated by environmental factors, such as exercise, and particularly to study whether physical exercise influences brain development in early ages. The present study, namely the ActiveBrains project, aims to examine the effects of a physical exercise programme on brain and cognition, as well as on selected physical and mental health outcomes in overweight/obese children. A total of 100 participants aged 8 to 11 years are randomized into an exercise group (N = 50) or a control group (N = 50). The intervention lasts 20-weeks, with 3–5 sessions per week of 90 min each, and is mainly focused on high-intensity aerobic exercise yet also includes muscle-strengthening exercises. The extent to what the intervention effect remains 8-months after the exercise programme finishes is also studied in a subsample. Brain structure and function and cognitive performance are assessed using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalographic recordings. Secondary outcomes include physical health outcomes (e.g. physical fitness, body fatness, bone mass and lipid-metabolic factors) and mental health outcomes (e.g. chronic stress indicators and overall behavioural and personality measurements such as anxiety or depression). This project will substantially contribute to the existing knowledge and will have an impact on societies, since early stimulation of brain development might have long lasting consequences on cognitive performance, academic achievement and in the prevention of behavioural problems and the promotion of psychological adjustment and mental health. Clinical trials. Gov identifier: NCT02295072 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]