Search

Highlights • In Swedish 70-year-olds, prevalence of probable/confirmed sarcopenia was low (2%). • Only moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was associated with reduced sarcopenia. • There was no threshold in associations between MVPA bout duration and sarcopenia. • Greater MVPA was not associated with increased incidence of 12-month falls., Purpose This study was aimed to determine associations of accelerometer-determined time and bouts of sedentary behavior, light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) with sarcopenia and incident falls over 12 months. Methods A total of 3334 Swedish 70-year-olds were assessed for sarcopenia, as defined by the revised definition of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Assessments were based on low scores for appendicular lean mass (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), hand grip strength, and the Timed Up and Go test. For 7 days after baseline, total time and total number of bouts (≥10 min of continuous activity at a given intensity) of activity performed at sedentary, LPA, and MVPA intensities were assessed by accelerometer. Incident falls were self-reported 6 months and 12 months after baseline. Results Only 1.8% of participants had probable or confirmed sarcopenia. After multivariable adjustment for other levels of activity, only greater MVPA time was associated with a decreased likelihood of having low appendicular lean mass, low hand grip strength, and slow Timed Up and Go time as defined by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People criteria (all p < 0.05), and only MVPA time was associated with lower likelihood of probable or confirmed sarcopenia (odds ratio = 0.80, 95% confidence interval: 0.71–0.91 h/week). Similar associations were identified for total number of bouts, with no evidence of threshold effects for longer duration of bouts of MVPA. A total of 14% of participants reported ≥1 fall, but neither total time nor bouts of activity was associated with incident falls (all p > 0.05). Conclusion Higher amounts of accelerometer-determined MVPA are consistently associated with a decreased likelihood of sarcopenia and its components, regardless of the length of bouts or amounts of sedentary behavior., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract

Sport has often had an important role in times of crisis, but the Covid-19 pandemic is another matter. Sport was heavily affected world-wide on all levels. In Sweden, gathering people for endurance events conflicted with the Covid-19 restrictions. Some events were cancelled, but many tried to adapt. What adaptation strategies to Covid-19 have Swedish event organizers used? What role have digital tools played in their adaptation? What economic impacts did these events experience? We argue that the challenges posed by Covid-19 have accelerated the digitization of endurance events and highlighted the tensions between commercial and non-commercial actors in sports due to the differences in financial structure and eligibility for economic support. We thereby contribute to the growing research on how sport events in general have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and specifically in the context of Sweden’s somewhat exceptional response to the pandemic.

BackgroundThe UEFA Elite Club Injury Study is the largest and longest running injury surveillance programme in football.ObjectiveTo analyse the 18-season time trends in injury rates among male professional football players.Methods3302 players comprising 49 teams (19 countries) were followed from 2000–2001 through 2018–2019. Team medical staff recorded individual player exposure and time-loss injuries.ResultsA total of 11 820 time-loss injuries were recorded during 1 784 281 hours of exposure. Injury incidence fell gradually during the 18-year study period, 3% per season for both training injuries (95% CI 1% to 4% decrease, p=0.002) and match injuries (95% CI 2% to 3% decrease, pConclusionsOver 18 years: (1) injury incidence decreased in training and matches, (2) reinjury rates decreased, and (3) player availability for training and match play increased.

The purpose of this scoping review was to provide a broad overview of the literature pertaining to parasport coaches, including information regarding the size and scope of research, the populations and perspectives obtained, and the type of methods used to conduct the research. Data were collected and analyzed using a six-stage framework for conducting scoping reviews. The results revealed that the majority of articles were based on interviews, and an overwhelming majority of the participants were men coaching at the high-performance level in North America. Three of the most frequent topics were becoming a parasport coach, being a parasport coach, and having general parasport coaching knowledge. Articles ranged in date from 1991 to 2018, with 70% of empirical articles published from 2014 onward, indicating an emerging interest in this field of research. This review has the potential to advance the science and practice of parasport coaching at all levels.

For more than 40 years, health and physical education (HPE) academics in universities and teacher education colleges have drawn attention to issues of social justice specific to the context of PE and advocated for teachers in fields, gymnasiums and other physical activity spaces to do a better job of promoting more equitable outcomes for all students. Building on this advocacy, in the late 1990s, countries such as Sweden, Norway and New Zealand designed HPE curricula that address social justice. However, limited research has focused specifically on the enactment of social justice in HPE practice. Drawing on a larger international project involving Sweden, Norway and New Zealand the aim of this article is therefore to explore the constitution of social justice pedagogies across these three different HPE contexts and more specifically how HPE teaching practice may be understood from regulative, normative and cultural perspectives on social justice. The data reported on in this paper were generated from educational acts, curriculum documents, observations of HPE lessons in each of the three countries and follow-up teacher interviews. In order to analyse the data, we employed Scott's (2008. Institutions and organizations: Ideas and interests (3rd ed). Sage) institutional theory to further understand and discuss the enactment of social justice across the three different countries in HPE practice. In our representation and analysis of the findings we draw attention to how social justice pedagogies are informed differently by institutionalised governing systems and therefore they may be enacted differently by teachers in different societies. In particular, we highlight the influence of (i) regulative; (ii) normative; (iii) cultural-cognitive elements on practice. We conclude by pointing out the complex interplay between regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive elements that both enable and constrain HPE teachers' enactments of social justice in HPE practice.

Objective: We explored motivation for physical activity (PA) and exercise in adolescents with asthma who entered and continued a 10-week play-based exercise intervention. Methods: Eighteen adolescents with asthma, aged 13–17 years, participated in a 10-week play- and interval-based indoor exercise intervention during winter and autumn months. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted in weeks 2 and 8, focusing on motivation for PA and exercise, as well as field observations of exercise sessions in weeks 2, 6, and 8. The first interview was analyzed separately from the second one and descriptive observational data were obtained using thematic analysis and self-determination theory as a framework. Results: In the first round of focus group interviews, participants (n = 18) described amotivation and motivation for PA within the following five themes: “teachers’ lack of asthma knowledge”, “embarrassment over asthma symptoms”, “not being able to keep pace with peers”, “seasonal challenges”, and “mastering fun physical activities”. Based on the second interview (n = 14) and descriptive observational data (n = 18), participants reported and revealed amotivation and motivation for PA within the following four themes: “understanding and relatedness”, “social support”, “competition”, and “mastering fun activities”. Conclusion: We conclude that play-based exercises designed for groups of adolescents with asthma can support motivation for PA and exercise and reduce social and asthma-specific barriers.

The aim of this mixed methods field study was to gain a better understanding of how psychological factors can contribute to success in intervention-induced behavior change over time. While it can be difficult to change behavior, the use of interventions means that most participants succeed in change during the intervention. However, it is rare for the immediate change to automatically transform into maintained behavior changes. Most research conducted on health-related behavior change interventions contains quantitative studies that investigate key intervention components on a group level. Hence, to bring more knowledge about maintained intervention-induced behavior change, there is need for a study approach that enhances the understanding of individual participants' experiences during and after the intervention. Therefore, the present study, which was conducted in Sweden, used a mixed methods design (triangulation) consisting of pre-, post-, and follow-up quantitative data (questionnaires and body measurements) and qualitative data (interviews), where the individuals' accounts are used to broaden the understanding of the intervention and the behavior change process. All study participants were enrolled in a volitional (fee-based and non-manipulated) intervention given by certified gyms. The quantitative data collection included 22 participants who completed questionnaires and body measurements before and after the intervention, plus 13 complete body measurements 6 months after the intervention. The qualitative data included pre-interviews with 12 participants and six follow-up-interviews. The questions in both questionnaires and interviews related to expectations, efficacy, motivation, goals, achievements, behavior change, and future. Overall, the results show that levels of expectations, efficacy, and motivation cannot be used in isolation to predict maintained intervention-induced behavior change. To successfully extend and maintain immediate change, it was crucial to experience goal achievement (but not BMI change). Furthermore,enabling talkwas salient in the pre-interviews with participants reporting successful immediate (and maintained) change. By contrast, pre-interviewdisabling talkturned out to be evident in interviews, with participants not responding to follow-up. When the qualitative and quantitative results are summarized and integrated, it appears that subjective goal achievement, combined with enabling self-talk, were crucial factors in successful maintained behavior change.

The aim of this research was to examine whether attachment relationships to significant others, such as to parents and/or sports coaches, enable thriving and competition performance within sport. Two studies employing cross-sectional and prospective designs were carried out across different samples of athletes of varied skill levels and sports. In Study 1, we found athletes’ attachment to their sports coach was significantly associated with athlete thriving and mediated by psychological needs satisfaction. Results of Study 2 found that athletes’ secure attachment to their mother and/or father positively predicted the experience of thriving at the competition while athletes’ insecure attachment did not predict thriving. Furthermore, athletes’ attachment to both mother and father did not predict competition performance. Together, these two studies acknowledge the significant role that athletes’ secure attachment relationships with parents and coaches play in facilitating thriving in athletes. These findings have significant implications for research and practice.

Introduction: Long-distance cross-country skiing (XCS) has gained increased popularity within the past decades. However, research about long-distance XCS is limited; therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the intensity distribution, technique application, and pacing strategies during long-distance XCS racing. Methods: Heart rate (HR) and section skiing speeds of 9 elite (ranked 1–100) and 10 amateur skiers (ranked 101–1,500) during the 90-km Vasaloppet race were collected. In addition, during the first uphill, the first 1,000 skiers were video-recorded to analyze the applied skiing strategy (e.g. grip-waxed skis versus exclusive double poling). Results: Mean race intensity was 82% of maximal HR and was not different between performance groups even though elite skiers skied ∼15% faster than amateurs. There was an interaction effect of section × group with a pronounced decrease in HR in amateurs compared with more even pacing in elite skiers (0.13 vs. 0.04% decrease/km) and skiing at higher percentage in the high-intensity zones in elite compared with amateurs (46 vs. 24%). Ninety-eight percent of the top 100 skiers and 59% of the first 1,000 skiers used exclusively double poling. Conclusion: Elite and amateur skiers ski at comparable mean race exercise intensity, but they have clear differences in skiing speed. The difference in the pacing profiles between elite and amateur skiers (more even vs. distinct positive pacing) demonstrate the greater capacity of the former with respect to physiological capacity and highlights that amateurs seem to start too fast according to their capacities. The exclusive application of the double poling technique is no longer a phenomenon of elite skiers but is widely used among the top 1,000 ranked skiers.

We aimed to examine whether the 9+ screening test score could predict injuries in elite floorball players. Eighty‐four elite floorball players participated in the study. At baseline, two physiotherapists assessed the participants using the 9+ screening test. The test score reflects strength, stability, mobility, and functional movement pattern with an emphasis on the lower body and core. Injuries that occurred the following season (2013/2014) were recorded by medical staff, coaches, and/or self‐reported by the players. Overall, there was no relationship between the 9+ screening test score and injury risk (OR = 0.96 per SD lower test score, P = .84). We, therefore, conclude that the 9+ screening test is not suited for overall injury risk prediction in elite floorball players. Whether the test may be used to predict risk of certain injury types more strongly related to inadequate mobility and strength (eg, muscle ruptures or strains) warrants further investigation.

Introduction: Adherence to exercise interventions in patients with cancer is often poorly described. Further, it is unclear if self-regulatory behavior change techniques (BCTs) can improve exercise adherence in cancer populations. We aimed to (1) describe exercise adherence in terms of frequency, intensity, time, type (FITT-principles) and dropouts, and (2) determine the effect of specific self-regulatory BCTs on exercise adherence in patients participating in an exercise intervention during curative cancer treatment. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis using data from a Swedish multicentre RCT. In a 2×2 factorial design, 577 participants recently diagnosed with curable breast, colorectal or prostate cancer were randomized to 6 months of high (HI) or low-to-moderate intensity (LMI) exercise, with or without self-regulatory BCTs (e.g., goal-setting and self-monitoring). The exercise program included supervised group-based resistance training and home-based endurance training. Exercise adherence (performed training/prescribed training) was assessed using attendance records, training logs and heart rate monitors, and is presented descriptively. Linear regression and logistic regression were used to assess the effect of self-regulatory BCTs on each FITT-principle and dropout rates, according to intention-to-treat. Results: For resistance training (groups with vs without self-regulatory BCTs), participants attended on average 52% vs 53% of prescribed sessions, performed 79% vs 76% of prescribed intensity, and 80% vs 77% of prescribed time. They adhered to exercise type in 71% vs 68% of attended sessions. For endurance training (groups with vs without self-regulatory BCTs), participants performed on average 47% vs 51% of prescribed sessions, 57% vs 62% of prescribed intensity, and 71% vs 72% of prescribed time. They adhered to exercise type in 79% vs 78% of performed sessions. Dropout rates (groups with vs without self-regulatory BCTs) were 29% vs 28%. The regression analysis revealed no effect of the self-regulatory BCTs on exercise adherence. Conclusion: An exercise adherence rate ≥50% for each FITT-principle and dropout rates at ~30% can be expected among patients taking part in long-term exercise interventions, combining resistance and endurance training during curative cancer treatment. Our results indicate that self-regulatory BCTs do not improve exercise adherence in interventions that provide evidence-based support to all participants (e.g., supervised group sessions). Trial registration: NCT02473003

Source at https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2019.1577119. Biomechanical differences in double poling (DP) between sex and performance level were investigated in female and male cross-country skiers during a classical race (10/15 km). Skiers were divided into faster and slower on basis of race performance: females faster (n=20), females slower (n=20), males faster (n=20), and males slower (n=20). Based on video analysis while DP in a flat section of the track, joint and pole angles at pole plant (PP) and pole-off, cycle characteristics and the use and coordination pattern of heel-raise (raise of heels from the ground to have a higher body position at PP) were analysed. Faster females and males had 4.3% and 7.8% higher DP velocity than their slower counterparts (both P

The Health and Physical Education (HPE) profession has increasingly advocated for caring teacher-student relationships. In this paper, we draw on data from an international research project called 'EDUHEALTH' [Education for Equitable Health Outcomes - The Promise of School Health and Physical Education] to explore caring teaching and the complexity of building good relationships as pedagogies for social justice in HPE. The data reported on in this paper were generated through 20 HPE lesson observations and interviews with 13 HPE teachers across schools in Sweden, Norway and New Zealand. In our analysis of the data, we employed Nel Noddings 'Care Theory' [(1984. Caring, a feminine approach to ethics & moral education. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; 1997). Pedagogisk filosofi [Philosophy of education]. Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal] to study the constitution of relationships and caring teaching in HPE practice. The findings demonstrate that caring teaching is inevitably built on developing good relationships, and that developing such good relationships is a complex process influenced by three key elements. First, teachers have to develop knowledge about their students on a societal, group and personal level; second, teachers have to reflect on the individual, environmental and relational aspects required for building good relationships; and third, teachers have to implement caring teaching strategies, such as planning, caring actions and doing 'the little things'. Drawing on Nodding's care theory, we conclude that pedagogies for social justice are enacted when teachers use their own knowledge and knowledge about the students, together with reflection and caring teaching strategies, to arrange a learning environment that promotes inclusion and equitable outcomes for all students. Epub 2019

ObjectivesTo explore associations betweenexercise dependence, eating disorder (ED) symptoms and biomarkers of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S) among male endurance athletes.MethodsFifty-three healthy well-trained male cyclists, triathletes and long-distance runners recruited from regional competitive sports clubs were included in this cross-sectional study. The protocol comprised the Exercise Dependence Scale (EXDS), the ED Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), measurements of body composition, resting metabolic rate, energy intake and expenditure and blood analysis of hormones and glucose.ResultsParticipants with higher EXDS score displayed a more negative energy balance compared with subjects with lower EXDS score (prestraint eating(r=0.34, pweight concern(r=0.35, plack of controlandtolerancewere positively correlated with cortisol (r=0.38, pwithdrawalandtolerancewere negatively correlated with fasting blood glucose (r=−0.31 and r=−0.32, pintention effectwas negatively correlated with testosterone:cortisol ratio (r=−0.29, pConclusionIn this sample of healthy male athletes, we found associations between higher EXDS scores, ED symptoms and biomarkers of RED-S, such as a more pronounced negative energy balance and higher cortisol levels.

Young people with disabilities participate in sports to a lesser extent than other adolescents. That physical activity has positive effects on young people are understood. Sports clubs are identified as potential environments for physical activity. The reasons why young people with disabilities participate to a lower extent in organized sport is complex and barriers can be deriving from many different levels. However, barriers have been studied more than what can facilitate participation in organized sport. Therefor the aim of this study is to increase the understanding of how sports clubs include children and adolescents with disabilities in their activities. The results of this systematic search are presented using the three research questions: What are the characteristics of the sports clubs that include young people with disabilities?; How are the young people with disabilities included in sports clubs’ activities?; and finally Why are young people with disabilities included in the sports activities?. A vision must be to go from adapting physical activity for disabled persons to adapting physical activity for all people, because the diversity of people’s reasons for doing sports, their differing backgrounds and their uniqueness all demand it. This will result in more people doing sports for longer in life.