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Background: Skeletal muscle is overlooked in the realm of insulin resistance in children who are overweight and obese despite the fact that it accounts for the most glucose disposal. Objectives: Therefore, this study examined fasted glucose levels and muscle cross-sectional area and echo intensity (EI) via ultrasound images of the first dorsal interosseous, vastus lateralis, and rectus femoris in children who are normal weight and overweight and obese aged 8–10 years. Methods: In total, 13 males (age = 9.0 [0.7] y) and 7 females (age = 9.0 [0.8] y) volunteered for this study. Independent samples t tests and effect sizes (ESs) were used to examine potential differences in skeletal muscle composition and glucose concentrations. Results: There were no significant differences between groups for glucose concentration (P =.07, ES = 0.86); however, the children who were overweight and obese had significantly greater EI (P <.01, ES = 0.98–1.63) for the first dorsal interosseous, vastus lateralis, and rectus femoris and lower cross-sectional area when normalized to EI when collapsed across muscles (P <.04, ES = 0.92). Glucose concentrations correlated with EI and cross-sectional area/EI for the vastus lateralis (r =.514 to −.593) and rectus femoris (r =.551 to −.513), but not the first dorsal interosseous. Discussion: There is evidence that adiposity-related pathways leading to insulin resistance and skeletal muscle degradation are active in young children who are overweight and obese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stretching prior to activity is universally accepted as an important way to improve performance and help prevent injury. Likewise, limited flexibility has been shown to decrease functional ability and predispose a person to injuries. Although this is commonly accepted, appropriate stretching for children and adolescents involved with sports and physical education classes is not always a consistent component of the activity or team practice. A number of commonly used stretching methods have been investigated to evaluate their effectiveness for injury prevention and performance enhancement. There are three main categories of stretching methods: (1) static; (2) dynamic; and (3) partner-assisted stretching. The purpose of this article is to help define the different methods and explain which of the stretching methods would be the most appropriate to integrate into lesson plans or practice schedules. Practical guidelines to appropriate stretching are presented. (Contains 3 online resources.)

The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) was developed to prepare Marines for complex battlefield situations that include hand‐to‐hand combat and ethical decision making. The objective of this study was to quantify changes in ethical decision‐making following MCMAP training. Fifty‐five, active duty, newly enlisted U.S. Marines (Males: n = 37; age = 19 ± 1 years; height = 176 ± 7 cm; mass = 74 ± 7 kg; Females: n = 18; age = 20 ± 2 years; height = 164 ± 6 cm; mass = 61 ± 6 kg) volunteered for this investigation and were assessed three times over 6 weeks, with 3 weeks between each visit, using serial blood samples for cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine collected before training and during recovery [Immediate Post (IP), 15, 30, 45 and 60 min]. The Moral Functioning Continuum was used to quantify moral function before training, IP, 30, and 60 min post. Moral intention exhibited an acute response to training with significantly impaired decision making immediately post training. Moreover, both moral intention and moral judgement worsened over the visits suggesting a chronic impairment related to time in training suggesting a functional change in ethical decision‐making following acute bouts of MCMAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]