Search

BackgroundBest-practice early interventions to increase physical activity (PA) in children with overweight and obesity should be both feasible and evidence based. Walking is a basic human movement pattern that is practical, cost-effective, and does not require complex movement skills. However, there is still a need to investigate how much walking—as a proportion of total PA level—is performed by children who are overweight and obese in order to determine its utility as a public health strategy. ObjectiveThis study aimed to (1) investigate the proportion of overall PA indicators that are explained by step-based metrics and (2) study step accumulation patterns relative to achievement of public health recommendations in children who are overweight and obese. MethodsA total of 105 overweight and obese children (mean 10.1 years of age [SD 1.1]; 43 girls) wore hip-worn accelerometers for 7 days. PA volumes were derived using the daily average of counts per 15 seconds, categorized using standard cut points for light-moderate-vigorous PA (LMVPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Derived step-based metrics included volume (steps/day), time in cadence bands, and peak 1-minute, 30-minute, and 60-minute cadences. ResultsSteps per day explained 66%, 40%, and 74% of variance for counts per 15 seconds, LMVPA, and MVPA, respectively. The variance explained was increased up to 80%, 92%, and 77% by including specific cadence bands and peak cadences. Children meeting the World Health Organization recommendation of 60 minutes per day of MVPA spent less time at zero cadence and more time in cadence bands representing sporadic movement to brisk walking (ie, 20-119 steps/min) than their less-active peers. ConclusionsStep-based metrics, including steps per day and various cadence-based metrics, seem to capture a large proportion of PA for children who are overweight and obese. Given the availability of pedometers, step-based metrics could be useful in discriminating between those children who do or do not achieve MVPA recommendations. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02295072; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02295072

Purpose: To examine the effects of a 14-week gamification-based physical education teaching program on fitness in college students. Method: A convenience sample of 112 college students (21.22 ± 2.55 years) was distributed among a gamification-based group or a control group (i.e., traditional teaching). College students from the gamification group used a game-based mobile app under the narrative of "STAR WARS™" with a countdown, so they had to gain lifetime. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by the 20-m shuttle run test. Muscular fitness was measured by the handgrip strength and the standing broad jump tests. Results: Participants from the gamification program reported a significantly higher cardiorespiratory fitness and upper and lower body muscular fitness at postintervention, indicated by an effect size of 0.86 (p < 0.001), 0.18 (p = 0.018), and 0.52 (p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion: Gamification can have an important implication on students' motivation toward higher fitness.

The present study aims: (1) to examine the association of physical fitness components (i.e., cardiorespiratory fitness, speed-agility, and muscular fitness) with brain current source density during working memory; and (2) to examine whether fitness-related current density was associated to working memory performance and academic achievement. Eighty-five children with overweight/obesity aged 8-11 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Physical fitness components were assessed using the ALPHA test battery. Electroencephalography recordings were performed during a Delayed Non-Match-to-Sample task that assessed working memory. Brain source analysis was carried out using sLORETA to estimate regional current source density differences between high and low (H-L) working memory loads. Academic achievement was measured by the Spanish version of the Woodcock-Johnson III test battery. The main results showed that higher cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with higher H-L current density differences in frontal, limbic, and occipital regions during encoding and maintenance task's phases ([beta][greater than or equal to]0.412, p[less than or equal to]0.019). A limbic area was further related to better working memory performance ([beta]=0.267, p = 0.005). During retrieval, higher cardiorespiratory fitness was also associated with higher current density in temporal regions ([beta]=0.265, p = 0.013), whereas lower muscular fitness was associated with higher current density in frontal regions ([beta]=-0.261, p = 0.016). Our results suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness, but not speed-agility nor muscular fitness, is positively associated with brain current source density during working memory processes in children with overweight/obesity. Fitness-related current density differences in limbic regions were associated with better working memory.

Purpose: To examine the effects of a 14-week gamification-based physical education teaching program on fitness in college students. Method: A convenience sample of 112 college students (21.22 ± 2.55 years) was distributed among a gamification-based group or a control group (i.e., traditional teaching). College students from the gamification group used a game-based mobile app under the narrative of "STAR WARS™" with a countdown, so they had to gain lifetime. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by the 20-m shuttle run test. Muscular fitness was measured by the handgrip strength and the standing broad jump tests. Results: Participants from the gamification program reported a significantly higher cardiorespiratory fitness and upper and lower body muscular fitness at postintervention, indicated by an effect size of 0.86 (p <.001), 0.18 (p =.018), and 0.52 (p <.001), respectively. Conclusion: Gamification can have an important implication on students' motivation toward higher fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the chronic effects of a 20‐week exercise training program on device‐assessed sleep and sleep‐disordered breathing; and to determine whether participating in a session of the exercise program had effects on device‐assessed sleep the subsequent night in children with overweight/obesity. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted from November 2014 to June 2016. A total of 109 children (age 8–11 years) with overweight/obesity were randomized into an exercise training or control group. The exercise program included aerobic and resistance training 3 to 5 days/week. The control group participants continued their usual lifestyle. Device‐assessed sleep outcomes were measured using wrist‐worn actigraphy at baseline, in the middle of the exercise program (10th week), and at postintervention for seven consecutive days (24 h/day), and sleep‐disordered breathing was measured via the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire. Results: The exercise training program had a statistically significant effect on wake after sleep onset time (−10.8 min/day, −0.5 SDs, p = 0.040). No other chronic or acute effects (i.e., the subsequent night of attending a session of the exercise training program) were observed on the remaining sleep outcomes. Conclusions: A 20‐week exercise training program reduced wake after sleep onset time in children with overweight/obesity. Future randomized trials that include a sample of children with poor sleep health at baseline are needed to better appreciate the role of exercise in sleep health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether a 20‐week aerobic and resistance exercise program induces changes in brain current density underlying working memory and inhibitory control in children with overweight/obesity. Methods: A total of 67 children (10.00 ± 1.10 years) were randomized into an exercise or control group. Electroencephalography (EEG)‐based current density (μA/mm2) was estimated using standardized low‐resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) during a working memory task (Delayed non‐matched‐to‐sample task, DNMS) and inhibitory control task (Modified flanker task, MFT). In DNMS, participants had to memorize four stimuli (Pokemons) and then select between two of them, one of which had not been previously shown. In MFT, participants had to indicate whether the centered cow (i.e., target) of five faced the right or left. Results: The exercise group had significantly greater increases in brain activation in comparison with the control group during the encoding phase of DNMS, particularly during retention of second stimuli in temporal and frontal areas (peak t = from 3.4 to 3.8, cluster size [k] = from 11 to 39), during the retention of the third stimuli in frontal areas (peak t = from 3.7 to 3.9, k = from 15 to 26), and during the retention of the fourth stimuli in temporal and occipital areas (peak t = from 2.7 to 4.3, k = from 13 to 101). In MFT, the exercise group presented a lower current density change in the middle frontal gyrus (peak t = −4.1, k = 5). No significant change was observed between groups for behavioral performance (p ≥ 0.05). Conclusion: A 20‐week exercise program modulates brain activity which might provide a positive influence on working memory and inhibitory control in children with overweight/obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Walking cadence (steps/min) has emerged as a valid proxy of physical activity intensity, with consensus across numerous laboratory‐based treadmill studies that ≥100 steps/min approximates absolutely defined moderate intensity (≥3 metabolic equivalents; METs). We recently reported that this cadence threshold had a classification accuracy of 73.3% for identifying moderate intensity during preferred pace overground walking in young adults. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the performance of a cadence threshold of ≥100 steps/min for correctly classifying moderate intensity during overground walking in middle‐ and older‐aged adults. Methods: Participants (N = 174, 48.3% female, 41–85 years of age) completed laboratory‐based cross‐sectional study involving an indoor 5‐min overground walking trial at their preferred pace. Steps were manually counted and converted to cadence (total steps/5 min). Intensity was measured using indirect calorimetry and expressed as METs. Classification accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, accuracy) of a cadence threshold of ≥100 steps/min to identify individuals walking at ≥3 METs was calculated. Results: The ≥100 steps/min threshold demonstrated accuracy of 74.7% for classifying moderate intensity. When comparing middle‐ vs. older‐aged adults, similar accuracy (73.4% vs. 75.8%, respectively) and specificity (33.3% vs. 34.5%) were observed. Sensitivity was high, but was lower for middle‐ vs. older‐aged adults (85.2% vs. 93.9%, respectively). Conclusion: A cadence threshold of ≥100 steps/min accurately identified moderate‐intensity overground walking. Furthermore, accuracy was similar when comparing middle‐ and older‐aged adults. These findings extend our previous analysis in younger adults and confirm the appropriateness of applying this cadence threshold across the adult lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurotrophic factors and cardiorespiratory fitness are both considered important in developmental trajectories but their link to brain health remains poorly understood. The aims of the study were to examine whether levels of plasma-derived neurotrophic factors were associated with brain health indicators in children with overweight or obesity; and to test whether these associations were moderated by cardiorespiratory fitness. 100 children (41% girls) were included in this analysis. Plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, insulin-like growth factor-1, vascular endothelial growth factor A, and epidermal growth factor were determined by XMap technology. Academic performance and executive function were assessed using validated neuropsychological tests. Hippocampal volume was measured using magnetic resonance imaging. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using the 20-m Shuttle Run Test. Insulin-like growth factor-1 was positively associated with cognitive flexibility. Stratified analyses by fitness categories (i.e. unfit vs. fit) showed that brain-derived neurotrophic factor was positively associated with right posterior hippocampal volume in fit children, and epidermal growth factor was negatively associated with right hippocampal, and right anterior hippocampal volumes in their unfit peers, with a moderating role of cardiorespiratory fitness in these associations. However, all these significant associations disappeared after correction for multiple comparisons. The association between neurotrophic factors and brain health indicators in children with overweight/obesity was neither strong nor consistent. These results could help enhance our understanding of determinants of brain health in children with overweight/obesity. Highlights This study provides novel findings on the associations between neurotrophic factors and a wide range of brain health indicators in children. This study additionally explored the role of cardiorespiratory fitness in these associations. The association between neurotrophic factors and brain health in children with overweight/obesity was neither strong nor consistent. Cardiorespiratory fitness moderated the associations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and epidermal growth factor with right hippocampal volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]