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Sports
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Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors and Exercise Interventions in Children
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Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors and Exercise Interventions in Children

A special issue of Sports (ISSN 2075-4663).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 4033

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Pedro Alexandre Duarte-Mendes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal
2. Sport Physical Activity and Health Research & Innovation Center, SPRINT, Santarém, Portugal
Interests: sports science; exercise physiology; sports injuries; motor imagery; sedentary behaviour
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Daniel Marinho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: health fitness and exercise; sports biomechanics; exercise physiology; resistance training; strength training; concurrent training; performance assessment; strength and conditioning; physical fitness; exercise evaluation; exercise prescription; swimming; water aerobics; warm-up procedures; recovery procedures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fernanda M. Silva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Research Center for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF, UID/PDT/04213/2020), University of Coimbra, 3040-248 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: physical fitness; physical inactivity; physical education; sports science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the increase in sedentary behaviors and physical inactivity has increasingly been a topic of interest to the research community; however, the data have been increasingly less encouraging for the near future. The data show that sedentary behaviors and physical inactivity are increasing, reflected in negative health outcomes and changes in the motor development of our children. It should be our concern to understand and prevent these results by carrying out research with practical applications toward a better future for our children. Therefore, this Special Issue will provide insights into how exercise interventions contribute to children’s health and well-being, counteracting sedentary behaviors and physical inactivity.

Both review and original research articles are encouraged to be submitted to this Special Issue.

We hope that this Special Issue can bring relevant contributions to the field and give us a more comprehensive overview of the beneficial effects of physical activity and exercise interventions in children.

We invite you and your colleagues to contribute to our upcoming Special Issue on physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and exercise interventions in children.

Dr. Pedro Alexandre Duarte-Mendes
Dr. Daniel Marinho
Guest Editors

Dr. Fernanda M. Silva
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sports is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • children
  • movement behaviors
  • sitting time
  • motor development
  • health

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 291 KiB  
Article
Longitudinal Relationships of Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Muscular Fitness with Body Fatness in Preschoolers
by Kirkke Reisberg, Eva-Maria Riso, Liina Animägi and Jaak Jürimäe
Sports 2024, 12(9), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12090237 - 30 Aug 2024
Viewed by 806
Abstract
There is still insufficient knowledge about the potential benefits of physical activity and fitness or the adverse impact of sedentary behaviours on body composition at preschool age. Therefore, we aimed to study the relationships of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary time (ST), cardiorespiratory [...] Read more.
There is still insufficient knowledge about the potential benefits of physical activity and fitness or the adverse impact of sedentary behaviours on body composition at preschool age. Therefore, we aimed to study the relationships of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary time (ST), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and muscular fitness (MF) with body fat percentage (BF%) in boys and girls. Participants were investigated twice: in the final year of kindergarten, when the boys’ median age was 7 years and the girls’ median age was 6 years (p = 0.240), and again in the first grade of school. MVPA and ST were measured with an accelerometer, BF% was derived from skinfold thicknesses, CRF was measured with a 20 m shuttle run test, and MF was represented by the mean z-scores from standing long jump and relative upper-limb strength. In girls, higher ST (β = 0.587, p = 0.021) and lower MF (β = −0.231, p = 0.009) at preschool age were related to higher BF% in the first grade of school after adjustment for confounders. MVPA and CRF in preschool children were unrelated to BF% in school among boys and girls. In conclusion, sitting less and having greater muscular fitness at preschool age appear to be beneficial for lower body fatness in the first grade among girls, but not in boys. MVPA and CRF at preschool age are unrelated to body fatness at school age in boys and girls. Our results indicate that girls may especially benefit from decreasing sedentary behaviours and increasing upper- and lower-limb muscular strength at preschool age for a healthy weight profile in the first grade of school. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors and Exercise Interventions in Children)
13 pages, 269 KiB  
Article
Differences and Relationship between Body Composition and Motor Coordination in Children Aged 6–7 Years
by Vladan Pelemiš, Slobodan Pavlović, Danimir Mandić, Milan Radaković, Dragan Branković, Vladimir Živanović, Zoran Milić and Senad Bajrić
Sports 2024, 12(6), 142; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12060142 - 23 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1075
Abstract
Background: The primary goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between body composition and motor coordination performance, and the secondary goal was to determine sex differences in body composition and motor coordination of preschool children. Methods: Forty-eight children (23 boys and [...] Read more.
Background: The primary goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between body composition and motor coordination performance, and the secondary goal was to determine sex differences in body composition and motor coordination of preschool children. Methods: Forty-eight children (23 boys and 25 girls) underwent assessments for body composition and motor coordination using the Köperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK). Results: Linear regression analysis revealed significant associations between body composition and motor coordination in boys (p < 0.05) but not in girls. In boys, Body height (p = 0.01), Total muscle mass (p = 0.03), Total fat (p = 0.03), and Total water (p = 0.02) show statistically significant influence on single-leg jumps. Similar results were obtained for lateral jumps where there was a statistically significant influence of Body height (p = 0.01), Total muscle mass (p = 0.03), and Total water (p = 0.02). Interestingly, predictive variables showed no statistically significant influence on KTK overall score in boys (p = 0.42) nor in girls (p = 0.90). Conclusions: The predictive system of morphological variables demonstrated significance only among boys in this age group and sample. Girls outperformed boys due to early maturation, resulting in better average KTK scores. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors and Exercise Interventions in Children)

Review

Jump to: Research

10 pages, 262 KiB  
Review
Physical Exercise and Executive Function in the Pediatric Overweight and Obesity Population: A Systematic Review Protocol
by Enrique Cerda-Vega, Nuria Pérez-Romero, Sergio Araya Sierralta, Antonio Hernández-Mendo, Rafael E. Reigal, Rodrigo Ramirez-Campillo, Cristian Martínez-Salazar, Rodrigo Campos-Jara, Cristián Arellano-Roco, Christian Campos-Jara, Victoria Hernández-Cifuentes and Falonn Contreras-Osorio
Sports 2024, 12(7), 180; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12070180 - 26 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1498
Abstract
Background: Executive function is often altered in overweight/obese children and adolescents, which has a negative impact on their learning and daily life. Furthermore, research has shown the benefits of physical exercise in improving cognitive performance. This protocol aims to define in a detailed [...] Read more.
Background: Executive function is often altered in overweight/obese children and adolescents, which has a negative impact on their learning and daily life. Furthermore, research has shown the benefits of physical exercise in improving cognitive performance. This protocol aims to define in a detailed and structured manner the procedures that will be conducted for the development of a systematic review of the literature aimed at evaluating the effects of physical exercise on the executive functions of children and adolescents (≤18 years) with overweight/obesity in comparison with peers in control groups. Methods: The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCO databases will be searched for longitudinal studies that have at least one experimental and one control group using pre- and post-intervention measures of executive function, including working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility in the pediatric population who are overweight or obese. The risk of bias and certainty of evidence will be assessed using Cochrane RoB2 and GRADE, respectively. Furthermore, Der Simonian–Laird’s random effects model will be employed for meta-analyses. The effect sizes will be calculated with 95% confidence intervals, and p values < 0.05 indicate statistical significance for each dimension of executive function in the different groups before and after the intervention. Discussion: The results of this review may be useful for education and health professionals to design treatment plans for overweight/obese children and adolescents, offering potential benefits related to the learning and cognitive abilities of this population. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023391420. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors and Exercise Interventions in Children)
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