Caffeine Placebo Effect in Sport and Exercise: A Systematic Review.

The objective of this review article is to systematically identify the caffeine placebo effect in sport and exercise activities. We selected randomized controlled trial studies to better understand the impact of caffeine and its placebo effect on sports performance. We extracted a set of articles that refer strictly to the topics of caffeine and its placebo effect in sport and exercise, considering the databases integrated to the Core Collection Web of Science and Scopus, as well as the registration of the documents in PubMed®, a system with a selection process aligned with the guidelines for the PRISMA methodology, establishing the eligibility criteria of the articles with the PICOS tool, to which a systematic review is applied. Finally, the results show that caffeine improves anaerobic capacity and endurance, while placebo perceived as caffeine can also increase performance by reducing pain and improving concentration. This finding underscores the influence of expectations and placebo on physical performance, suggesting that managing these expectations may be an effective strategy for improving athletic performance.

Physical Activity Frequency and Depression in the Spanish Population.

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a concerning mental health disorder. It is the first cause of inability worldwide, which entails high economic costs for the public system. Current evidence suggests that physical activity is an effective tool for the prevention and treatment of depressive symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between the cases of depressive symptoms and depression presented by the adult Spanish population and the days per week of physical activity and strength training that they perform. DESIGN: It is a cross-sectional study with data from the European Health Survey of Spain 2020 (EESE 2020), consisting of 10,024 males and 11,126 females, between 18 and 84 years, which conformed the sample of 21,150 participants. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms and depression were related to days of PA per week, PA frequency per week and strength training days per week (p < 0.001), depressive symptoms and depression were found to have higher prevalence in the inactive groups than in the active groups (p < 0.05); this phenomenon was found in both sexes and age groups. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression were associated with physical activity in the general population, by sex and by age group too. The prevalence of both were higher in the inactive population than in the active population of all ages and sexes. Future studies are required to confirm the relationship between PA and depression prevalence, in order to establish the scope of the effect of PA on depressive symptoms and depression.

Vegan milk and egg alternatives commercialized in Brazil: A study of the nutritional composition and main ingredients.

Worldwide, there is an increasing demand for plant-based food due to sustainable, health, ethical, religious, philosophical, and economic reasons. In Brazil, 14% of the population declares themselves vegetarians, and a noticeable increase in the consumption of vegan products is also noted. Substitution of animal dairy and egg is challenging from both sensory and nutritional aspects. Yet, there are no data regarding the nutritional value and ingredients of Brazilian commercial dairy and egg substitutes. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the nutritional composition and used ingredients in Brazilian commercial vegan alternatives to dairy and eggs to provide information for Brazilian consumers of these products. A cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out in three steps: (i) sample mapping. (ii) data collection, and (iii) statistical analysis. A total of 152 samples were included. No differences were found between the energy value and total fat of vegan products and their animal counterparts. Vegan products showed higher amounts of carbohydrates and dietary fiber, and only the vegan versions of beverages and cheeses showed less protein than their counterparts. Cashews, rice, coconut, and soy were the most used ingredients in dairy substitutes. Emulsions of oil, starch, and isolated protein were used in vegan egg products. Most vegan beverages presented sugar in their composition. Vegan alternatives of dairy and eggs might be suitable for substituting their animal counterparts, but given that traditional versions of cheeses and milk are sources of protein in omnivorous diets, for equivalent nutritional replacement in vegan products, it is necessary to improve the protein content of their vegan counterparts.

Inclusive Education in Primary and Secondary School: Perception of Teacher Training.

INTRODUCTION: Inclusive education is one of the main objectives of the educational system toward achieving equal opportunities among students. To this end, teacher training plays an important role in the different educational stages. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the perceived readiness of teachers for inclusive education and to see the differences in primary and secondary education. METHODS: A total of 961 active teachers from public schools, 53.3% Primary and 46.7% Secondary Education, were analyzed by means of a questionnaire on Teachers' perceptions about their preparation for inclusive education and the CEFI-R instrument. RESULTS: There are statistically significant differences between the two stages in the first questionnaire (question 1: p = 0.03; question 2: p < 0.01 and question 3: p < 0.01) and also, in 3 of the four CEFI-R dimensions, with the primary score being higher. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that there is a large percentage of teachers who believe that their initial training is insufficient to deal with student diversity. In addition, most of them state that continuous training has helped them to improve inclusive education and that they would be willing to attend training courses on inclusion, although in secondary school, the predisposition is lower than in high school. On the other hand, teachers of both educational stages show a mostly favorable attitude according to the CEFI-R, being higher in primary than in secondary school. In this sense, the public administration has work to do.

Physical Activity Frequency and Health-Related Quality of Life in Spanish Children and Adolescents with Asthma: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Asthma is considered the most prevalent chronic childhood disease worldwide. Physical activity (PA) represents a tool to improve patients with respiratory diseases' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A cross-sectional study examining data from the Spanish National Health Survey (ENSE 2017) was carried out to investigate the associations between the PAF (physical activity frequency) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in asthmatic children and adolescents from 8 to 14 years old (total 11.29 years ± 1.91, boys 11.28 ± 1.90 and 11.29 ± 1.95 girls). Data were obtained from the Children Questionnaire, which was completed by their families or legal guardians, achieving a final sample composed of 240 participants with asthma. Data were taken from Survey 2017 (ENSE 2017), the last one before the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed significant associations between the PAF and the HRQoL, finding no significant differences between genders.