High-Intensity Interval Training and Isocaloric Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training Result in Similar Improvements in Body Composition and Fitness in Obese Individuals.

This study aimed to determine the effects of 12 weeks of isocaloric programs of high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT) or moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) or a short-duration HIIT (1/2HIIT) inducing only half the energy deficit on a cycle ergometer, on body weight and composition, cardiovascular fitness, resting metabolism rate (RMR), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), nonexercise physical activity (PA) levels and fasting and postprandial insulin response in sedentary obese individuals. Forty-six sedentary obese individuals (30 women), with a mean BMI of 33.3 ± 2.9 kg/m2 and a mean age of 34.4 ± 8.8 years were randomly assigned to one of the three training groups: HIIT (n = 16), MICT (n = 14) or 1/2HIIT (n = 16) and exercise was performed 3 times/week for 12 weeks. Overall, there was a significant reduction in body weight, waist (p < .001) and hip (p < .01) circumference,, trunk and leg fat mass (FM; p < .01) and an increase in trunk and leg fat free mass (FFM; p < .01) and cardiovascular fitness (VO2max in ml/kg/min; p < .001) with exercise. However, no significant differences were observed between groups. There was no significant change in RMR, RER, nonexercise PA levels, fasting insulin or insulin sensitivity with exercise or between groups. There was a tendency for a reduction in AUC insulin with exercise (p = .069), but no differences between groups. These results indicate that isocaloric training protocols of HIIT or MICT (or 1/2HIIT inducing only half the energy deficit) exert similar metabolic and cardiovascular improvements in sedentary obese individuals.

Talent Development Environments in Football: Comparing the Top-Five and Bottom-Five-Ranked Football Academies in Norway.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine junior-elite football players' perception of their talent development environment by comparing clubs ranked as the top-five and bottom-five in the 2017 Norwegian academy classification. METHODS: In total, 92 male junior-elite football players recruited from under-19 teams from five professional football club academies took part in the study. The Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ-5; Martindale et al. 2010) was used to measure the players' perceptions of their team environment. RESULTS: The subscale long-term development focus and support network had the highest score and indicated that they perceived that the environment was high quality with respect to those factors. Players from the top-five-ranked clubs perceived their development environments to be significantly more positive with respect to holistic quality preparation, alignment of expectations, communication and, compared to players from the bottom-five-ranked clubs. CONCLUSIONS: The players' perceptions of the talent development environment seem to be in alignment of the academy classification undertaken by the Norwegian top football association.

The Importance of Adolescents' Participation in Organized Sport According to VO2peak: A Longitudinal Study.

Research from several countries has documented a decline in physical activity (PA) levels and in participation in organized sport with increasing age, indicating that organized sport may be of importance to adolescents' cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine how regular participation in organized and unorganized PA affected the development of adolescents' CRF (peak oxygen consumption [VO2peak]), when controlled for sex interaction. METHOD: Data on direct measures of VO2peak and participation in organized PA among adolescents organized into 3 groups (participation in organized sport, participation in unorganized PA, and no weekly PA) were collected from 76 students (39 boys and 37 girls), when they were aged 14 and 19 years old. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found between VO2peak values in the 3 groups at both 14 years of age, F(2, 73) = 7.16, p < .05, ƞ2 = .170, and 19 years of age, F(2, 73) = 14.00, p < .05, ƞ2 = .300, independent of sex at both 14 and 19 years of age, F(2, 73) = 0.05, p > .05, ƞ2 = .02, and F(2, 73) = 0.05, p > .05, ƞ2 = .00. Adolescents participating in organized sport also had statistically significantly higher VO2peak values than adolescents participating in unorganized PA and those with no weekly PA, at both 14  and 19 years of age. CONCLUSION: From a health perspective, in terms of CRF, the findings highlight the importance of encouraging adolescents to participate in organized sport and to refrain from dropping out of organized sport programs.

Do weather changes influence physical activity level among older adults? - The Generation 100 study.

INTRODUCTION: Understanding how individual and environmental factors impact physical activity (PA) level is important when building strategies to improve PA of older adults. No studies have examined how hour-to-hour weather changes influence PA in older adults or how the association between weather and PA eventually is related to cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) measured as peak oxygen uptake. The aim of this study was therefore to examine how hour-to-hour changes in weather effects hour-to-hour PA in a cohort of Norwegian older adults across CRF levels, gender and seasons. METHODS: PA was assessed objectively in 1219 older adults (70-77 years, 51% females) using the Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer, and quantified as counts·min-1 (CPM). Weather (Norwegian meteorological Institute) and CRF (MetaMax II) were measured objectively. Panel data analysis added a longitudinal dimension when 110.888 hours of weather- and PA data were analyzed. RESULTS: Older adults had a higher PA level in warmer (597 CPM) than colder months (556 CPM) (p<0.01). Fixed effects regression-models revealed that increasing temperatures (per hour) influenced PA positively in both colder and warmer months (all, p<0.01), with greater influence in fitter vs. less fit participants (p<0.01). In warmer months, increasing precipitation negatively influenced PA in both unfit females and unfit males (p<0.01). In colder months, increasing precipitation positively influenced PA for moderately fit to fit males (p<0.01), but not for females and unfit males. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the association between weather conditions and objectively-measured-PA among Norwegian older adults. Our findings demonstrates that unfit older adults will be less likely to participate in PA when the weather is unpleasant, compared to those highly fit. The data suggests that the impact of weather should not be ignored when planning public health strategies for increasing PA among older adults.

"You're Not Born with Talent" Talented Girls' and Boys' Perceptions of Their Talents as Football Players.

Generally in sports, there is a strong assumption of a connection between skill level in young age and adulthood. Studies have mainly focused on the coaches' understanding and role in identifying and developing talent. In this article we turn our attention towards the athletes' perspectives, interviewing talented young football players (five boys and five girls) about their perceptions of their own talent and development. The objective of the article is to investigate how boys and girls perceive their talent and to discuss how various perceptions influence coaching practice in talent development. We introduce the following questions: (a) do the players use a static or dynamic perception of their own talent and (b) do the players consider specific or general skills to be most important in their skill development? Results show that the boys have a more static perception of talent compared to the girls. Furthermore, the boys in this study stress the importance of highly specified skills. The girls have a more balanced view on what is important, but tend to stress the importance of basic skills. The study suggests two potential implications. First, the coaches should be aware of the possible vulnerability following players' static perception of talent. Second, an exclusive focus on specified skills might make for less optimal preparation for the changing demands young players meet when moving through the different levels of play on their way to high level football. In future research it would be interesting to investigate how players with a lower skill level, not yet regarded as talent, perceive their talent and skill development.

Change in body fat during a family-based treatment of obesity in children: the relative importance of energy intake and physical activity.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to examine to what extent changes in reported energy intake and physical activity predict changes in body fat during a family-based outpatient treatment of obesity in children. METHODS: Total body fat (DXA), reported energy intake (4-day diet record), and physical activity (accelerometer) was measured in 99 children (age 7-12 years, mean BMI SDS = 2.99) at baseline as well as after 6 months 2 years of treatment. Repeated measures (GLM), growth modeling, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were applied in the data analyses. RESULTS: There was significant decrease in body fat, reported energy intake, and physical activity at both follow-ups (p < 0.001) compared to baseline. Changes in reported energy intake from baseline to 6 months predicted a decrease in body fat from baseline to 6 months (ß = 0.68, p < 0.001). In addition, changes in reported energy intake had a strong indirect effect on body fat at 2-year follow-up, mediated by changes in body fat from baseline to 6 months (indirect ß = 0.50, p < 0.001). Changes in physical activity did not predict changes in body fat during treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in reported energy intake significantly affected body fat at 6 months and indirectly predicted the amount of body fat at 2-year follow-up. The indirect effect was mediated by a decrease in body fat obtained during the first phase of treatment.