European fitness landscape for children and adolescents: updated reference values, fitness maps and country rankings based on nearly 8 million test results from 34 countries gathered by the FitBack network.

OBJECTIVES: (1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness in European children and adolescents aged 6-18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multilanguage fitness platform (FitBack); (2) to provide comparisons across European countries. METHODS: This study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity and fitness at population level (ALPHA) test battery as it comprises tests with the highest test-retest reliability, criterion/construct validity and health-related predictive validity: the 20 m shuttle run (cardiorespiratory fitness); handgrip strength and standing long jump (muscular strength); and body height, body mass, body mass index and waist circumference (anthropometry). Percentile values were obtained using the generalised additive models for location, scale and shape method. RESULTS: A total of 7 966 693 test results from 34 countries (106 datasets) were used to develop sex-specific and age-specific percentile values. In addition, country-level rankings based on mean percentiles are provided for each fitness test, as well as an overall fitness ranking. Finally, an interactive fitness platform, including individual and group reporting and European fitness maps, is provided and freely available online (www.fitbackeurope.eu). CONCLUSION: This study discusses the major implications of fitness assessment in youth from health, educational and sport perspectives, and how the FitBack reference values and interactive web-based platform contribute to it. Fitness testing can be conducted in school and/or sport settings, and the interpreted results be integrated in the healthcare systems across Europe.

Ringing the bell for quality P.E.: What are the realities of remote physical education?

BACKGROUND: To date, few data on the quality and quantity of online physical education (P.E.) during the COVID-19 pandemic have been published. We assessed activity in online classes and reported allocated curriculum time for P.E. in a multi-national sample of European children (6-18 years). METHODS: Data from two online surveys were analysed. A total of 8395 children were included in the first round (May-June 2020) and 24 302 in the second round (January-February 2021). RESULTS: Activity levels during P.E. classes were low in spring 2020, particularly among the youngest children and in certain countries. 27.9% of students did not do any online P.E. and 15.7% were hardly ever very active. Only 18.4% were always very active and 14.9% reported being very active quite often. In winter 2020, we observed a large variability in the allocated curriculum time for P.E. In many countries, this was lower than the compulsory requirements. Only 65.7% of respondents had the same number of P.E. lessons than before pandemic, while 23.8% had less P.E., and 6.8% claimed to have no P.E. lessons. Rates for no P.E. were especially high among secondary school students, and in large cities and megapolises. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, European children were provided much less P.E. in quantity and quality than before the pandemic. Countermeasures are needed to ensure that these changes do not become permanent. Particular attention is needed in large cities and megapolises. The critical role of P.E. for students' health and development must be strengthened in the school system.

Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical Activity.

Basic motor competencies (BMC) are a prerequisite for children to be physically active, participate in sports and thus develop a healthy, active lifestyle. The present study provides a broad screening of BMC and associations with age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and extracurricular physical activity (PA) in 10 different European countries. The different country and regional contexts within Europe will offer a novel view on already established BMC associations. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 regions in 10 European countries in 2018. The motor competence areas, object movement (OM) and self-movement (SM), were assessed using the MOBAK-1-2 test instrument in 3758 first and second graders (age: M = 6.86 ± 0.60 years; 50% girls) during Physical Education classes. Children were questioned about their extracurricular PA and age. Their body weight and height were measured in order to calculate BMI. Statistical analyses included variances and correlations. The results showed significant differences in BMC levels between countries (OM: F = 18.74, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.048; SM: F = 73.10, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.163) whereas associations between BMC and correlates were similar. Boys performed significantly better in OM while girls performed better in SM. Age was consistently positively related to OM and SM with older children reaching higher levels of BMC than younger ones. While participation rates for extracurricular PA differed widely, participation in ball sports was correlated with OM and SM. Participation in individual sports showed a significant association with SM. In summary, BMC levels of children seem to depend on where they live and are strongly related to their participation in extracurricular PA. Therefore, education and health policies, in order to enhance motor competence development and PA participation, are recommended. Further research on country-specific Physical Education frameworks and their influence on BMC will provide more insights into structural factors and cultural characteristics of BMC development. On a school level, support tools and educational materials for teachers about BMC may enable children to achieve a basic level of motor competencies through Physical Education, contributing to lifelong participation in PA.

The COVID-19 pandemic as a fortuitous disruptor in physical education: the case of active homework.

Measures devised to contain the COVID-19, including isolation, social distancing, and quarantine, have profoundly affected people's lives around the world. One of the consequences of these actions has been a general reduction in the habitual daily physical activity among children and young people for whom schools represent the major setting for the promotion of sports, physically active play, movement skills learning, and other activity supportive of healthy, active lifestyles. Whilst acknowledging the seriousness of these changes, and their concomitant health risks, we suggest that COVID-19 offers an opportunity to think again about important features of school-based activity promotion in light of new lessons learnt during lockdown, emerging technologies, and adapted pedagogies. In these specific cases, COVID-19 could be judged a "fortuitous disruptor" to the extent that it has opened a window of opportunity to schools and teachers to reflect on their assumptions about the scope, content, and delivery of their curricula, and on the new professional knowledge that has emerged. Active Homework, or physical activity-related tasks assigned to students by teachers that are meant to be carried out before, after and away from school, that students can do on their own or with family members, is not a new idea, but the enforced changes to school provision have made it considerably more common since the pandemic. Perhaps Active Homework is a concept worth retaining as schools start to return to "normal"? We offer a typology of Active Homework, and examine opportunities to expand, extend, and enhance physical education and physical activity opportunities by breaking down the presumed boundary between school and home. In conclusion, we suggest that Active Homework is worth exploring as a potentially valuable approach to enhancing the quantity and quality of students' school-based health-related physical activity. If so, considerably more research and curriculum development is needed.

A Narrative Review of Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents: What We Know and What We Need to Find Out.

Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach. MC is a growing area of research, especially in children and adolescents due to its positive association with a plethora of health and developmental outcomes. Many questions, however, remain to be answered in this field of research, with regard to: (i) Health and Developmental-related Associations of MC; (ii) Assessment of MC; (iii) Prevalence and Trends of MC; (iv) Correlates and Determinants of MC; (v) MC Interventions, and (vi) Translating MC Research into Practice and Policy. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature, summarizing current knowledge, identifying key research gaps and presenting questions for future investigation on MC in children and adolescents. This is a collaborative effort from the International Motor Competence Network (IMCNetwork) a network of academics and researchers aiming to promote international collaborative research and knowledge translation in the expansive field of MC. The knowledge and deliverables generated by addressing and answering the aforementioned research questions on MC presented in this review have the potential to shape the ways in which researchers and practitioners promote MC and physical activity in children and adolescents across the world.

Motor tests for primary school aged children: A systematic review.

Motor testing in education has gained in relevance in light of recent developments in educational systems (Köller & Baumert, 2012). The purpose of this systematic review was to identify studies using motor tests in primary school children aged 4 to 12 years and to synthetize information about the quality and application of the test instruments used. A systematic review of 910 records identified by a search of nine databases yielded 144 papers reporting motor testing in primary school age children, including 25 articles reporting on the quality of 20 test instruments. In the selected articles, tests grounded on the constructs of "motor abilities" and/or "motor skills" are the most frequent and are mostly used for monitoring purposes or for impact research. Tests based on the construct "motor competencies" have become popular only recently, being relevant for educational motor testing due to their curricular validity. The test instruments have been investigated towards their validity and reliability to different extents. However, for several test instruments factorial validity has not been established and more validation studies are needed to improve their psychometric quality especially if used in educational contexts.