Physical activity of children and adolescents from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Systematic monitoring of physical activity of young populations from different regions may be useful for making international comparisons, better understanding trends in physical activity and designing public health interventions to increase physical activity. Thus, the aim of the study was to comprehensively review studies examining the level of physical activity of children and adolescents from the Visegrád countries, and indicate the percentage of children and adolescents meeting the recommended level of physical activity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic search of the published literature was conducted. Included were reports with original research that consisted of the proportion of children and adolescents who met physical activity recommendations or guidelines. To provide a current picture of physical activity of children and adolescents, the review was restricted to studies published between January 2015 - November 2018. RESULTS: Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity recommendations were met by between 7.5% - 69.4% of children and adolescents. Vigorous physical activity recommendations were met by between 33.6% - 64.5% of children and adolescents. Daily recommendations for the number of steps taken were fulfilled by between 11.6% - 69.0% of children and adolescents. Differences between age categories, genders and countries were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Public health interventions to increase physical activity are required to decrease insufficient levels of physical activity in children and adolescents, especially in girls. The review also highlights the need for studies with representative random samples that use validated measurement methods.

Exercise in Aging: Be Balanced.

The beneficial effects of exercise are recognized for preventing physical and cognitive decline during the aging process. However, there is still a gap concerning recommended intensity, volume, frequency and mode of exercise especially for older people. The aim of this study was to investigate an appropriate type of physical activity (PA) model for healthy aging. A commentary of the influence of PA and exercise on healthy aging through an online search of the databases Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar. Two living groups can be considered as potential references: modern hunter-gatherer small-scale population and master athletes. Greater physical activity is proposed for healthy aging than that recommended by WHO. Additionally, mindfulness meditation techniques during exercise are recommended especially for persons practicing long-duration exercises. Complex and compound exercise and workouts should include challenging exercises adjusted and balanced to provide clients, especially older people, with noticeable changes and progress.

The Influence of Proprioceptive Training with the Use of Virtual Reality on Postural Stability of Workers Working at Height.

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of proprioceptive training with the use of virtual reality (VR) on the level of postural stability of high-altitude workers. Twenty-one men working at height were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) with training (n = 10) and control group (CG) without training (n = 11). Path length of the displacement of the center of pressure (COP) signal and its components in the anteroposterior and medial-lateral directions were measured with use of an AccuGaitTM force plate before and after intervention (6 weeks, 2 sessions × 30 min a week). Tests were performed at two different platform heights, with or without eyes open and with or without a dual task. Two-way ANOVA revealed statistically significant interaction effects for low-high threat, eyes open-eyes closed, and single task-dual task. Post-training values of average COP length were significantly lower in the EG than before training for all analyzed parameters. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the use of proprioceptive training with use of VR can support, or even replace, traditional methods of balance training.

Sex Differences in Maintaining the Requested Handgrip Force Enhanced by Auditory or Visual Feedback.

Thus far, the differences in effect of auditory or visual feedback in motor learning have presented results derived from mixed groups and sex differences have not been considered. However, perception and processing of auditory stimuli and performance of visual motor tasks appear to be sex-related. The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning of the simple motor task of maintaining a requested handgrip force in separate male and female groups. A total of 31 volunteers (15 males, 16 females) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups with defined sex and training conditions (audio or visual feedback). Participants performed training sessions over a period of six days, for which auditory or visual feedback was provided, and the effectiveness of both types of signals was compared. The evident learning effect was found in all groups, and the main effect of sex was significant among visual groups in favor of the males (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the main effect of feedback conditions was found to be significant among females, beneficially in the case of auditory displays (p < 0.05). The results lead to the conclusion that an equal number of males and females in mixed experimental groups may be supportive to obtain reliable results. Moreover, in motor-learning studies conducted on females only, a design including auditory feedback would be more suitable.

Intra- and Inter-Device Reliability of the Change-of-Direction Angles Using a Smartphone Application for Sailing.

The smartphone has recently become a commonly used tool for satellite navigation. The reliability of built-in smartphone Global Navigation Satellite Systems receivers was analyzed in terms of distance, velocity/speed and acceleration, but little is known about the accuracy of angular change-of-direction measurements. This might be important in the assessment of usefulness in sailing navigation. The aim of the study was to assess the reliability of the calculated change-of-direction angles, measured with the built-in smartphone Global Navigation Satellite Systems technology using the SoniSailing application. One individual completed five trials in an urban open space (sports ground), wearing six identical Samsung Galaxy J5 smartphones. The trials simulated an upwind sailing race (127 m), including two consecutive courses at 45° angle to the line of the tacking leg. To assess the reliability of change-of-direction angle measures the intra- and inter-device correlation coefficients were calculated. The analysis showed excellent reliability in change-of-direction angle measures-no less than 0.95 and 0.93 in case of correlation coefficients for inter- and intra-device, respectively. Correlation coefficients for average measures were no less than 0.99 in both cases. The study confirmed high reliability of the calculated change-of-direction angles, measured with the Global Navigation Satellite Systems technology using the SoniSailing application for smartphones.

Influence of 12-week Nordic Walking training on biomarkers of endothelial function in healthy postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 12-week Nordic Walking (NW) intervention on nitric oxide synthase activity (eNOS), levels of antibodies against oxidatively modified low-density lipoproteins (oLAb), plasma antioxidant capacity (TAC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) concentration, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and atherosclerosis risk factors (AIP) in postmenopausal women. METHODS: A sample of 39 women, divided into two comparable groups: training (N.=20) and control (N.=19), took part in the study. Participants in the training group performed a 12-week supervised NW training: 60-minute sessions of exercise, repeated three times per week. The biochemical and anthropometric data were obtained before and after the intervention. During the first and the last training sessions, the individual walking distance in trained group was measured. RESULTS: After the intervention, significant differences in covered distance, body mass, BMI, fat mass, insulin level (P<0.01), systolic blood pressure and TBARS concentration (P<0.05) were found in trained women. CONCLUSIONS: Applied training was able to improve functional capacity and body composition in healthy postmenopausal women. It appears to be no direct link between a significant decrease in the level of systolic blood pressure, the level of eNOS activity, TAC, oLAb and plasma TBARS concentration in trained women. It seems probable that NW training would be more effective for postmenopausal women with more severely impaired endothelial function.