Dropout and compliance to physical exercise in menopausal osteopenic women: the European "happy bones" project.

Introduction: Decline in muscle mass and bone density seem to be two of the most disabling side effects of menopause that negatively affect women's quality of life. Promoting physical activity protocols in the workplace can represent a focal point in the prevention and management of several diseases. The study aims to evaluate the compliance and drop-out of menopausal osteopenic women engaged in combined training performed inside and outside the workplace. Strength and balance were analyzed to evaluate the effect of this protocol on osteoporosis prevention and the risk of falling. Methods: 73 menopausal women were enrolled in 5 European countries. They performed 72 lessons of a combined training proposed in the working place (IW) or sport center (SC). Results: Out of the total 39 women enrolled in the IW, 12.8% had to leave the program, while out of the 34 women enrolled in SC, 41.2% did not complete the training. According to the compliance results, 47% of women that completed the trained IW and 85% in the SC recorded high compliance (p = 0.019). Moreover, the strength of the lower limbs (p < 0.001) and static balance (p = 0.001) significantly improved in the whole group. Discussion: In conclusion, proposing well-structured training in the workplace for menopausal women seems to reduce drop-out. Strength and balance results suggest its positive impact on bone health and risk of falls, despite where it is performed.

Study of Exercise Capacity and Quality of Life after SARS-CoV-2 Infection among the Elderly.

COVID-19 significantly impacted the population by affecting physical health; social distancing and isolation influenced psychological health. This may have negative consequences, especially for older people. There is a lack of studies about the association between COVID-19 and exercise capacity among the elderly and improving quality of life after SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study aims to identify the potential sequelae of the COVID-19 disease regarding physical function and quality of life among people over 65 years old. This study recruited a total of 30 participants. A 6-minute walking test, somatic and functional measurements (including weight, height, HR, blood pressure and SpO2%) and the World Health Organisation Quality of Life-BREF Questionnaire were used to assess aerobic capacity and quality of life. Experiencing COVID-19 can negatively impact exercise capacity. The results suggest that men may have worse sequelae than women after experiencing COVID-19. The lower values of SpO2 in the COVID-19 group during the 6-MWT indicate a reduction in the gas diffusion capacity, which can be attributed to potential lung damage following having contracted the disease. Lockdown periods seem to have had a significant impact on the physical health, relationships and environment of the elderly people included in this study. We can conclude that physical effort may potentially impact exercise capacity and quality of life among post-COVID-19 elderly in a positive way, but further studies are needed to confirm its benefits.

Analysis of Morphological Parameters and Body Composition in Adolescents with and without Intellectual Disability.

Compared to the tremendous volume of studies focusing on children and teenagers without disabilities, research regarding weight and body composition among young populations with an intellectual disability is relatively rare. Their number further decreases when we refer to specific age groups with intellectual deficits, such as children and adolescents younger than 18. In addition, studies are even scarcer when we wish to compare groups of subjects with different degrees of intellectual disability by gender. This study has a constative nature. The research sample comprises 212 subjects-girls and boys with an average age of 17.7 ± 0.2, divided into six groups by gender and type of intellectual disability. The parameters considered within the study include anthropometrical data and body composition determined using a professional device (Tanita MC 580 S). The findings of this study highlight the impact of intellectual disability on body composition in this age category. We hope it will help develop efficient strategies, recommendations, and intervention plans to ensure active participation in physical activities and categorisation within the optimal parameters of body composition indicators.

The Correlation between Psychological Characteristics and Psychomotor Abilities of Junior Handball Players.

The general development of the sports world has guided researchers in sports science to study excellence in sports performance, namely, the study of the characteristics and requirements specific to each sport. However, in order to meet these requirements, each individual must have a set of specific characteristics similar to those of the group to which he/she belongs. The variables in the study are related to the psychomotor abilities and psychological aspects that could influence the overall performance of junior III handball players. The main work instruments are related to field testing and psychological characteristics measurement. For psychomotor abilities, we used means such as the TReactionCo software (eye-hand coordination), Just Jump platform (dynamic balance), Tractronix system (general dynamic coordination), and Illinois test (spatial-temporal orientation), and for the psychological characteristics, we used the Motivational Persistence Questionnaire. In addition, the result of the study is represented by new software that we created in order to better observe the level of development of these characteristics in junior handball players. From a statistical point of view, we calculated the correlations between psychomotor abilities and psychological characteristics using ANOVA in order to see field position differences and performed linear regression for the variables of this study.

The Analysis of the Correlations between BMI and Body Composition among Children with and without Intellectual Disability.

Background: Compared to the great volume of studies focusing on children and adolescents without intellectual disability, research regarding body mass index among young populations (13−17 years old) with intellectual disability is scarce, mostly when we refer to the comparisons between various degrees of intellectual disability and gender. Methods: The purpose of this study was to assess a series of morphofunctional parameters among children with and without intellectual disability to characterise the morphofunctional normality and its perturbations. Within the study, we included 101 subjects from several educational institutions, distributed on five groups, by their gender and degree of intellectual disability. Results: The average values of body mass index exceed the values recommended by the WHO among all the five groups (boys and girls with and without intellectual disabilities) prone to obesity. Upon analysing the values of BMI by gender and type of intellectual disability, we note that the prevalence of obesity among boys is 28.07% (BMI > 24), while 19.29% are overweight (BMI ranging between 21.5 and 24). Conclusions: The prevalence of excess weight and obesity among persons with intellectual disabilities was similar among the male and female subjects. It shows an increasing trend by age.