The beneficial effects of acute strength training on sway activity and sway regularity in healthy older men: Evidence from a posturography study.

The effects of acute strength training on balance control were studied in healthy older human men (age-range 60-77y). Participants performed the Tandem Romberg Stance while completing an attention demanding cognitive task (Mathematical Counting) before and after a single acute strength training session applied to the lower limb musculature (experimental group; n = 19) or no intervention (control group; n = 18). Balance stability and the automaticity of balance control were estimated through the calculation of the center-of-pressure (CoP) velocity (Vcop) and the statistical regularity (wavelet entropy) of the CoP trajectory (WEcop), respectively. Training included 3 sets of 3 repetitions of barbell squats using Smith Machine, ranging from 90 % of one repetition maximum (1RM) to 100 % 1RM with 3 min rest between repetitions and 5 min rest between sets. Vcop and WEcop decreased after training (all time main effects, p ≤ 0.028) but group time interactions were not significant (all, p ≥ 0.056). Exploratory analyses revealed that participants in the experimental group showed a significant decrease of Vcop and WEcop in the mediolateral (ML) directions from pre to post [ML Vcop: 15.4 %; Bonferroni-corrected p = 0.048); ML WEcop: 10.5 %; Bonferroni-corrected p = 0.016]. A trend towards a decrease in Vcop and WEcop was also observed in controls, with more prominent gains in the anteroposterior than in the ML direction (Bonferroni-corrected p > 0.2). Overall, findings suggest that acute strength training may improve attentional control of balance along the narrow dimension of the support. Further studies are warranted to examine the specific mechanisms underlying these findings.

Health Behaviors and Psychological Distress Among Conscripts of the Lithuanian Military Service: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study.

The decline in healthy behavior in young people is a concern for public health in general and for country's defense. The aim of this study is to identify and compare health behaviors and psychological distress between male conscripts enlisted and rejected for military service. This cross-sectional study included 1243 men aged 19-26 years (mean age 22.50 ± 2.43 years). We assessed health behaviors (physical activity, adherence to healthy eating patterns, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption) and psychological distress. Among all conscripts, 44.7% were physically inactive, 50.2% had low adherence to healthy nutrition, 9.6% were heavy drinkers, 62.3% were current smokers, and 9.1% had high psychological distress level. Compared with physically inactive conscripts, physically active conscripts were more likely to be enlisted (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.42; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-2.03). Compared with current nonsmokers, current smokers were less likely to be enlisted (OR = 0.58; CI 0.39-0.86). Compared with conscripts with a high distress level, those with a low distress level were almost four times more likely to be enlisted (OR = 0.26; 95% CI 0.12-0.55). Adherence to guidelines for healthy eating and alcohol consumption was not significantly related to enlistment. These findings suggest that health behaviors in male conscripts are unsatisfactory. That is, about half are physically inactive, have a poor diet, and smoke, and nearly one in 10 is a heavy drinker and has a high psychological distress level. The enlisted conscripts were more likely to be sufficiently physically active and less likely to be a current smoker or have a high distress level. Early intervention programs to provide a heathier population of young men for conscription should focus on mental well-being and target health-related behaviors such as physical activity and not smoking. Preferably, these should be implemented as health education programs in schools to help prevent the development of adverse health behaviors among young men. Governmental policies and strategies are required to enable intersectional collaboration and shared responsibility among the education, military and health sectors.

Physical Fitness and Anthropometric Values Among Lithuanian Primary School Children: Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Emeljanovas, A, Mieziene, B, Cesnaitiene, VJ, Fjortoft, I, and Kjønniksen, L. Physical fitness and anthropometric values among Lithuanian primary school children: population-based cross-sectional study. J Strength Cond Res 34(2): 414-421, 2020-The purpose of the current study was to derive representative reference scores on anthropometric measures and test scores for the musculoskeletal, motor, and cardiorespiratory fitness of Lithuanian primary school children according to age and sex. This cross-sectional design study included 3,456 Lithuanian first- to fourth-grade children from age 6 to 10 years. Physical fitness was measured using a nine-item test battery developed by Fjørtoft et al. The test battery included the following tests: standing broad jump (explosive strength), jumping a distance of 7 m on 2 feet, jumping a distance of 7 m on 1 foot (both tests indicate leg muscle strength), throwing a tennis ball with one hand, and pushing a medicine ball with 2 hands (both tests indicate arm muscle strength). These tests measured musculoskeletal fitness. In addition, there were measures of a 10 × 5-m shuttle run (agility), running 20 m as fast as possible (speed), and climbing wall bars (coordination)-general tests of motor fitness. Reduced 6-minute Cooper test (endurance) measured cardiorespiratory fitness. A Student's t test and analysis of variance were performed to indicate differences between sexes and across age, respectively. The significant differences in mean scores in anthropometric and fitness means indicated that boys had higher scores than girls, and older children scored higher than younger children (p < 0.05). Data on normative sex- and age-specific percentile values (3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 97th) for physical fitness tests in Lithuanian primary school children are provided. These data are useful for educational settings, parents, clinicians, sports organizations, and sports clubs in identifying problems or outstanding performance and providing sports programs that develop children's athletic performance.

Does Emotional Intelligence Predict Athletes' Motivation to Participate in Sports?

The relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and successful athletic performance has been previously recognized, but there remains a need to investigate how EI impacts athletes' sports motivation. This cross-sectional study investigated how different EI dimensions related to athletes' motivation among 239 adult basketball players (129 females) aged 18-34 years. Our research participants completed questionnaires that included the self-reported Emotional Intelligence Scale and Sport Motivation Scale II. We found significant correlations between total EI and intrinsic, integrated, identified, and introjected regulation. Higher EI was negatively related to athletes' amotivation. More specifically, the self-reported abilities to perceive emotion and manage others' emotions were significantly related to intrinsic, integrated, and identified regulation, and only managing one's own emotions negatively related to athletes' amotivation.

The effect of an interactive program during school breaks on attitudes toward physical activity in primary school children / Efecto de un programa interactivo durante los descansos escolares en las actitudes hacia la actividad física de escolares de primaria

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of video exercise lessons on changes in primary school students' perceptions, attitudes towards physical activity, physical self-efficacy, and health-related academic knowledge acquired. The study included 181 primary school students, grades 1-4, consisting of 93 (51.4%) in an experimental group and 88 (48.6%) in a control group (Mage = 8.24 years; SD = 1.10 years). The effects of video exercise were measured by the Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale, which was administered pre- and post-intervention. The experimental group received video exercise intervention every school day for three months. The results indicated significant positive changes in students’ perceptions, attitudes towards physical activity, physical self-efficacy and health-related academic knowledge acquired between pre- and post-intervention in the experimental group. The control group did not experience any positive changes after the period of intervention. The study strongly supports the effectiveness of the video exercise program

El objetivo del estudio fue explorar los efectos de sesiones de ejercicio en video sobre los cambios en las percepciones y actitudes de los estudiantes de educación primaria hacia la actividad física, la autoeficacia física y el conocimiento académico adquirido relacionado con la salud. El estudio incluyó a 181 estudiantes de educación primaria, de primer a cuarto curso, de los cuales 93 (51.4%) constituyeron el grupo experimental y 88 (48.6%) el grupo control (Medad = 8.24; DT = 1.10 años). Los efectos de la intervención mediante sesiones de ejercicio en video fueron medidos mediante la Escala de Actitudes Hacia la Actividad Física, que se administró en el pretest y el postest. El grupo experimental llevó a cabo la intervención mediante las sesiones de ejercicio en vídeo todos los días escolares durante tres meses. Tras la intervención, se encontraron mejoras significativas en el grupo experimental en las percepciones y actitudes de los estudiantes hacia la actividad física, en su autoeficacia física y en el conocimiento académico adquirido relacionado con la salud. En el grupo control no se produjeron mejoras tras el periodo de intervención. El estudio apoya firmemente la efectividad del programa de ejercicios en video

Sway regularity and sway activity in older adults' upright stance are differentially affected by dual task.

Age-related changes in postural control are attributed to visual, vestibular and proprioceptive dysfunctions, muscle weakness, and reduced availability of neural resources required for efficient balance control. Concurrent performance of complex cognitive tasks while standing or walking is expected to increase balance instability due to under-recruitment of brain resources and insufficient allocation of attention to the postural task. Both balance instability and attentional control of movements can, nonetheless, be determined from the center of pressure (CoP) measurements by examining the effects of dual-task on the amount of sway activity (as measured by CoP velocity - Vcop) and the statistical regularity of the CoP trajectory (the wavelet entropy of the signal - WEcop). The abovementioned characteristics were examined in the present study in a group of 13 healthy older adults. The task involved maintaining Romberg stance for 25 s with or without performing an attention demanding cognitive tasks (word memorization or mathematical counting). A linear mixed-model study was designed to analyze the extent to which sway activity can predict sway regularity. Findings from the present study showed that, on average, Vcop and WEcop were positively correlated (p = 0.014), suggesting that older individuals who exhibited greater amounts of sway (i.e., higher Vcop) also increased sway irregularity of the posturogram - as evidenced by a higher level of wavelet entropy of the CoP trajectory. Nevertheless, results of the linear mixed model showed that significant positive associations between Vcop and WEcop were found only in dual task (R ≥ 0.67, p ≤ 0.012). Furthermore, dual-task effects (% change in performance) on both sway characteristics were not significant (p > 0.1), suggesting that none of the attention demanding cognitive tasks used in the present study was sufficient to divert a critical amount of attentional resources from the postural task. Finally, performance of the mathematical counting (but not the word memorization) task was deteriorated from sitting to standing, however this effect was marginal (p = 0.075). Taken together, we proposed that while dual task could hinder balance control, postural stability may still be maintained by allocating more attentional resources to the postural task and reducing automatized control.

Is Health Education at University Associated with Students' Health Literacy? Evidence from Cross-Sectional Study Applying HLS-EU-Q.

BACKGROUND: Despite the large number of studies assessing health literacy, little research has been conducted with young adults. Since health literacy is related to the setting in which health information is provided, our study aim was to measure health literacy competencies in a sample of university students and to evaluate the relationships between these competencies and their university health education. METHODS: A total of 912 university students (aged 18-24 years) completed the 47-item European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47). RESULTS: Perceived difficulties with health information were related to gender, with male students reporting significantly lower health literacy scores. Studying more health education-related subjects was associated with a higher health literacy competency, due to these students' higher rates of accessing and understanding health information in the health promotion domain. CONCLUSION: Health literacy among young adult university students is insufficient. The subjects they study are related to their university health education; in particular, the number of health-related subjects they study is positively related to students' health promotion domain-based competencies.

Effects of short-term Nordic walking training on sarcopenia-related parameters in women with low bone mass: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated the positive effects of physical activity on skeletal muscle mass and muscle strength in women with osteoporosis. However, the impact of Nordic walking training on sarcopenia-related parameters in women with low bone mass remains unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of 12 weeks of Nordic walking training on skeletal muscle index, muscle strength, functional mobility, and functional performance in women with low bone mass. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants were 45 women, aged 63-79 years, with osteopenia or osteoporosis. The subjects were randomly assigned either to an experimental group (12 weeks of Nordic walking training, three times a week) or to a control group. Skeletal muscle mass and other body composition factors were measured with octapolar bioimpedance InBody 720 analyser. Knee extensor and flexor isometric muscle strength were measured using Biodex System 4 Pro™ dynamometers. This study also used a SAEHAN Digital Hand Dynamometer to measure handgrip muscle strength. The timed up-and-go test was used to measure functional mobility, and the 6-minute walk test was used to measure functional performance. RESULTS: Short-term Nordic walking training induced a significant increase in skeletal muscle mass (P=0.007), skeletal muscle index (P=0.007), strength index of the knee extensor (P=0.016), flexor (P<0.001), functional mobility (P<0.001), and functional performance (P<0.001) and a significant decrease in body mass (P=0<006), body mass index (P<0.001), and percent body fat (P<0.001) in participants. Regarding handgrip muscle strength, no improvement was registered (P=0.315). No significant changes in any of the analyzed parameters were observed in the control group. CONCLUSION: Overall, short-term Nordic walking training induces positive changes in knee muscle strength and functional performance in women with low bone mass. This finding could be applied in clinical practice for intervention programs in women with osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Changes in biochemical and functional parameters for men during exercise.

Benefits of physical activity are undeniable. The aim of the present research was to determine the effects of physical activity and age on cholesterol and glucose levels in the blood, as well as changes in the functional parameters of the cardiovascular system, during stepwise increases in physical load for men employed in the same place, but with different levels of physical activity. The subjects were 95 military officers who were divided into groups according to the level of physical activity of their occupation, with veloergometry used as physical load. Cholesterol and glucose levels in the blood were taken as biochemical indices. The results showed that occupational physical activity had a positive effect on biochemical and cardiovascular functional parameters before, during, and after the physical load. Only the cardiovascular rate (systolic blood pressure) in older subjects was significantly higher than that of the younger persons; for all other parameters, age had no effect at all.