Breathing Monitoring in Soccer: Part I-Validity of Commercial Wearable Sensors.

Growing evidence suggests that respiratory frequency (fR) is a valid marker of effort during high-intensity exercise, including sports of an intermittent nature, like soccer. However, very few attempts have been made so far to monitor fR in soccer with unobtrusive devices. This study assessed the validity of three strain-based commercial wearable devices measuring fR during soccer-specific movements. On two separate visits to the soccer pitch, 15 players performed a 30 min validation protocol wearing either a ComfTech® (CT) vest or a BioharnessTM (BH) 3.0 strap and a Tyme WearTM (TW) vest. fR was extracted from the respiratory waveform of the three commercial devices with custom-made algorithms and compared with that recorded with a reference face mask. The fR time course of the commercial devices generally resembled that of the reference system. The mean absolute percentage error was, on average, 7.03% for CT, 8.65% for TW, and 14.60% for BH for the breath-by-breath comparison and 1.85% for CT, 3.27% for TW, and 7.30% for BH when comparison with the reference system was made in 30 s windows. Despite the challenging measurement scenario, our findings show that some of the currently available wearable sensors are indeed suitable to unobtrusively measure fR in soccer.

Exercise Prescription for Postprandial Glycemic Management.

The detrimental impacts of postprandial hyperglycemia on health are a critical concern, and exercise is recognized a pivotal tool in enhancing glycemic control after a meal. However, current exercise recommendations for managing postprandial glucose levels remain fairly broad and require deeper clarification. This review examines the existing literature aiming to offer a comprehensive guide for exercise prescription to optimize postprandial glycemic management. Specifically, it considers various exercise parameters (i.e., exercise timing, type, intensity, volume, pattern) for crafting exercise prescriptions. Findings predominantly indicate that moderate-intensity exercise initiated shortly after meals may substantially improve glucose response to a meal in healthy individuals and those with type 2 diabetes. Moreover, incorporating short activity breaks throughout the exercise session may provide additional benefits for reducing glucose response.