Plant-based diets benefit aerobic performance and do not compromise strength/power performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Plant-based diets have emerged as athletic performance enhancers for various types of exercise. Therefore, the present study evaluated the effectiveness of plant-based diets on aerobic and strength/power performances, as well as on BMI of physically active individuals. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted and reported according to the guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. A systematic search of electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science and SPORTDiscus, was performed. On the basis of the search and inclusion criteria, four and six studies evaluating the effects of plant-based diets on aerobic and strength/power performances in humans were, respectively, included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Plant-based diets had a moderate but positive effect on aerobic performance (0·55; 95 % CI 0·29, 0·81) and no effect on strength/power performance (-0·30; 95 % CI -0·67, 0·07). The altogether analyses of both aerobic and strength/power exercises revealed that athletic performance was unchanged (0·01; 95 % CI -0·21, 0·22) in athletes who adopted plant-based diets. However, a small negative effect on BMI (-0·27; 95 % CI -0·40, -0·15) was induced by these diets. The results indicate that plant-based diets have the potential to exclusively assist aerobic performance. On the other hand, these diets do not jeopardise strength/power performance. Overall, the predicted effects of plant-based diets on physical performance are impactless, even though the BMI of their adherents is reduced.

Strategies adopted by undergraduate teaching assistants in physiology and biophysics education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected almost all aspects of our lives, including the education sector and the way of teaching and learning. In March 2020, health authorities in Brazil imposed social isolation and the interruption of on-site activities in schools and universities. In this context, the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), one of the largest universities in Brazil and Latin America, developed an emergency remote learning (ERL) plan that allowed the return of classes in an online format and supported students to obtain access to equipment and internet network. Within this new perspective, the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) program of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics (DFIB) explored strategies to minimize the impact of the absence of face-to-face classes. Using different available tools in online platforms and social media such as Microsoft Teams, YouTube animated video classes, and Instagram, the UTA program assisted >500 undergraduate students and strongly supported professors during ERL. In just over a year, our video classes on YouTube Channel reached ∼40,000 views. Most of the students reported that their questions were fully and quickly solved by the UTA program. Collectively, our results indicate that the strategies implemented by the UTA program helped the undergraduate students and professors to adapt to a remote learning format.