Effects of two years of physically active lessons on cognitive indicators in children.

Our purpose was to evaluate the effect of physically active lessons (PAL) on the cognitive performance of children during two years of follow-up. Four classes (second grade of elementary school) were divided into two intervention classes (n = 34) and two control classes (n = 27). Evaluations were performed before the intervention (M1), after 3 (M2) and 9 (M3) months in the 1st year, and 14 (M4) and 18 (M5) months in the 2nd year. The intervention was based on PAL integrated with the curricular components, which stimulated the children to stand or move in the classroom. Cognitive performance was evaluated using three computerized tests for response inhibition, selective attention, and cognitive flexibility. The children in the intervention classes presented improved cognitive performance in the execution of all tasks along the two years follow-up, in both correct answers and time reactions, with exception of correct answers of visual search. For the intervention classes, in most of the tasks, the mean differences confidence interval of 95% did not include the 0 on the two last moments of evaluation, and in all cases, the mean differences of them between M1 versus M5 were significantly different with high values of effect size (cohen -d > 1). PAL promotes modest improvements in diverse cognitive functions in children.

Two-Year Effectiveness of a Controlled Trial With Physically Active Lessons on Behavioral Indicators of School Children.

Purpose: In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of two years of an intervention with physically active lessons on indicators of sedentary behavior and physical activity measured objectively in elementary school children. Methods: A controlled clinical trial with cluster sampling was carried out in 2018 and 2019, with four classes of children in the 2nd year of elementary school. The intervention group classes received dynamic activities linked to the pedagogical content (n = 34) for 2 years. The indicators of sedentary behavior and physical activities were evaluated using ActivPal and ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers during the school shift. Crude and adjusted models of Generalized Estimation Equations with Bonferroni's post hoc were used to identify the differences between the groups (three evaluations in 2018 and two evaluations in 2019). Results: There was a reduction in stationary behavior (p = .01) and an increase in light physical activity (p = .044) during the two years. In the first year there were reductions in standing time (p = .044) and number of transitions (p ≤ .001), and an increase in walking time (p = .017). However, in the second year, the mean differences in percentage points were smaller than in the first year. No differences were found for sitting time as well as for moderate and vigorous physical activity. We observed a large effect size for all variables. Conclusions: The introduction of physically active lessons in the classroom reduced time in stationary behavior and increased time in light physical activity. However, the effects on behavior observed in the first year were not maintained in the second year of intervention.

Use of Cold-Water Immersion to Reduce Muscle Damage and Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness and Preserve Muscle Power in Jiu-Jitsu Athletes.

CONTEXT: Cold-water immersion (CWI) has been applied widely as a recovery method, but little evidence is available to support its effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of CWI on muscle damage, perceived muscle soreness, and muscle power recovery of the upper and lower limbs after jiu-jitsu training. DESIGN: Crossover study. SETTING: Laboratory and field. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A total of 8 highly trained male athletes (age = 24.0 ± 3.6 years, mass = 78.4 ± 2.4 kg, percentage of body fat = 13.1% ± 3.6%) completed all study phases. INTERVENTION(S): We randomly selected half of the sample for recovery using CWI (6.0°C ± 0.5°C) for 19 minutes; the other participants were allocated to the control condition (passive recovery). Treatments were reversed in the second session (after 1 week). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): We measured serum levels of creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase enzymes; perceived muscle soreness; and recovery through visual analogue scales and muscle power of the upper and lower limbs at pretraining, postrecovery, 24 hours, and 48 hours. RESULTS: Athletes who underwent CWI showed better posttraining recovery measures because circulating LDH levels were lower at 24 hours postrecovery in the CWI condition (441.9 ± 81.4 IU/L) than in the control condition (493.6 ± 97.4 IU/L; P = .03). Estimated muscle power was higher in the CWI than in the control condition for both upper limbs (757.9 ± 125.1 W versus 695.9 ± 56.1 W) and lower limbs (53.7 ± 3.7 cm versus 35.5 ± 8.2 cm; both P values = .001). In addition, we observed less perceived muscle soreness (1.5 ± 1.1 arbitrary units [au] versus 3.1 ± 1.0 au; P = .004) and higher perceived recovery (8.8 ± 1.9 au versus 6.9 ± 1.7 au; P = .005) in the CWI than in the control condition at 24 hours postrecovery. CONCLUSIONS: Use of CWI can be beneficial to jiu-jitsu athletes because it reduces circulating LDH levels, results in less perceived muscle soreness, and helps muscle power recovery at 24 hours postrecovery.

Crescimento físico e estado nutricional de crianças e adolescentes da região de Cotinguiba, Sergipe / Physical growth and nutritional status of children and adolescents from Cotinguiba, Northeast Brazil

OBJETIVO: Investigar o crescimento físico e o estado nutricional de crianças e adolescentes da região de Cotinguiba, Sergipe. MÉTODOS: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, realizado com 1.257 escolares de sete a 14 anos. Mediram-se o peso corporal e a estatura. O estado nutricional foi definido conforme as recomendações propostas pela International Obesity Task Force, de acordo com o índice de massa corpórea (IMC), segundo idade e sexo. Foram classificados com desnutrição os escolares com IMC entre 16 e 18,5kg/m² e com excesso de peso aqueles com IMC igual ou superior a 25kg/m². RESULTADOS: Um suposto pico de crescimento em estatura foi verificado aos 11 e 12 anos para os sexos feminino e masculino, respectivamente. Para o peso corporal, o pico ocorreu aos 11 anos de idade, para ambos os sexos. As curvas do National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) foram estatisticamente superiores em todas as idades e em ambos os sexos para peso corporal e estatura, com exceção da idade de nove anos para o sexo feminino. Verificou-se que 21,7 por cento dos escolares apresentaram desnutrição (18,5 por cento em meninos e 24,6 por cento em meninas) e 6,8 por cento apresentaram excesso de peso (5,1 por cento em meninos e 8,4 por cento em meninas), com diferenças significativas entre os sexos. CONCLUSÕES: O crescimento das crianças e adolescentes da região de Cotinguiba não acompanha as curvas de referência do NCHS. A prevalência elevada de desnutrição evidencia a necessidade de um acompanhamento longitudinal do crescimento desta população e da implementação de estratégias de intervenção para reduzir tais proporções, que indicam se tratar de um problema de Saúde Pública.

OBJECTIVE: To study the physical growth and the nutritional status of children and adolescents from the region of Cotinguiba, Sergipe, in Northeast Brazil. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 1,257 schoolchildren aged seven to 14 years old. Body weight and height were measured in all studied population. Nutritional status was defined by the International Obesity Task Force recommendations, according to body mass index (BMI), by age and sex. Malnutrition was classified as a BMI between 16 and 18.5kg/m² and overweight as a BMI greater than or equal to 25kg/m². RESULTS: An apparent peak of height growth was observed in girls with 11 years old and in boys with 12 years old. Peak weight gain was noted at 11 years for both genders. At all ages and in both genders, the body weight and the height of the studied children and adolescents were below National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) values, with the exception of girls who were nine years old. The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 21.7 percent (18.5 percent for boys and 24.6 percent for girls) and the prevalence of overweight was 6.8 percent (5.1 percent for boys and 8.4 percent for girls), with significant differences between genders. CONCLUSIONS: The growth of children and adolescents in the region of Cotinguiba (Northeast Brazil) does not fit in the NCHS reference curves. The high prevalence of malnutrition indicates the need for further studies regarding the growth of this population and the need for implementing intervention strategies to reduce the problem. Malnutrition is still a public health problem in this region.