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Background: Physical activity is essential to the long-term health of children living with cardiac disease. The simplicity and cost of pedometers make them an attractive alternative to accelerometers for monitoring the physical activity behaviors of these children. This study compared measures obtained from commercial-grade pedometers and accelerometers. Methods: Pediatric cardiology outpatients (n = 41, mean age = 8.4 [3.7] y, 61% female) wore a pedometer and accelerometer daily for 1 week. Step counts and minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity were compared between devices, accounting for age group, sex, and diagnostic severity, using univariate analysis of variance. Results: While pedometer data were significantly correlated with accelerometers (r > .74, P < .001), measurements obtained were significantly different between devices. Overall, pedometers overestimated physical activity data. The overestimation of moderate to vigorous physical activity was significantly less among adolescents than younger age groups (P < .01, ${\eta }_{\mathrm{p}}^2=.38$ ). For step counts, there was a significant age by sex interaction observed where preschool and adolescent males tended to have greater differences between accelerometer and step count data than females (P < .01, ${\eta }_{\mathrm{p}}^2=.33$ ). Differences between devices were not associated with severity of diagnosis. Conclusions: The distribution of pedometers in a pediatric outpatient clinic was feasible, yet the data collected significantly overestimated physical activity, especially among younger children. Practitioners who want to introduce objective measurements as part of their physical activity counseling practice should use pedometers to monitor individual changes in physical activity and consider patient age before administering these devices for clinical care.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many restrictions worldwide, including lockdowns and school closures. This may have prevented children from meeting the recommended physical activity (PA) levels and screen time. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the pandemic on school-age children’s PA and screen time in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study where caregivers of children aged 6–9 years living in Saudi Arabia were recruited through convenience sampling to fill out an online survey between July and August 2020. The survey covered demographic information, PAs, and screen time across 3 periods: pre-COVID-19 pandemic, during the COVID-19 lockdown, and the last 7 days preceding the survey during the pandemic where social distancing applied, but no lockdown. Results: A total of 339 caregivers completed the online survey about their children. The number of active children slightly increased during the lockdown (9.7%) than before COVID-19 and the last days (5.8%); however, the average reported days of PA during the pandemic were fewer than before. The findings indicated that all 3 types of screen time (watch time, screenplay, and device time) were longer during the pandemic (mean [SD]: 9.5 [5.5]) than before the COVID-19 (mean [SD]: 5.8 [5.1]). Conclusion: While the proportion of active children had increased during the lockdown, the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted PA days and screen time in school-age children. School-age children in Saudi Arabia were already far from meeting global guidelines even before the pandemic, highlighting this population’s need for healthy lifestyle promotion.

Background: Previous research suggests that children with or at risk of probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD) activate different areas of the brain when performing certain motor skills compared with typically developing (TD) children. This study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to compare prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity in TD and pDCD during the completion of manual (three-dimensional [3D]) and computerized versions (two-dimensional) of the Tower of Hanoi (ToH) puzzle. Method: A total of 12 children (TD and pDCD; one female/11 male, $\overline{\mathrm{x}}=10.36$ , SD ± 1.52 years) performed the two-dimensional and 3D conditions of the ToH disk tasks, with equivalent executive function but different motor requirements, with functional near-infrared spectroscopy to compare PFC activity. Results: Interestingly, brain oxygenation levels were more apparent in the 3D versus two-dimensional ToH. In the 3D, there were large differences between pairs of discordant sibling sets and this was located to the right medial PFC, with pDCD exhibiting less activation in this region. Conclusion: While only exploratory, we have identified potential differences in the right medial PFC region, which differs within sibling sets with different pDCD status. These results concur with previous studies and are an area that needs to be explored further with a larger cohort of TD and pDCD.

This study examined the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of meeting individual behavior and 24-hr movement behavior guidelines among Brazilian older adults with chronic diseases. The sample comprised 273 older adults aged ≥60 years (80.2% women) with chronic diseases from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Sociodemographic variables were self-reported, while 24-hr movement behaviors were assessed by accelerometry. Participants were classified as meeting (or not meeting) individual and integrated recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary behavior, and sleep duration. No participant met the 24-hr movement behavior guidelines, while only 8.4% met integrated MVPA/sleep recommendations. The prevalence of meeting recommendations of MVPA, sedentary behavior, and sleep was 28.9%, 0.4%, and 32.6%, respectively. Discrepancies according to sociodemographic variables on meeting MVPA recommendations existed. The findings show the need for dissemination and implementation strategies to foster adoption of the 24-hr movement behavior guidelines among Brazilian older adults with chronic diseases.

Motor competence as an indicator of gross motor development is characterized by changes in movement patterns and outcomes. The Test of Gross Motor Development-3 consists of six locomotor and seven ball tasks used to assess the quality of fundamental motor skills in children. The purpose of this study is twofold—to produce a Slovenian translation of Test of Gross Motor Development-3 and to evaluate it on a sample of Slovenian children. First, a back translation was carried out with the help of relevant field professionals, thus producing a Slovenian version of Test of Gross Motor Development-3 with excellent content validity. Second, trained assessors rated the video-recorded test tasks of 452 Slovenian children with smaller groups of measured participants repeating the procedure within 2- and 4-week interval to assess reliability. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using several statistical methods. The data showed good to excellent reliability for intrarater, interrater, test–retest reliability, structural validity, and internal consistency for the majority of motor skills, as well as good measurement invariance across genders.

Physical activity is a leading determinant of health and well-being in older adults; however, participation is low. Social support can significantly influence physical activity uptake and maintenance; however, most research is cross-sectional and does not differentiate among types of support. The current study assessed four types of social support for physical activity reported over 9 years by adults aged 60–65 at baseline (n = 1,984). Data were collected using a mail survey at four time points. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models. The most common type of support was emotional, with 25% of participants reporting this often/very often. Total support for activity declined by 16% across the 9 years (p < .001). Companionship had the greatest decline among types (17%–18%, p < .001). More work is needed to understand the factors contributing to the decline in support and how to enable access to support for physical activity in older adults.

The purpose of this study was to systematically review the variables associated with the coach–athlete relationship (CAR) from the coaches’ perspective. Three databases were searched; 57 studies published between January 2000 and May 2021 met the inclusion criteria. Correlates (n = 35) were grouped into three categories: coach variables, athlete variables, and coaching behaviors. Variables positively associated with the coaches’ perspective of the CAR included coaching satisfaction, the teaching of life skills, and engaging in need-supportive behaviors. Negative correlates included coaching burnout, athletes’ avoidant attachment style, and coaches’ controlling behaviors. Aside from coach satisfaction, many of the relationships mentioned came from only one or two studies; therefore, replication studies are needed examining CAR from the coaches’ perspective. In conclusion, the better coaches report CAR to be, the more they also report fostering a caring and autonomy-supportive environment, teaching life skills, and being satisfied with their coaching experience.

Older adults must have the ability to walk at variable speeds/distances to meet community demands. This single group pre–post test study’s purposes were to examine if actual cadences after 7 weeks of rhythmic auditory stimulation gait training matched target cadences, improved walking distance, duration, velocity, maximum cadence, balance, enjoyment, and/or changed spatial/temporal gait parameters. Fourteen female adults (72.6 ± 4.4 years) participated in 14 sessions, while variable cadences were progressively introduced. Eleven older adult responders walked faster (3.8 steps/min) than one target cadence (−10% pace) while matching the target cadences for the other paces when walking with rhythmic auditory stimulation. Two nonresponders walked near their baseline cadence with little variability while one walked at faster cadences; all three did not appear to adjust to the beat of the music. After training, participants increased their walking distance, 90.8 ± 46.5 m; t(1, 13) = −7.3; p ≤ .005, velocity, 0.36 ± 0.15 m/s; t(1, 40) = −15.4; p < .001, and maximum cadence, 20.6 ± 9.1 steps/min; t(1, 40) = −14.6; p < .001; changes exceeded minimal clinically important differences. Twelve of 14 expressed enjoyment. Walk with rhythmic auditory stimulation training is a promising activity for older adults, which may translate to an individual’s ability to adapt walking speeds to various community demands.

In the past decade and a half, scientific discoveries brought to light the prospect that tackle football causes serious brain trauma. This raised questions about the sport’s ethical permissibility. By employing scientific, philosophical, sociological, and historical findings, I consider whether it is ethically defensible to permit adults to play the game. My approach works within the bounds of both the ethical theory of liberalism and incorporates several sociological theories focused on gender. I propose that external cultural influences deserve some credit for shaping decisions to participate in America’s most popular spectator sport and contend that societies must establish genuinely pluralistic and inclusive gender ideologies and structures to ensure football’s permissibility. In particular, I suggest that to ensure that tackle football is ethical for adults, the presence and prominence of gender pluralism and inclusivity in youth settings are necessary.

We present two studies examining the relationship between athlete leadership quality and team resilience and explored the mediating effect of team identification. In Study 1, 194 soccer players (M _age = 18.50, SD = 4.49) from eight national teams participated. Structural equation modeling showed cross-sectionally that the four types of athlete leadership qualities were positively related to the characteristics of resilience and negatively to vulnerability under pressure. Team identification was shown to be a mediator of these relationships. Study 2, with four different time-points, involved 208 young soccer players (M _age = 16.05, SD = 3.39) from two professional clubs (i.e., La Liga). Cross-lagged panel models revealed that task leadership quality (Times 1–2) was positively related to the characteristics of resilience (Times 3–4) and negatively to vulnerability under pressure (Times 3–4). However, team identification did not mediate these relationships. Therefore, practitioners should consider the perceptions of leader quality to achieve benefits during competition.