Background: Physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep are interrelated 24-hour movement behaviors that are important for the growth and well-being of children. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between 24-hour movement behaviors and adiposity, and predicted changes in adiposity following compositional time reallocations in 7- to 12.9-year-old Malaysian children from the South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II Malaysia. Methods: A total of 381 children (mean age 9.7 [1.6] y, 57% girls) provided 24-hour wrist-worn GENEActiv accelerometry data which captured time spent for sleep, SB, light PA and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). Indicators of adiposity were derived from anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance analysis: body-mass-index-for-age, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, percent body fat, and body mass index. The composition of 4-part movement behaviors was expressed as isometric log-ratio coordinates which were entered into regression models. Isotemporal substitution analysis was used to assess changes in adiposity indicators when reallocating time between movement behaviors. Results: Relative to other movement behaviors, time spent on MVPA was significantly associated with waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, percent body fat, and fat mass index. A 15-minute one-to-one reallocation from other movement behaviors to MVPA predicted lower body-mass-index-for-age (−0.03 to −0.11), smaller waist circumference (−0.67 to −1.28 cm), lower waist-to-height ratio (−0.004 to −0.008), percent body fat (−0.87% to −1.47%), and fat mass index (−0.23 to −0.42). Replacing SB and light PA with sleep or MVPA was associated with lower adiposity. Conclusions: The overall composition of movement behavior was significantly associated with the adiposity of Malaysian schoolchildren. Promoting MVPA and sleep and reducing SB and light PA are important for prevention of childhood obesity.
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Association Between 24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Adiposity in Malaysian Schoolchildren: A Compositional Isotemporal Substitution Analysis
Jyh Eiin Wong, Javier Palarea-Albaladejo, Shoo Thien Lee, Denise Koh, Ilse Khouw, Bee Koon Poh, and on behalf of the SEANUTS II Malaysia Study Group
Consideration of Young People’s Active Travel in National Urban Policy Documents in Asia: A Documentary Analysis
Rizka Maulida, Andrea D. Smith, Amy Weimann, Tolu Oni, and Esther M.F. van Sluijs
Background: Active travel to school faces challenges in urbanized and car-centric Asian regions. The UN-Habitat supports global governments in formulating National Urban Policies (NUPs) for sustainable urban development. This study examined how young people’s active travel is discussed in NUP documents in selected Asian countries. Methods: Framing analysis using thematic coding was applied to NUP documents from Asian countries. NUP documents were identified via the UN-Habitat’s Urban Policy Platform website. A theory-based framework, using both inductive and deductive coding, was employed to identify discussions on key themes related to young people’s active travel (active travel, transport, physical activity, young people, and school). A semiquantitative heat map visualized theme patterns coverage (presence; degree of policy-relevant detail discussed). Results: NUP documents from 15 (of 47) Asian countries were retrieved. Transport promotion was acknowledged in 11/15 countries. Discussions on young people’s active travel were limited (7/15 featured detailed discussion). Main themes (active travel, physical activity, young people, and school) were treated as secondary considerations, with active travel framed as a utilitarian solution rather than a well-being promoter. Additional contextual considerations (sustainability, natural disaster risk, pollution, and urban congestion) were identified through inductive analysis. Conclusions: NUPs inadequately incorporate active travel, especially in relation to young people. NUPs focus on transport and sustainability while neglecting physical activity, schools, and youth. A more intersectoral approach, tailored to each country’s priorities, is necessary for enhanced policy development. Leveraging active travel as a double-duty intervention allows policymakers to tackle health and sustainability challenges along with concerns about traffic congestion and pollution.
Direct Observations of Intergenerational Visits and Activities at Six Local Recreational Parks in Victoria, Australia
Pazit Levinger, Bronwyn Dreher, Marcia Fearn, Adrian Bauman, Natasha K. Brusco, Andrew Gilbert, Sze-Ee Soh, Elissa Burton, Mairead Hallissey, and Keith D. Hill
Local parks offer outdoor spaces for active play; they provide a common attractive space in which grandparents and grandchildren can interact and engage in physical activity. This study investigated how multigenerational active spaces within local parks were being used by older people, their grandchildren, and other age groups. Method: This study was an observational design using direct observations of park visitors over three consecutive months and an intercept survey of a subsample of older visitors in six community parks in Victoria, Australia. The number of visitors, activity interaction, type of accompaniment (e.g., intergenerational, family, group), and physical activity level were recorded and reported descriptively. Results: A total of 5,373 visitors were observed with 43.3% (n = 2,327) children and 10% (n = 537) older people. Most visitors attended with company (55.9%–97.7%), with older people’s most common accompaniments being intergenerational groups (n = 164, 30.5%). Within the observed intergenerational instances, 35% were older people and 45.1% children. Most people from all age groups were observed to be physically active (≥78%). Survey respondents (n = 48) reported attending the park alone (47.9%) or with company (e.g., 22.9% grandchildren, 12.5% a partner/friend). Approximately a third of respondents reported exercising with their grandchildren in the designated space. Discussion: A large proportion of older visitors were observed with intergenerational accompaniment in local parks, with most grandparents and their grandchildren observed to be physically active. The active spaces, which include multigenerational outdoor equipment, may be an attractive setting for both children and older adults to foster intergenerational interaction and engagement in physical activity.
The Politics of Football
Alex C. Gang
Sexual Assault in Canadian Sport
Wen-hao Winston Chou
Trends in Physical Abilities of Physical Education Students Between the Years 2000–2021
Eyal Weissblueth and Roni Jablonowsky
Background: The comforts of modern life have markedly caused a reduction in physical activity. Approximately only one third of the adult population engages in regular physical activity levels as recommended, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. The study aimed to determine if physical education undergraduate students’ cardiorespiratory and abdominal endurance levels changed between 2000–2021. Methods: We collected data from 1353 physical education undergraduate students, 20–30 years of age. Data included evaluations of the following abilities: cardiorespiratory endurance using the time result of a 2000-m run, abdominal muscle endurance measured using 1-minute sit-up test results, arms muscle endurance using maximal numbers of push-up test results, and agility using 4 × 10-m shuttle run results. Results: Findings include a statistically significant decline over the years in cardiorespiratory endurance with medium effect size for males and females (r = .293; 95% CI, 0.215 to .367; and r = .222; 95% CI, .133 to .308, respectively), and abdominal muscle endurance with medium effect size for males and females (r = −.394; 95% CI, −.455 to −.329; and r = −.366; 95% CI, −.434 to −.294, respectively). Conclusions: We concluded that the decline in the physical abilities of physical education undergraduate students over a span of 20 years is significant. Also, in light of the current technological age, further physical activity considerations should be given to populations younger than 18 and of other particular adult populations.