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Understanding health inequalities is essential for improving social justice. Intersectionality refers to a theoretical framework for studying the intersection of multiple social categorizations that create unique experiences and related social inequalities. Currently, the majority of the intersectional studies in the physical activity field have a qualitative design; thus, there is a need for quantitative intersectional studies. This commentary aims to explore primary obstacles impeding intersectional quantitative research and provide recommendations for overcoming these obstacles in physical activity research. In the commentary, we discuss that the lack of accessibility of large-scale and diverse data sets, and suboptimal social categorizations and intersectionality-related questions may contribute to the scarcity of intersectional quantitative research in the field. To facilitate intersectional quantitative analyses, we advocate for making large-scale data sets accessible for intersectional secondary analyses, diverse sampling, standardizing questions and categories related to intersectionality, promoting inclusive research designs and methods, and using the appropriate questions and social categorization that reflect the distinct experiences of each subgroup. By addressing these challenges, researchers may gain new insights into health disparities, making physical activity research more inclusive and contributing to more equitable health outcomes.

Background: To meet the World Health Organization goal of reducing physical inactivity by 15% by 2030, a multisectoral system approach is urgently needed to promote physical activity (PA). We report the process of and findings from a codesigned systems mapping project to present determinants of PA in the context of urban New South Wales, Australia. Methods: A participatory conceptual mapping workshop was held in May 2023 with 19 participants working in education, transportation, urban planning, community, health, and sport and recreation. Initial maps were developed and refined using online feedback from the participants. Interviews were conducted with 10 additional policymakers from relevant sectors to further refine the maps. Results: Two systems maps were cocreated, identifying over 100 variables influencing PA and their interconnections. Five settings emerged from the adults’ map—social and community, policy, built environment and transportation, health care, and workplace—and 4 for the young people’s map—family, school, transportation, and community and environment. The maps share similarities, such as regarding potential drivers within the transportation, community, and built environment sectors; however, the young people’s map has a specific focus on the school setting and the adults’ map on workplace and health care settings. Interviews with policymakers provided further unique insights into understanding and intervening in the PA system. Conclusions: This codesigned participatory systems mapping process, supplemented by stakeholder interviews, provided a unique opportunity to bring together stakeholders across sectors to understand the complexity within the PA system and begin to identify leverage points for tackling physical inactivity in New South Wales.

Background: Efforts are needed to improve antidoping procedures. The widespread use of power meters among cyclists could help in this regard. However, controversy exists on whether performance monitoring through power-output data could be of help for antidoping purposes. Purpose: The objective of the present study was to provide insight into the feasibility and utility of implementing power-based performance monitoring in elite cycling. An expert panel of 15 applied sport scientists and professional cycling coaches were asked for their opinions and perspectives on incorporating power data into the antidoping risk-assessment process. Results: Two different viewpoints were identified from the responses provided by the experts. Some believed that power monitoring could be implemented as an antidoping tool, provided that several surmountable challenges are first addressed. These authors provided suggestions related to the potential practical implementation of such measures. Others, on the contrary, believed that power meters lack sufficient reliability and suggest that the professional cycling world presents conflicts of interest that make this intervention impossible to implement nowadays. Conclusions: The debate around the utility of power-meter data in the antidoping fight has been ongoing for more than a decade. According to the opinions provided by the experts’ panel, there is still no consensus on the real utility and practical implementation of this intervention.

Vertical loading rate (VLR) and pelvic floor muscle activity (PFA) increase with running velocity, which may indicate a relationship between VLR and PFA. Foot strike pattern has been shown to influence VLR while running, but little is known about its influence on PFA. Twenty healthy women ran on a treadmill for 2 conditions: with a rearfoot strike and with a forefoot strike. PFA was measured with electromyography. Running kinematics associated with VLR were collected using inertial measurement units and tibial accelerometers. Change scores between conditions were calculated for average PFA and running kinematics: peak vertical tibial acceleration, vertical excursion of the center of mass (VO), and cadence. Paired t tests assessed differences between running conditions for all variables. Pearson correlations assessed the relationships between changes in PFA and running kinematics. PFA was significantly higher during the forefoot compared with the rearfoot strike condition. Change in vertical tibial acceleration was positively correlated with change in PFA during the right stance. Change in cadence was negatively correlated, and change in vertical excursion of the center of mass was positively correlated with change in PFA during left stance. The average PFA increased during the forefoot strike pattern condition. Changes in PFA were correlated with changes in running kinematics associated with VLR.

The purpose of the present study was to analyze Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly (APAQ) publications over the journal’s fourth decade (2014–2023) and compare them with previous documentary analyses of the first 3 decades. Consistent with prior documentary analyses, publications were coded and analyzed based on the use of theory, research participants, topic, whether the study was an intervention, first-author country affiliation, and research method. The total number of published research papers increased substantially (n = 61) from the third to the fourth decade. Similar to prior documentary analyses, most of the research was quantitative (n = 140; 57.5%), followed by qualitative research (n = 96; 39.5%). There were far more qualitative-research publications in the fourth decade compared with the third decade (n = 34). This may reflect the continued acceptance and growth of qualitative research compared with 10–20 years ago. It may also reflect the value of rich in-depth exploratory research using small samples. Additional trends included more review papers and meta-analyses, possibly reflecting the increased knowledge base in particular areas requiring synthesis. The diversity of topics also increased, with papers on dignity, classification, coaching, and the Paralympics playing more prominent roles. The number of international publications also grew substantially. In brief, the current paper outlines both similarities and differences in APAQ’s published research over the 4 decades of its existence.

Understanding the changes in running mechanics caused by fatigue is essential to assess its impact on athletic performance. Changes in running biomechanics after constant speed conditions are well documented, but the adaptive responses after a maximal incremental test are unknown. We compared the spatiotemporal, joint kinematics, elastic mechanism, and external work parameters before and after a maximal incremental treadmill test. Eighteen recreational runners performed 2-minute runs at 8 km·h⁻¹ before and after a maximal incremental test on a treadmill. Kinematics, elastic parameters, and external work were determined using the OpenCap and OpenSim software. We did not find differences in spatiotemporal parameters and elastic parameters (mechanical work, ankle, and knee motion range) between premaximal and postmaximal test conditions. After the maximal test, the runners flexed their hips more at contact time (19.4°–20.6°, P = .013) and presented a larger range of pelvis rotation at the frontal plane (10.3°–11.4°, P = .002). The fatigue applied in the test directly affects pelvic movements; however, it does not change the lower limb motion or the spatiotemporal and mechanical work parameters in recreational runners. A larger frontal plane motion of the pelvis deserves attention due to biomechanical risk factors associated with injuries.

Background: Female-specific science, medicine, and innovation have grown steadily since the turn of the decade as the focus on female sport continues to advance. While this growth is welcome, and despite the best of intentions, it is not always coupled with valuable application. Purpose: This commentary discusses barriers faced when developing and applying sport-science research and innovation activities in female sport. We offer several practical solutions to help safeguard the progress of female athlete health and performance support. We make 3 suggestions: (1) multicenter studies to increase the number of elite athletes participating in research and enhance statistical power, which is often lacking in sport-science research; (2) further acceptance of case studies in elite sport research, as they can include context alongside athlete data that more traditional research designs perhaps do not; and (3) collaborative, codesigned approaches to research and innovation, wherein researchers, practitioners, and athletes all contribute to balancing scientific rigor with applied “real-world” understanding, which may result in the generation of richer, more meaningful knowledge for the benefit of female athletes and their environments.

Background and Purpose: Cross-country skiing, biathlon, and Nordic combined are Winter Olympics sports that involve cross-country skiing in undulating terrain, characterized by various subtechniques and repeated intensity fluctuations. The stochastic interval profile of these sports necessitates the continuous regulation of work and energy expenditure throughout training sessions and competitions, a concept known as pacing. With the advent of technological advancements that allow for the measurement of these features during training and competitions, scientific studies have broadened our understanding of the associated racing and pacing demands. We provide the current scientific overview of pacing demands in competitive cross-country skiing, biathlon, and Nordic combined and propose guidelines for how performance can be enhanced by adjusting pacing behavior. Conclusions and Practical Applications: The study of pacing in skiing has evolved from basic lap-to-lap, or segment, analyses to detailed insights into micropacing strategies. This includes analysis of speed, internal and external power, subtechnique distribution, and associated temporal patterns, combined with subjective ratings of effort. While several objective tools such as heart rate, blood lactate concentration, and speed measurements are widely used in practice, current understanding suggests that these measures should supplement, rather than replace, the use of perceived effort (eg, rating of perceived exertion) to regulate intensity during training and competition in undulating terrain. Therefore, the ability to self-regulate effort appears to be an important performance characteristic and should be developed in adolescents and systematically used to optimize and evaluate the training process and race performance throughout athletes’ careers.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare estimated levels of physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) of preschool-aged children (3–5 years old) based on different published accelerometer cut-points used in this age group. Four electronic databases were searched to identify studies estimating levels of PA or ST (ST, light PA [LPA], and moderate to vigorous PA [MVPA]) using multiple accelerometer cut-points, in a sample of preschool-aged children. Data were extracted and risk of bias assessed for all included studies. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate pooled effects for unique combinations of accelerometer cut-points for each outcome. Twenty-four studies, reporting on 18 unique samples, were included. Results demonstrated substantial variability in estimates of PA and ST across different cut-points, with significant differences in estimates of the behaviors between most cut-points. Few cut-points showed similarity; Evenson and Pate were some of the most similar for the assessment of PA and ST of young children. However, when calculating the differences in ST, LPA, and MVPA between the cut-points, the Evenson cut-point estimates approximately 60 min more LPA per day and the Pate 148CPM cut-points estimates 23 and 37 min more ST and MVPA each day, respectively. Given that these were the most similar estimates, this highlights the magnitude of differences between the accelerometer cut-points when estimating preschool-aged children’s movement behavior. This review provides an illustration on the limitations of accelerometer cut-points used to determine PA and ST of preschool-aged children; in that they often produce substantially different estimates. This review provides a compelling rationale as to why further research moving toward alternative data processing methodologies is required, including to identify an optimal approach to estimating movement behavior outcomes in young children that considers congruence with past and future research.

Background: In 2011, physical inactivity was described as the Cinderella risk factor for noncommunicable diseases. This metaphor was used to highlight the disjunct between the advancing evidence on physical inactivity as a risk factor for ill health, its high prevalence, and the paucity of global policy response or priority afforded to physical activity. This paper describes the strategic actions of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) to raise the profile of physical activity as a global public health priority. Methods: From 2008, ISPAH coordinated a long-term advocacy strategy to advance the status of physical activity and promote its presence as a priority within global health policy. The society employed an advocacy mix that reflected contemporary advocacy theory and models. Results: Through 6 advocacy deliverables, aligned to the global calendar of United Nations and World Health Organization policy developments, ISPAH seized the opportunity to advance physical activity policy and strategies to inform global noncommunicable disease action planning and align with the Sustainable Development Goals. ISPAH’s successful execution of global advocacy for physical activity highlights the importance of leadership, clear objectives, progressive action, timeliness, partnerships, and persistence. Conclusion: As a result of strategic global advocacy since 2008, the field in 2024 is better positioned in relation to global professional mobilization, policy, and technical support for physical activity. However, despite impressive progress across more than 12 years, and the innovation of the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity, the work of global advocacy for physical activity is far from complete.