Volume 34 (2024): Issue 6 (Nov 2024)
Evaluation of Exercise Program for Overweight and Obese Pediatric Participants in a Single Tertiary Center in Singapore
Kylie Leong, Muhammad Munir Tohid, Bernard Xian Wei Liew, Siao Hui Toh, Mohammad Ashik Zainuddin, Fadzlynn Fadzully, Brandon Guoqiang Feng, Muhammad Alif Bin Abu Bakar, and Benny Kai Guo Loo
Purpose: Pediatric obesity is rising in prevalence. We audited the results of an exercise program for overweight and obese pediatric participants in a tertiary pediatric hospital. The main aim was to determine the program’s effectiveness, with the main outcome of change in body mass index (BMI). Method: Retrospective review of data from all pediatric participants attending the program between January 2017 and December 2022. Inclusion criteria for analysis were BMI ≥90th centile, ages 6–15, attendance in at least 2 sessions and for at least 1 week. Statistical analysis was done using Generalized Additive Modeling. Results: One hundred thirty seven participants were included. The average duration in the program was 16 months (min = 1 wk, max = 57 mo). Majority (66%, n = 94) attended at intervals of >4 weeks. Only 7% (n = 9) attended weekly. The shorter the visit intervals, the more likely the BMI loss. The greatest decrease in BMI (−0.275; 95% confidence interval, −0.381 to −0.17) was in 15-year-old obese participants with visit intervals of <1 week. At the last visit, 84.7% maintained, 12.4% improved and 2.9% worsened in BMI category, respectively. Conclusion: Participants who attended an exercise program at least weekly demonstrated the best outcomes. Most did not adhere to the recommended frequency and thus had poorer outcomes. We have since made improvements to our program to increase visit frequency.
Gender Gap for Accelerometry-Based Physical Activity Across Different Age Groups in 5 Brazilian Cohort Studies
Luiza I.C. Ricardo, Andrea Wendt, Debora Tornquist, Helen Gonçalves, Fernando Wehrmeister, Bruna Gonçalves C. da Silva, Luciana Tovo-Rodrigues, Iná Santos, Aluisio Barros, Alicia Matijasevich, Pedro C. Hallal, Marlos Domingues, Ulf Ekelund, Renata M. Bielemann, and Inácio Crochemore-Silva
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the gender inequalities in accelerometer-based physical activity (PA) across different age groups using data from 5 Pelotas (Brazil) cohorts. Methods: The data come from 4 birth cohort studies, covering all live births in the urban area of Pelotas for each respective year (1982, 1993, 2004, and 2015), and the Como vai? cohort study focusing on 60 years and above. Raw accelerometry data were collected on the nondominant wrist using GENEActive/ActiGraph devices and processed with the GGIR package. Overall PA was calculated at ages 1, 2, 4, 6, 11, 15, 18, 23, 30, and 60+ years, while moderate to vigorous PA was calculated from 6 years onward. Absolute (difference) and relative (ratio) gender inequalities were calculated and intersectionality between gender and wealth was also evaluated. Results: The sample sizes per cohort ranged from 965 to 3462 participants. The mean absolute gender gap was 19.3 minutes (95% confidence interval, 12.7–25.9), with the widest gap at 18 years (32.9 min; 95% confidence interval, 30.1–35.7) for moderate to vigorous PA. The highest relative inequality was found in older adults (ratio 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.92–2.08). Our intersectionality results showed that the poorest men being the most active group, accumulating around 60 minutes more moderate to vigorous PA per day compared with the wealthiest women at age 18. Conclusions: Men were more physically active than women in all ages evaluated. PA gender inequalities start at an early age and intensify in transition periods of life. Relative inequalities were marked among older adults.
How Racial Tasking Leads to Inequitable Financial Remuneration Among Power-5 College Football Coaches
Chris Corr, Charles D.T. Macaulay, Christopher Atwater, and Nicole Sellars
While occupying a significant number of coaching positions in Power-5 college football, Black coaches are routinely overlooked as head coach or coordinator candidates. Although Black Power-5 football coaches generate significant value for their respective teams, such stagnation within the promotion and hiring of Black assistant coaches raises concerns about whether Black coaches receive equitable compensation for the value they generate. Utilizing Ray’s theory of racialized organizations, this study examined the race and salary of Power-5 football coaches to determine whether Black and White coaches receive equitable compensation. Results reveal that while Black coaches create inordinate value in recruiting prospective athletes, compensation among White Power-5 football coaches is exponentially greater than their Black counterparts. The economic value of Black and White stakeholders (e.g., coaches and athletes) to the college football enterprise is also discussed.
Supporting People With Musculoskeletal Conditions From Underserved Communities in the United Kingdom to Engage With Physical Activity: A Realist Synthesis and Q-Methodology Study
Alice Berry, Terence Brady, Natasha Bradley, Nicky Harris, Caroline Flurey, Faatihah Niyi-Odumosu, Emma Dures, and Nicola Walsh
Background: In the United Kingdom, 20 million individuals suffer from a musculoskeletal condition, for which physical activity (PA) is a core treatment. Minority ethnic communities experience a disproportionate impact, experiencing higher levels of pain and engaging in less PA. Research has identified various factors that affect their participation in PA, including lack of access to support, limited knowledge of resources, language barriers, fear of racial harassment while exercising, and insufficient communication/information from healthcare professionals. Methods: This project adopted a realist perspective, aiming to understand “what works, in which circumstances, and for whom?” The project had 4 steps: (1) defining review scope with stakeholders; (2) searching and extracting literature, creation of initial program theories; (3) refining/validating initial program theories with stakeholders; and (4) adopting Q-methodology to highlight priority areas. Results: 17 papers were included. Three program theories were identified: (1) Lack of initial access to health service support; (2) Nature of musculoskeletal self-management support—the importance of the therapeutic relationship and value of shared conversations; and (3) Accessible long-term support for PA engagement. The Q-sort exercise highlighted priority areas: (1) complex booking procedures and inadequate translation services, (2) time constraints impact effective patient-centered care, (3) dismissive attitudes/mismatched expectations impact shared decision making, (4) rebuilding trust to strengthen therapeutic relationships, (5) cultural relevance in developing therapeutic relationships, and (6) clinician recommended PA opportunities increase knowledge of PA. Conclusions: Our findings shed light on inequities across the UK’s musculoskeletal pathways, specifically in relation to PA engagement. This points toward priority areas for future research and interventions.
Assessing the Use of Recommended Practices in Adapted Physical Activity/Education Experiential-Learning Programs
Layne Case, Joonkoo Yun, Megan MacDonald, Bridget E. Hatfield, and Samuel W. Logan
This study investigated the use of recommended practices in university-based experiential learning associated with adapted physical activity and education (APA/E) undergraduate courses. Participants (N = 165) were instructors of APA/E courses with an experiential-learning component and/or professionals involved in APA/E experiential-learning programs at their university. Participants completed an online questionnaire designed to describe program characteristics and evaluate the use of two sets of practices, including those recommended for involving students and people with disabilities. Findings highlight low proportions of the use of practices recommended for people with disabilities and indicate that significantly more practices recommended for students were implemented (Z = −10.45, p < .001). Findings from this study have several implications for evaluation and intervention in APA/E experiential learning, such as including the disability community in planning and designing programming to benefit both students and people with disabilities. Instructors should aim to increase their implementation of practices recommended for involving people with disabilities.
La reconnaissance du sport pour handicapés physiques par l’État français: gestion des effets inattendus d’une scission fédérale (1963–1977)
Sylvain Ferez and Sébastien Ruffié
After being founded in 1963, the Fédération Sportive des Handicapés Physiques de France (FSHPF) began a timid move towards regional structuring, with the creation of a Comité Régional Lyonnais-Forez-Dauphiné-Savoie (CR-LFDS) – alongside that of Ⓘle-de-France – in 1965. From 1968 onwards, the strengthening of links with the French State Department for Youth and Sport helped to accentuate this movement. The FSHPF, renamed the FFSHP in 1968, finally obtained a delegation of powers from this department on 20 June 1972. This article looks at the conditions and reasons for this accelerated recognition by the State. It puts forward the hypothesis that it was paradoxically the result of the crisis that led to the split into two federal organisations in early 1972 (the FFSHP and the FFOHP, created on the initiative of the president of the CR-LFDS). This hypothesis is explored by crossing the archives of the Department of State for Youth and Sport and those of the two rival federations (as well as testimonies collected from the leaders of the time). These archives shed light on the tensions generated in the early 1970s by the organisation of international sporting events and the desire to control the development of a growing sport for the physically disabled. In 1971–1972, the crisis that erupted around the organisation of the “World Winter Games” helped the FFSHP gain the status of a delegated federation, a prerequisite for its entry into the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) in 1973 and the secondment of technical advisors by the State (1976).
NATA News and Notes
“One Day . . . It Won’t Be a Big Story”: Analyzing the Media Response to Female National Football League Coaches
Katie Taylor
In 2015, Dr. Jen Welter became the first woman to coach in the National Football League (NFL). Other female coaches followed. Yet, sports-studies scholars know little about the media’s response to these football pioneers. This paper presents critical themes on how popular media discussed female coaches by analyzing the hiring announcements of four women who coach or have coached in the NFL. Utilizing a critical feminist lens, this paper demonstrates that media outlets reproduced conventional media tropes by reassuring readers that women have the requisite knowledge, trivializing women’s achievements, underscoring the need for male player support, emphasizing appearance, and permitting sexist comments. However, it is evident that online publishers are simultaneously making progress. In most cases, the articles represented the coaches in ways that differ from how female athletes have been historically depicted. This research reveals nonlinear and incremental progress toward gender equality in football.
Physical Determinants of Sprint and Long Jump Performance in Male Youth Track-and-Field Athletes With Differing Maturity Statuses
James Baker, Paul Read, Philip Graham-Smith, Mauricio Monaco, Evdokia Varamenti, Marco Cardinale, and Thomas W. Jones
Purpose: This study examined the physical determinants of 60-m sprint and long jump (LJ) performance and differences between maturity groups in physical characteristics in young male track-and-field athletes. Methods: Competition results, countermovement jump, isometric leg press, 10-5 repeated jump test, and 50-m sprint were collected over 3 seasons for 54 male athletes (age 13 [1] y; stature 160.0 [8.9] cm; body mass, 48.0 [9.8] kg; percentage predicted adult height 92.2% [5.5%]) grouped by maturity status: approaching- (n = 16), circa- (n = 19), and post-peak height velocity (PHV) (n = 19). Results: There were significant between-group differences in 60 m, LJ, and all physical testing variables (P < .001, g = 0.88–5.44) when comparing the approaching- and circa-PHV groups with the post-PHV group. Significant differences were identified between the approaching- and circa-PHV groups in 40-m (P = .033, g = 0.89), 50-m (P = .024, g = 1.64), and 60-m (P < .001, g = 0.89) sprint times. Countermovement jump and 50-m sprint variables were consistently important for projection of 60 m and LJ performance across the valid multivariate models. Conclusions: Large differences in performance across maturity groups highlight the importance of understanding athletes’ maturity status to accurately interpret performance. Several physical performance variables were important for projecting competition 60 m and LJ performance.
