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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

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.

Open access

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.

Free access

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.

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The Politics of Football

Alex C. Gang

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A Potential Mechanism Involved in the Regularity of Center-of-Pressure Displacements During Achieving Unipedal Equilibrium on Stable and Unstable Surfaces

Arunee Promsri

Sample entropy (SampEn) is a widely used measure for estimating the regularity of center-of-pressure (COP) trajectories, with high COP regularity (low SampEn) commonly interpreted as ineffective postural control. The current study aimed to investigate one possible source of COP regularity—agonist–antagonist coactivation—resulting in joint stiffness or action stability. A cross-correlation analysis was conducted to determine the similarity (coactivation) level of 5 pairs of lower limb agonist–antagonist electromyographic signals. SampEn was applied to anteroposterior (ap) and mediolateral (ml) COP displacements. Electromyographic and COP signals were simultaneously derived from 25 active young adults (25.6 ± 4.0 years) during unipedal balancing on stable and multiaxial-unstable surfaces. Then, the correlation between individual agonist–antagonist cross-correlation coefficients and SampEn-COP was explored. The results show that only the tibialis anterior–peroneus longus (TA–PL) coactivations are negatively correlated with SampEn-COPap/ml (P ≤ .030) in both surface conditions, with greater TA–PL coactivation appearing with lower SampEn-COPap/ml. In addition, sex effects as one factor that might influence postural control were also tested. Women exhibited greater TA–PL coactivation (P = .017) and lower SampEn-COPap (P = .005) than men. Together, TA–PL coactivation could be one possible origin of COP regularity, but its effects might be detrimental to unipedal postural control, especially for women.

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Sexual Assault in Canadian Sport

Wen-hao Winston Chou

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Social and Emotional Learning in Finnish Physical Education Teacher Education

Tommi Mäkinen, Anne Virtanen, and Emma Kostiainen

Purpose: Teachers’ social and emotional learning (SEL) skills play a central role in physical education to promote holistic youth development and physical activity. The purpose of this study was to explore what SEL skills Finnish physical education student teachers learned during their final study year at university and how they described the meaning of SEL in part of their teacherhood. Method: Data were collected from a questionnaire for four annual courses of Finnish physical education student teachers (n125) and written teaching philosophies (n12). Results: Students reported learning many different SEL skills during their final year. Most learning experiences were reported in self-awareness skills and relationships skills. SEL was also described as (a) a tool for better teaching, (b) a basis for human perception, and (c) changing the way they view their teacherhood. Discussion/Conclusion: The findings indicated that students place a high value on learning SEL skills and that SEL is central to their overall view of physical education.

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Surveillance of Youth Sports Participation in the United States: Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions

Karin A. Pfeiffer and Kimberly A. Clevenger

Purpose: National surveillance of behaviors, including physical activity and sport can provide insight with respect to population-level trends. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the existing sources of surveillance for organized youth sport participation in the United States and highlight knowledge gaps. Methods: We identified nationally representative and free publicly available surveillance data from 2012 to 2022 and report the prevalence of sport participation, the number of sports in which youth participated, and in which specific sports youth participated overall, and by demographic characteristics. Results: Eight surveillance systems met our inclusion criteria. Across systems, estimates ranged from 39.6% to 81.5% of youth participating in any organized sport, with 21.8% to 30.4% of youth participating in one sport. The most common sports were basketball and soccer. Limited information with respect to characteristics of sport participation was collected across systems. Conclusions: Multiple data sources regarding overall organized youth sport participation are available; there is little information further characterizing this participation (eg, setting, volume, specialization), limiting ability to examine important aspects related to public health. Comprehensive, on-going, national surveillance of multiple youth sport domains is needed in the United States to inform sport-promoting policy and ensure equitable provision of quality sport experiences.

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Trainers’ Perceptions on the Development of Leadership Knowledge and Competencies on Official Union of European Football Associations Football Coach Courses

Lourival Vianna da Silva Neto, Dina Alexandra Marques Miragaia, Sergio José Ibáñez, and Ana Paula Braga Garcez

This study aims to investigate the perception of trainers on official football courses regarding the development of leadership knowledge and competencies in coaches’ teaching learning process. Understanding the Union of European Football Association trainers’ perception of the importance and role of leadership knowledge and competencies in football is fundamental in order to raise the quality in preparing future coaches. A qualitative approach was adopted by conducting semi-structured interviews with Union of European Football Association trainers in Portugal. The data were subject to content analysis using NVivo software; the following three dimensions of leadership were observed: knowledge, training, and competencies. The results revealed that trainers recognise the importance of the three dimensions analysed, emphasising the relevance of leadership competencies in improving coaches’ interventions. The trainers also highlighted the need for coaches to develop effective communication skills, the capacity to make decisions under pressure, and interpersonal skills to lead football teams efficiently. In addition, they reinforced the importance of coaches’ continuous training, encouraging them to seek learning opportunities in this field of knowledge. They suggest that coaches must be able to adapt to different contexts and learn from practical experience. These results have practical implications for football coaches’ training and development, namely the need to reflect on current training programmes.

Open access

Trans People Struggling To Be Human in Sports and Exercise: Passing, Mediating, and Challenging Cis- and Heteronormativity

Isak Auran, Åsa Bäckström, and Håkan Larsson

This study explores how trans individuals struggle to make themselves intelligible as humans in a cis- and heteronormative context of sports and exercise. Ten trans people with present or prior experience in sports and exercise were interviewed. The analysis draws from Butler’s idea of trans people’s exclusion as a question of unintelligibility instead of oppression. The study demonstrates three overreaching ways trans people make themselves discursively intelligible as humans: by passing as cis, by coming out as trans yet mediating potential inconvenience this may pose on others, and by coming out as trans paired with challenging cis- and heteronormativity. We argue that practices aligning to intelligibility as humans are key for trans people in sports, exercise, and possibly in other walks of life.