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A Longitudinal Study of Children’s Enjoyment of Physical Education

Judith J. Prochaska, James F. Sallis, Donald J. Slymen, and Thomas L. McKenzie

One mission of physical education (PE) is the promotion of enjoyable physical activity participation. PE enjoyment of 414 elementary school students (51% male, 77% Caucasian) was examined in a 3-year prospective study. Analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations, PE enjoyment decreased significantly from the fourth to sixth grade (p < .001) and was lower among girls (p < .001) and students not in organized sports (p < .005). Ethnicity and body mass index were not significant predictors of PE enjoyment. Girls, older children, and those not on sports teams are especially dependent on PE as the setting for accruing health-related physical activity, and strategies are needed to enhance their PE enjoyment.

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Predictors of Dietary Supplement Use among Adolescent Athletes

R. Todd Bartee, Burke Grandjean, Michael S. Dunn, James M. Eddy, and Min Qi Wang

This study sought to predict the use of dietary supplements marketed to enhance athletic performance among 1,737 adolescent athletes. An anonymous, paper-and-pencil, self-report survey was administered to the participants. Grade level, participation in multiple sports, and scales representing attitudes, subjective norms, and intention were all significant predictors of current dietary supplement use. The results of this study allow for the development of more appropriate prevention and intervention strategies that can target specific groups of adolescent athletes. We recommend that attitudes of adolescent athletes be addressed in interventions and that salient others be included in program planning.

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Physical Activity Levels in Middle and High School Physical Education: A Review

Stuart Fairclough and Gareth Stratton

Forty studies reporting physical activity during middle and high school physical education (PE) classes were reviewed. Students engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for 27% to 47% of class time. Intervention strategies were successful in increasing MVPA. During nonintervention classes the highest levels of MVPA occurred in invasion games and fitness activities. Movement activities stimulated the lowest levels. Boys and girls spent 40% of class time in MVPA. Differences in MVPA during PE were also methodology dependent. PE classes can complement other school-based opportunities to contribute to young people’s daily physical activity.

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Aerobic Exercise Program Reduces Anger Expression among Overweight Children

Joseph Tkacz, Deborah Young-Hyman, Colleen A. Boyle, and Catherine L. Davis

This study tested the effect of a structured aerobic exercise program on anger expression in healthy overweight children. Overweight sedentary children were randomly assigned to an aerobic exercise program or a no-exercise control condition. All children completed the Pediatric Anger Expression Scale at baseline and posttest. Anger Out and Anger Expression scores were lower for the exercise condition at posttest. Fitness improvements contributed significantly to final models, and points earned for adherence correlated negatively with posttest Anger Out. An aerobic exercise program might be an effective strategy to reduce anger expression, including reduction of aggressive behavior, in overweight children.

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Precompetitive State Anxiety, Objective and Subjective Performance, and Causal Attributions in Competitive Swimmers

Remco Polman, Naomi Rowcliffe, Erika Borkoles, and Andrew Levy

This study investigated the nature of the relationship between precompetitive state anxiety (CSAI-2C), subjective (race position) and objective (satisfaction) performance outcomes, and self-rated causal attributions (CDS-IIC) for performance in competitive child swimmers. Race position, subjective satisfaction, self-confidence, and, to a lesser extent, cognitive state anxiety (but not somatic state anxiety) were associated with the attributions provided by the children for their swimming performance. The study partially supported the self-serving bias hypothesis; winners used the ego-enhancing attributional strategy, but the losers did not use an ego-protecting attributional style. Age but not gender appeared to influence the attributions provided in achievement situations.

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2016 The Year That Was: Bone Strength

Kathleen F. Janz

Of all the lifestyle strategies for increasing bone strength during the growing years, physical activity is one of the most efficacious. This commentary highlights two exceptional 2016 publications addressing bone strength in children and adolescents with an eye toward reduced fracture risk later in life. The first by Weaver et al. was selected due to its comprehensive approach to understanding bone development. The second by Mitchell et al explores a new field of inquiry, that is, genetic-environment interaction as represented by bone mineral density-lowering alleles and high-impact physical activity. It is a first look at future precision medicine as it may pertain to pediatric bone strength.

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Chronic Diseases, Exercise, and Physical Activity in Childhood: Off the Beaten Track

Tim Takken

The one million dollar question in our discipline might be how to get kids with chronic disease moving. Most of the current strategies are focused on children in our general population; However, children with disability are in desperate need of our attention since inactivity might be a bigger issue compared with their “healthy” peers. What we can learn (among others) from this year’s released Global Matrix on Physical Activity for Children and Youth (1), that many countries struggle to get their children moving. To get children with chronic disease or disability moving is even more challenging. In the current year, The Year That Was, I want to focus on two studies that might help us further on this topic.

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Active Travel to School and Physical Activity Levels of Irish Primary Schoolchildren

Elaine M. Murtagh and Marie H. Murphy

The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the physical activity levels of 9–11 year old children, and (2) compare the activity levels of children who commute to school by active and passive modes. 140 children aged 9–11 years (85 boys) were recruited from four urban Irish schools. Mode of commuting was assessed by questionnaire. Step counts were measured for 4 consecutive days. Mean daily step counts for the sample were 14386 ± 5634. Boys were significantly more active than girls (15857 ± 5482 vs. 12113 ± 5127 steps). Eighty-seven children (62.1%) traveled by car, 51 children (36.4%) walked to school, one child traveled by bus and one child cycled. Children who walked or cycled to school had higher daily step counts than those who traveled by passive modes (16118 ± 5757 vs. 13363 ± 5332 steps). Active commuting to school may therefore represent a worthwhile strategy for improving children’s physical activity levels.

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Relationship Between Active School Transport and Body Mass Index in Grades-4-to-6 Children

Richard Larouche, Meghann Lloyd, Emily Knight, and Mark S. Tremblay

The current investigation assessed the impact of active school transportation (AST) on average daily step counts, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference in 315 children in Grades 4–6 who participated to Cycle 2 of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) pilot testing. T-tests revealed a significant association between AST and lower BMI values (18.7 ± 3.3 vs. 19.9 ± 3.8 kg/m2). The active commuters accumulated an average of 662 more steps per day, and their waist circumference was lower by an average of 3.1 cm, but these differences were not statistically significant. ANCOVA analyses controlling for age and step counts, found trends toward lower BMI and waist circumference values among the active commuters. These results suggest that AST may be a valid strategy to prevent childhood obesity; further research is needed to determine more precisely the impact of AST on body composition, and the direction of the relationship.

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The Effect of Pre-Exercise Carbohydrate Supplementation on Anaerobic Exercise Performance in Adolescent Males

Jonah D. Lee, Lauren E. Sterrett, Lisa M. Guth, Adam R. Konopka, and Anthony D. Mahon

Carbohydrate (CHO) consumption before anaerobic exercise was studied in 13 adolescent boys (15.2 ± 0.9 yrs). A within subjects design was employed where subjects consumed a 22% CHO or volume-matched placebo (PL) beverage 30-min before anaerobic exercise on two separate days. Exercise consisted of a Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT), ten by 10-s-sprints, and a second WAnT. Fatigue index and peak power (PP) were similar while mean power (MP) was higher (p < .025) in CHO trial; however this difference was ascribed to initial WAnT performance. PP and MP for the 10-s sprints were similar between trials. Intravenous blood glucose and insulin concentrations were higher (p < .05) in the CHO trial while lactate and catecholamine concentrations were similar. Improved performance on a single WAnT was apparent with CHO consumption before exercise; however, this strategy did not attenuate fatigue over time in adolescent boys.