Purpose: To evaluate whether a soccer program (RSP) might lower risk factors related to metabolic syndrome (MetS) in obese adolescents. Methods: A 12-week randomized controlled trial [RSP: n = 6 (2 girls), age = 13.9 ± 1.6 yr, body mass index = 30.5 ± 2.1 kg/m[superscript 2]; Control: n = 7 (2 girls); age = 14.7 ± 2.3 yr, body mass index: 30.8 ±…

Purpose: To verify whether excess body mass influences 24-h ambulatory heart rate variability (HRV) after a moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE) session. Method: Participants included 27 non-trained young men that were divided into two groups, 1) normal-weight (n = 10) and 2) overweight and obese (n = 17). Participants underwent a single…

Purpose: Although exercise is typically included in behavioral weight-loss programs, the amount associated with meaningful short- to long-term weight reduction required investigation. Indirect paths between exercise-associated psychological changes and weight loss might be more relevant than the direct effect of exercise on energy…

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to identify the contribution of nutrition, physical activity (PA), and total energy intake and expenditure on body weight and composition in adolescents. Methods: Body composition, PA, and dietary intakes from 904 Greek adolescents (446 boys and 458 girls; Age: 14.6 ± 1.5 yrs), were evaluated. All…

Flexible nonlinear periodization (FNLP) was designed to optimize sport-specific resistance training by matching bout demand to pre-exercise mental and physical states ("readiness to train"). Before applying this participant-responsive framework to aerobic prescriptions for inactive adults, operational definitions of readiness are needed.…

Purpose: To evaluate whether excess body mass influences the heart rate variability (HRV) indexes at rest, and to correlate adiposity indicators and the aerobic fitness with cardiac autonomic variables in metabolically healthy young adults. Method: In all, 41 untrained males (M[subscript age] = 21.80, SD = 2.14 years), 14 normal weight…

Various models and methods have been proposed to address the worldwide decline in children's and youth's physical fitness, and the social-ecological model has shown some promise. Yet, the impact of the policy intervention, one component of that model, has not been evaluated carefully. Using limited data from policy documents, the impact of policy…

Purpose: The study aimed to test whether improvement in fitness components, mediates the changes in Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) after exercise intervention in overweight and obese children. Methods and design: 170 obese and overweight children (121 exercise group and 49 control group) participated in a public exercise program based on…

Purpose: To determine whether improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), blood pressure (BP) and body composition previously seen after a 16-week exercise intervention (POST) with hypocaloric diet are maintained following six months (6M) of unsupervised exercise time. Methods: Overweight/obese, physically inactive participants with primary…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in heart rate recovery (HRRec) and oxygen consumption recovery (VO2 recovery) between young healthy-weight children and children with obesity following a maximal volitional graded exercise test (GXTmax). Method: Twenty healthy-weight children and 13 children with obesity completed body…

Physical inactivity (and unhealthy nutrition) has distorted body composition and, in turn, reordered the proportions of myocyte and adipocyte insulin receptors. Insulin acting on adipocyte receptors produces less glucose uptake than does comparable interaction with myocyte receptors. Accordingly, in individuals with disproportionate muscle/fat…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to adopt an explicitly intersectional approach to examine the experiences of women identifying as having a visual impairment and as being overweight or obese in integrated physical education (PE). Method: An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) research approach was used, and six women (ages 25-34)…

Purpose: Within the modern cultural climate, those in larger bodies face high levels of weight stigma, particularly in sport and physical activity spaces, which serves as a strong barrier to their participation. However, given the strong link between physical activity and general health and well-being for participants, it is important to explore…

Purpose: This study examined the prevalence of different weight status and the relationships between weight status and physical fitness among Chinese children and youth. Methods: Participants were 107,206 Grade 4 children and 70,213 Grade 8 youth from the China National Assessment of Educational Quality -- Physical Education & Health in 2015…

Purpose: Previous research has demonstrated that television has the potential to influence youth behaviors, but little evidence exists on how television depicts physical activity (PA), an important public health priority for youth. This mixed-methods study investigated depictions of television characters' participation in PA in the top 25 favorite…