Physical Activity and Sport as a Tool for Connection in a Prison Context: Ethnographic Evidence

The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between physical exercise and sport activities with respect to tobacco consumption in adolescents according to gender. A total of 845 adolescents (412 males and 433 females) between 14 and 17 years of age enrolled in compulsory secondary education in Murcia (Spain) participated in the study. The International Physical Activity questionnaire was administered to all of them to determine their physical activity patterns, also the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance questionnaire was given to evaluate their smoking behaviors. The results show a significant relationship between physical exercise and sport activity and tobacco consumption. In addition, a clear gender difference was found on tobacco use. Among males, a positive and significant relation between practice of sports and physical activity and tobacco use was found; while no association between both variables was found among females. In conclusion, differences between men and women related to practice of physical exercise and sport and tobacco consumption are associated with the characteristics of the current models used to promote practice of sports as well as the different motivations among men and women to engage in physical exercise and sport activity.

The present study aimed to assess whether contextual influences on practice of physical activity and sports among adolescents – as it is the case of practice of sports by important people in their lives, encouragement to playing sports from important people in their lives, the importance of and reasons for playing sports among adolescents, and their intention to play sports in the future – predict psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction in this population, and whether effective practice of physical activity and sports by adolescents work as a mediating variable in these relations. This study involved 3.396 school-aged adolescents from Southern Brazil. The instruments adopted were: the block on physical activity and practice of sports of The Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey; the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), for psychological wellbeing assessment; and the Overall Life Satisfaction (OLS). The results, obtained by means of hierarchical linear regression analysis, confirmed the hypotheses that effective practice of physical activity and sports by adolescents operates as a mediator between the influences on practice of physical activity/sports among adolescents, psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction. These results show that, with respect to practice of physical activity/sports in adolescence, contextual influences are important for psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction. However, effective practice of physical activity/sports should be encouraged and implemented in a variety of possible contexts in the life of adolescents as a strategy towards the promotion of this population’s quality of life.

Dear Editor:\n\nWith the horizon of a new normal around the corner, physical activity and sport have proven to be one of the best weapons to combat this period of forced confinement, which has left a new stage of health, physical activity, and sports, where these four signs of identity that are here to stay receive more value than ever:\n\n1.-) Health care through motor skills, as a substantial and obligatory value for the entire society, multiplying the options of all professionals and companies related to health. In this first sign of identity, we would like to point out the turn that the economy must establish towards the construction of an authentic identity of valuation of healthy movement, above old trends that have underestimated the value of physical activity towards health. Today no one has doubts, and this is how many scientific publications refute it, about the incalculable value of motor skills as the backbone of universal public health. In this sense, research on how important physical activity is as a better shield against cancer, or the strengthening of the immune system through regularized physical activity, stands out, adding the different longitudinal studies that prescribe a greater life expectancy from moving.\n\n2.-) Protecting the environment starting on sports practice. One of the great threats of our new world is the degradation of the planet and its link with health problems. In this section, it's essential to have an ecological vision of our new post-COVID19 era. We must have a commitment to this planet that has given us so much and asked so little in return. With this, physical activity and sport abroad will become very important, not only because of its influence on our health but also because of the necessary care for its ecological protection. We will see a boom in motor transport, an increase in sports practices in the environment, and finally use of clean energy-related to physical-sports practice.\n\n3.-) Technological advances in physical activity and sport are here to stay. From whatever perspective we choose as an example, this confinement has shown that the face-to-face way in which we were living, turns out many situations and activities aren't strictly necessary, but that online communication has gained value and will be invaluable in this new society post-COVID19. From total connectivity, in terms of the individual's health and physical performance parameters, or from sports education in a virtual way, we have realized the potential of today's technological advances, which will enable us through artificial intelligence be able to anticipate what can happen. This technological spectrum is the great Pandora's box for the improvement of our population, for a society that was crying out for a change in teaching and sports practice, in physical activity and quality of life and even in sports performance.\n\n4.-) Scientific knowledge as the only way of physical activity and sport. If this humanitarian crisis has demonstrated anything, it's the value of the scientific community as the only true and credible source of our society. For a long time in Spain, many authors have defended the idea that we cannot advance if we don't believe in R + D + I (Research, Development, and Innovation) but now the time has come, where it is essential for physical activity and sports science. With an economic crisis on the horizon and with a need to rebrand ourselves, scientific knowledge is gaining more and more ground, which must be conquered, with advice, studies and reports, and basic and applied research. Sports club, sports company or public entity must be based on scientific knowledge, it's no longer valid just the old way, I have the money, so I buy. Now the rules have changed, we must optimize what we have and continue to provide opportunities for each element that makes up our society.

Adults (more than 18 years old) are likely to reproduce the habits that they acquired during childhood and adolescence (from 6 to 16 years old). For that reason, teachers and parents have the responsibility to promote an active and healthy lifestyle in children and adolescents. Even though every school subject should promote healthy activities, Physical Education (PE) is the most important subject to foster well-being habits associated to healthy lifestyle during sport practice and other kinds of active tasks. Indeed, there are many factors that influence the acquisition of healthy habits that should be taken into account when programs and activities are implemented in both educational and extracurricular context. In this sense, psychological and social factors are of utmost importance to achieve optimal experiences for an active and healthy lifestyle. However, due to the myriad of studies analyzing different factors in different contexts, there could be confusion when programs and pedagogical strategies are applied in educational or extracurricular contexts. The objective of this investigation is to analyse the state of art of the psychosocial factors which influence the engagement in physical activities and sport practice. The keywords used in this review were mainly: “Self-Determination Theory,” “(intrinsic) motivation,” “Psychological need satisfaction,” “physical activity and sport engagement,” “Elementary Education,” “Secondary Education,” “Physical Education.” In addition, the Boolean data type “and,” “or,” and “not” were also used. The articles were selected according to the following criteria: (a) peer-reviewed original research published in international journals indexed in JCR or SJR, (b) published in English or Spanish, (c) about psychosocial factors which influence the physical activity and sport engagement, (d) in educational or extracurricular context. Research articles selected were found through Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, SportDiscus (EBSCO-host), ERIC, PubMed, Medline, and PsycInfo databases. It was observed that physical activities and sport practice engagement are closely related to psychological factors. In particularly, intrinsic motivation was able to determine the active participation in any activity, including physical activity and sport practice during the implementation of Small-Sided Games and other kinds of pedagogical strategies (e.g., Pedagogical Models). Motivation was also closely related to flow state. Finally, these variables should be considered in order to organize effective programs to promote an active and healthy lifestyle in Physical Education classes.

The elderly are generally less physically active than young adults [1]. In 2007 the American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA) published an updated recommendation on physical activity specific for older adults that emphasized the role of a regular physical activity [2]. Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published national physical activity guidelines that provides guidance about physical activity for adults aged 65 years and older [3]. In particular these guidelines stress that if older adults cannot perform 150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week because of chronic conditions, they may be physically active based on their abilities and conditions. Despite these recommendations, in Italy data on physical activity and sport practice in the elderly are rather critical. After 65 years old only 9% of people practice sports and after 75 years old or over this value drops to 2.8%, while physical activity is 21,6% and 36.3% respectively. From 65 years old or over more than 50% people are sedentary and 75% of 75 year-olds claim no sport or physical activity practice in their leisure time [4]. In the South of Italy, particularly, 40% of elderly men and 64% of elderly women don’t perform any physical activity in their leisure time. Nevertheless we must consider that a significant part of elderly people living alone have few opportunities to socialize, so their participation in structured exercise programs may be very useful. In Italy the elderly who live alone are 5.6 million and most need help and assistance at home. Actually other countries apply health programs such as Enhance Fitness: a low-cost, evidence-based group exercise program developed specifically for older adults [5]. Based on these considerations we think it’s necessary to realize specific physical activities for elderly people, following the latest scientific recommendations and characteristics: simplicity, safety, economy and efficacy.

The purpose of the present study was to analyze if the association between sex with cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness is independent of physical activity, sports practice and sedentary behavior in young people. A cross-sectional study involving 729 participants aged 10 to 17 years. Physical activity, sports practice and sedentary behavior were assessed through a questionnaire. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using 20m shuttle run test and were analyzed: VO2max, number of laps and health-related criteria. Muscular fitness was assessed with 90o push-up test and number of repetition and health-related criteria was analyzed. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate β coeficients and Poisson regression estimated prevalence ratios (PR). Male sex was associated to higher cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max β = 9.04 to 9.77, Laps PR=1.67 to 1.80, health-related criteria PR=2.03 to 2.09) and the same occurred with muscular fitness (repetitions PR=2.81 to 3.01, health-related criteria PR=1.91 to 2.09). Similarly, the stratification of the sample according to physical activity, sports practice and sedentary behavior did not change the associations between sex with cardiorespiratory (VO2max β=8.07 to 10.00, Laps PR=1.49 to 1.85, health-related criteria PR=1.64 to 2.27) and muscular fitness (repetitions PR=2.24 to 3.22, health-related criteria PR=1.76 to 2.06). These data suggest that higher cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness in males could not be attributed to physical activity, sports practice or sedentary behavior in young people.

The practice of physical activity, exercise and sport has many benefits for the general population, but studies on the population with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are scarce and inconclusive. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the state of the art on the role of physical activity, exercise and sport in the quality of life and well-being of people with IDD, seeking to understand the current panorama in this area and provide answers to these questions. The research was carried out between July and October 2023 using three databases: PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. Fifteen articles met the eligibility criteria for this study, and these were methodologically assessed using the Downs and Black scale (1998). Higher values were identified in the total quality of life score and some domains of this variable (e.g., personal development, physical well-being and emotional well-being), in satisfaction with life and in the perception of well-being in individuals with IDD who have enjoyed or are involved in physical activity, physical exercise and/or sports programs. Thus, according to the studies included in this systematic review, we can conclude that the practice of physical activity, physical exercise and sport seems to contribute to improving the quality of life and well-being of people with IDD. Despite the growing research interest in this area, there is still a notable lack of studies exploring the impact of these programs, especially sports-based programs, on quality of life and well-being variables in the population under study.

There is a lack of knowledge about the practice of physical activity, exercise, and sports in people with skeletal dysplasia (SD). This study aimed to characterize the physical fitness of people with SD; investigate the benefits of physical activity, exercise, or sports programs for people with SD; identify the adapted physical activities that can be prescribed to individuals with SD; and identify the most common and effective structural characteristics and guidelines for the evaluation of individuals with SD and corresponding activity prescriptions. Electronic searches were carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, Psycinfo, and Web of Science databases in October 2021 and March 2022 and included papers published until 3 March 2022. The search strategy terms used were “dwarfism”, “dwarf”, “skeletal dysplasia”, “achondroplasia”, “pseudoachondroplasia”, “hypochondroplasia”, “campomelic dysplasia”, “hair cartilage hypoplasia”, “x-linked hypophosphatemia”, “metaphyseal chondrodysplasia schmid type”, “multiple epiphyseal dysplasia”, “three M syndrome”, “3-M syndrome”, “hypophosphatasia”, “fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive”, “type II collagen disorders”, “type II collagenopathies”, “type II collagenopathy”, “physical activity”, “exercise”, “sport”, “training”, and “physical fitness”, with the Boolean operators “AND” or “OR”. After reading the full texts of the studies, and according to previously defined eligibility criteria, fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria; however, there was not a single intervention study with physical exercise. Several cross-sectional, review, or qualitative studies presented a set of essential aspects that future intervention studies can consider when evaluating, prescribing, and implementing physical exercise programs, as they allowed the physical characterization of the SD population. This study demonstrated an apparent scarcity in the literature of experimental studies with physical exercise implementation in the SD population.

To describe leisure participation in adolescents with congenital heart defects (CHD) and identify factors associated with intensity of participation. Eighty adolescents with CHD were recruited (39 males, 41 females; mean age [SD] 15y 8mo [1y 8mo] range 11y 5mo-19y 11mo) of whom 78 completed the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) outcome measure of leisure participation. The measure has five subscales: recreational, active-physical, social, skill-based, and self-improvement. Associations between the CAPE and age, sex, and development were examined. Motor ability (Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition), cognition (Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised), behavior (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), and motivation (Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire) were assessed. Participants exhibited impaired motor (43.5%), behavioral (23.7%), and cognitive (29.9%) development. The most intense participation was in social (mean [SD] 3.3 [0.99]) and recreational (2.9 [0.80]) activity types on the CAPE. Male sex (p<0.05) and younger age were associated with greater physical activity (<15y: 1.87; ≥15y: 1.31, p<0.05). Greater engagement in social activities was related to better cognition (r=0.28, p<0.05), higher motor function (r=0.30-0.36, p<0.01), and fewer behavioral difficulties (r=-0.32 to -0.47, p<0.01). Cognitive ability (r=0.27, p<0.05), dexterity and aiming/catching (r=0.27-0.33, p<0.05), and behavior problems (r=0.38-0.49, p=0.001) were correlated with physical activity participation. Persistence in tasks, an aspect of motivation, correlated with physical (r=0.45, p<0.001) and social activity involvement (r=0.28, p<0.05). Ongoing developmental impairments in adolescents with CHD are associated with decreased active-physical and social engagement, putting them at risk of poor physical and mental health. Health promotion strategies should be considered. Adolescents with congenital heart defects (CHD) have limited engagement in active-physical leisure activities. Cognitive, motor, and behavioral impairments are associated with decreased participation in leisure in children with CHD. Female sex and older age are associated with less engagement in leisure. Mastery motivation correlates with participation, suggesting an avenue for intervention.

Sport practice is conditioned by different factors; previous studies have shown that the attitude towards physical activity and sports practice is largely conditioned by the individual. This study proposes to examine whether the classic model of the theory of planned behaviour reinforces the main motivations for people to adhere to a sport practice. An empirical model based on the classic model of the theory of planned behaviour was proposed, adding three motivational variables to sport practice. A sample was composed of 1008 valid questionnaires collected online in Spain and Colombia. The analysis of the data was performed using the partial least squares technique using the Smart PLS 3.0 statistical programme. The proposed model presents a statistical validity that proves that the practice of physical and sporting activity is determined by the individual’s evaluation of their abilities and perceptions and their relationship with the motivations generated by continuing the practice of physical or sports activity, consequently how adherence is generated.

Introduction: The purpose of this article is to analyze the motivation to practice sports and physical activities among university students. Objectives: To identify the perceived reasons, as well as the existing differences between the students from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, regarding the motivation to practice sports and physical activities, depending on the gender and the area of residence. Methods: To find out what motivates university students to take part in various physical sports activities, we conducted a study in the academic year 2019-2020, with 257 participants. The method of quantitative research and the technique of administering questionnaires by sociological survey was used. The research tool was the Sports Motivation Scale-6 (SMS-6; Mallett et al., 2007), which is an evaluation of contextual motivation meant to ascertain the perceived reasons for practicing sports activities. Results: Regarding the behavior of practicing sports among students at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, male students are more motivated compared to female students and intrinsic motivation is predominant compared to other types of motivation. The area of residence does not seem to influence differently the motivation of students to practice sports, the scores obtained on each type of motivation being very close between the respondents from rural and urban areas. Conclusions: Physical education and sports are perceived by some students as a school obligation (external motivation), by others as a recreational, compensatory or recovery activity, while for most of them it means fun, a way to meet new people and to enjoy their company (intrinsic motivation). REZUMAT. Studiul motivației sportive a studenților de la Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj-Napoca. Introducere: Scopul acestui articol este de a analiza motivația de a practica sport și activități fizice în rândul studenților. Obiective: Identificarea motivelor percepute, precum și a diferențelor existente între studenții Universității Tehnice din Cluj-Napoca, cu privire la motivația de a practica sport și activități fizice, în funcție de sex și zona de reședință. Metode: Pentru a afla ce motivează studenții universitari să ia parte la diferite activități sportive, am realizat un studiu, în anul universitar 2019-2020, cu 257 de participanți. A fost utilizată metoda cercetării cantitative și tehnica de administrare a chestionarelor prin sondaj sociologic. Instrumentul de cercetare utilizat a fost Scala de motivare sportivă-6 (SMS-6; Mallett și colab., 2007), care este o măsură a motivației contextuale menită să identifice motivele percepute pentru participarea la activități sportive. Rezultate: În ceea ce privește comportamentul practicării sportului în rândul studenților de la Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj-Napoca, studenții sunt mai motivați în comparație cu studentele și motivația intrinsecă este predominantă în comparație cu celelalte tipuri de motivație. Zona de reședință nu pare să influențeze diferit motivația studenților de a practica sport, scorurile obținute pe fiecare tip de motivație fiind foarte apropiate între respondenții din mediul rural și cel urban. Concluzii: Educația fizică și sportul sunt percepute de unii studenți ca o obligație școlară (motivație externă), de alții ca o activitate recreativă, compensatorie sau de recuperare, în timp ce, pentru cei mai mulți dintre ei înseamnă distracție, un mod de a cunoaște oameni noi și de a se bucura de compania lor (motivația intrinsecă). Cuvinte-cheie: activitate fizică, motivație sport, student, universitate.

Prevention and treatment of psychiatric disorders through physical activity, exercise, and sport

There are gender-based differences in research practices in medicine, but these differences have not been examined in the broad fields of sports and exercise science and medicine. In this study, we determined whether senior author gender influences study design, study topic, and reporting practices in sports and exercise science and medicine. We analysed 509 articles published in the first issue of 2023 for all Quartile 1 sports science journals according to SCImago Scientific Journal Ranking (SJR). We extracted data on gender of senior author and authorship team; study design, topic, and cohort; and reporting practices. Men were senior authors on 411 articles (81%). Senior author gender was associated with study design (p &lt; 0.001): men published more observational studies and opinion pieces than women, and women published more qualitative research than men. Senior author gender was not associated with study topic: physical activity (p = 0.412), exercise (p = 0.732), or sport (p = 0.123). Senior author gender was not associated with studies published with clinical populations (p = 0.609), but women published more studies with healthy populations than men (p = 0.006). There were no gender differences in reporting practices. Senior author gender may influence different aspects of research practice and design in sports and exercise science and medicine. However, underrepresentation of women senior authors limits our ability to draw gendered comparisons and firm conclusions.

Study on Healthy Habits of Students in the Further Education Program at the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena in Relation to the Practice of Physical Activity and Sport in 2013

Abus sexuel et inaptitude à l’éducation physique et sportive