Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the movement behaviors of children and youth:A scoping review of evidence after the first year

Purpose:The objective of this scoping review was to summarize systematically the available literature investigating the relationships between the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic and movement behaviors(physical activity,sedentary behavior,and sleep)of school-aged children(aged 511 years)and youth(aged 1217 years)in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods:Searches for published literature were conducted across 6 databases on 2 separate search dates(November 25,2020,and January 27,2021).Results were screened and extracted by 2 reviewers(DCP and KR)independently,using Covidence.Basic numeric analysis and content analysis were undertaken to present thematically the findings of included studies according to the associated impact on each movement behavior.Results:A total of 1486 records were extracted from database searches;of those,150 met inclusion criteria and were included for analysis.Of 150 articles,110 were empirical studies examining physical activity(n=77),sedentary behavior/screen time(n=58),and sleep(n=55).Results consistently reported declines in physical-activity time,increases in screen time and total sedentary behavior,shifts to later bed and wake times,and increases in sleep duration.The reported impacts on movement behaviors were greater for youth than for children.Conclusion:The COVID-19 pandemic is related to changes in the quantity and nature of physical activity,sedentary behavior,and sleep among children and youth.There is an urgent need for policy makers,practitioners,and researchers to develop solutions for attenuating adverse changes in physical activity and screen time among children and youth.

Considerations for exerkine research focusing on the response to exercise training

García-Hermoso and colleagues1 recently published a systematic literature review and meta-analysis on exercise training-induced changes in exerkine concentrations in type 2diabetes mellitus patients,providing a contemporary view on how exerkines respond to exercise training.That review prompted us to highlight 2 additional considerations that should be taken into account when studying the response of exerkines to exercise training.Firstly,whether exerkines can exhibit discordant responses to acute exercise compared to exercise training,and secondly,the need to consider the residual effects of the most recent exercise bout.

Canadian children’s and youth’s adherence to the 24-h movement guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic: A decision tree analysis

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to use decision tree modeling to generate profiles of children and youth who were more and less likely to meet the Canadian 24-h movement guidelines during the coronavirus disease-2019(COVID-19)outbreak.Methods:Data for this study were from a nationally representative sample of 1472 Canadian parents(Meanage=45.12,SD=7.55)of children(511 years old)or youth(1217 years old).Data were collected in April 2020 via an online survey.Survey items assessed demographic,behavioral,social,micro-environmental,and macro-environmental characteristics.Four decision trees of adherence and non-adherence to all movement recommendations combined and each individual movement recommendation(physical activity(PA),screen time,and sleep)were generated.Results:Results revealed specific combinations of adherence and non-adherence characteristics.Characteristics associated with adherence to the recommendation(s)included high parental perceived capability to restrict screen time,annual household income ofCAD 100,000,increases in children’s and youth’s outdoor PA/sport since the COVID-19 outbreak began,being a boy,having parents younger than 43 years old,and small increases in children’s and youth’s sleep duration since the COVID-19 outbreak began.Characteristics associated with non-adherence to the recommendation(s)included low parental perceived capability to restrict screen time,youth aged 1217 years,decreases in children’s and youth’s outdoor PA/sport since the COVID-19 outbreak began,primary residences located in all provinces except Quebec,low parental perceived capability to support children’s and youth’s sleep and PA,and annual household income ofCAD 99,999.Conclusion:Our results show that specific characteristics interact to contribute to(non)adherence to the movement behavior recommendations.Results highlight the importance of targeting parents’perceived capability for the promotion of children’s and youth’s movement behaviors during challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic,paying particular attention to enhancing parental perceived capability to restrict screen time.

Promoting Safe Winter Sports and Support for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games:A Global Collaborative Education Program

Safety is critically important for any sport or recreational activity.Skiing and snowboarding are winter activities that are potentially beneficial to health and fitness.However,they present a significant risk of injury.If not well managed,high injury rates will negatively impact the ski industry and its development.The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature of safety and injury prevention programs specific to recreational alpine skiers and snowboarders in China and compare them with those implemented in the United States to promote safe snow sports and prepare skilled ski patrol and injury prevention professionals for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Implementing physically active learning:Future directions for research,policy,and practice

Purpose'. To identify co-produced multi-stakeholder perspectives important for successful widespread physically active learning (PAL) adoptionand implementation.Methods: A total of 35 stakeholders (policymakers ≪ = 9;commercial education sector, ≪ = 8;teachers, w = 3;researchers, w = 15) attended adesign thinking PAL workshop. Participants formed 5 multi-disciplinary groups with at least 1 representative from each stakeholder group. Eachgroup, facilitated by a researcher, undertook 2 tasks: (1) using Post-it Notes, the following question was answered: within the school day, whatare the opportunities for learning combined with movement? and (2) structured as a washing-line task, the following question was answered:how can we establish PAL as the norm? All discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed. Inductive analyses were conducted by 4 authors.After the analyses were complete, the main themes and subthemes were assigned to 4 predetermined categories: (1) PAL design and implementation,(2) priorities for practice, (3) priorities for policy, and (4) priorities for research.Results'. The following were the main themes for PAL implementation: opportunities for PAL within the school day, delivery environments,learning approaches, and the intensity of PAL. The main themes for the priorities for practice included teacher confidence and competence,resources to support delivery, and community of practice. The main themes for the policy for priorities included self-governance, the Office forStandards in Education, Children's Services, and Skill, policy investment in initial teacher training, and curriculum reform. The main themes forthe research priorities included establishing a strong evidence base, school-based PAL implementation, and a whole-systems approach.Conclusion-. The present study is the first to identify PAL implementation factors using a combined multi-stakeholder perspective. To achievewider PAL adoption and implementation, future interventions should be evidence based and address implementation factors at the classroomlevel (e.g., approaches and delivery environments), school level (e.g., comm unties of practice), and policy level (e.g., initial teacher training).

The Road to the Beijing Winter Olympics and Beyond: Opinions and Perspectives on Physiology and Innovation in Winter Sport

Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics,and China strengthens research on various aspects to allow their athletes to compete successfully in winter sport.Simultaneously,Government-directed initiatives aim to increase public participation in recreational winter sport.These parallel developments allow research to advance knowledge and understanding of the physiological determinants of performance and health related to winter sport.Winter sport athletes often conduct a substan-tial amount of training with high volumes of low-to-moderate exercise intensity and lower volumes of high-intensity work.Moreover,much of the training occur at low ambient temperatures and winter sport athletes have high risk of developing asthma or asthma-related conditions,such as exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.The high training volumes require optimal nutrition with increased energy and dietary protein requirement to stimulate muscle protein synthesis response in the post-exercise period.Whether higher protein intake is required in the cold should be investigated.Cross-country ski-ing is performed mostly in Northern hemisphere with a strong cultural heritage and sporting tradition.It is expected that innovative initiatives on recruitment and training during the next few years will target to enhance performance of Chinese athletes in classical endurance-based winter sport.The innovation potential coupled with resourcing and population may be substantial with the potential for China to become a significant winter sport nation.This paper discusses the physiological aspects of endurance training and performance in winter sport highlighting areas where innovation may advance in athletic performance in cold environments.In addition,to ensure sustainable development of snow sport,a quality ski patrol and rescue system is recommended for the safety of increasing mass participation.

Habitual sedentary time and stationary time are inversely related to aerobic fitness

A one metabolic-equivalent-of-task increase in peak aerobic fitness(peak MET)is associated with a clinically relevant improvement in survival risk and all-cause mortality.The co-dependent impact of free-living physical behaviours on aerobic fitness are poorly understood.The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of theoretically re-allocating time spent in physical behaviours on aerobic fitness.We hypothesized that substituting sedentary time with any physical activity(at any intensity)would be associated with a predicted improvement in aerobic fitness.Peak volume rate of oxygen uptake(VO_(2)peak)was assessed via indirect calorimetry during a progressive,maximal cycle ergometer protocol in 103 adults(52 females;[38±21]years;[25.0±3.8]kg/m^(2);VO_(2)peak:[35.4±11.5]ml⋅kg^(-1)⋅min^(-1)).Habitual sedentary time,standing time,light-(LPA),moderate-(MPA),and vigorous-physical activity(VPA)were assessed 24-h/day via thigh-worn inclinometry for up to one week(average:[6.3±0.9]days).Isotemporal substitution modelling examined the impact of replacing one physical behaviour with another.Sedentary time(β=0.8,95%CI:[-1.3,-0.2])and standing time(β=0.9,95%CI:[-1.6,-0.2])were negatively associated with VO_(2)peak,whereas VPA was positively associated with relative VO_(2)peak(β=9.2,95%CI:[0.9,17.6]).Substituting 30-min/day of VPA with any other behaviour was associated with a 2.4–3.4 higher peak MET.Higher standing time was associated with a lower aerobic fitness.As little as 10-min/day of VPA predicted a clinically relevant 0.8–1.1 peak MET increase.Theoretically,replacing any time with relatively small amounts of VPA is associated with improvements in aerobic fitness.