David Joseph Sturm

Background: The present study investigates the role of different sources of social support in the relationship of BMI and PA in an international sample of children and adolescents. Methods: Data included 170,211 adolescents (51.5% female), aged 10–16 (M = 13.6, SD = 1.64) from 37 European countries/regions and were retrieved from the 2013/14 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) international database. Results: PA levels in adolescents are lower for girls, decrease with age, and are lower for overweight and obese adolescents compared to underweight and normal-weight adolescents. Peer support and teacher support significantly predict PA (OR_peer = 1.11; OR_teacher = 0.97) and vigorous PA frequency (OR_peer = 1.13; OR_teacher = 0.94). Family support only affected vigorous PA frequency (OR = 1.03). Family support had a moderating effect on PA in overweight (OR_{family*BMI(overweight)} = 0.94) and obese (OR_{family*BMI(obese)} = 0.90) adolescents. Peer support had a moderating effect on vigorous PA frequency in obese (OR_{peer*BMI(obese)} = 1.08) adolescents. Teacher support had a moderating effect on PA (OR_{teacher*BMI(normal)} = 1.05; OR_{teacher*BMI(overweight)} = 1.09) and vigorous PA frequency (OR_{teacher*BMI(normal)} = 1.07; OR_{teacher*BMI(overweight)} = 1.08) in normal-weight and overweight adolescents. Conclusion: Social support helps adolescents to be active. Especially for obese adolescents, support by and relations with peers are important to reach a significant amount of PA.

Zusammenfassung: Die Förderung eines aktiven und gesunden Lebensstils ist eine wichtige Aufgabe der Schule und des Sportunterrichts. Interventionsprogramme in diesem Setting besitzen zudem einen hohen Stellenwert zur Förderung körperlicher Aktivität von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Um die Wirksamkeit dieser Interventionsprogramme zu erfassen, ist eine umfangreiche Evaluation notwendig. Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung ist die qualitative Bewertung der Implementierungsqualität des CReActivity-Interventionsprogrammes, welches, basierend auf der Selbstbestimmungstheorie, die Förderung der körperlichen Aktivität von Schülerinnen durch den Sportunterricht zum Ziel hat. Zu diesem Zweck wurden leitfadenorientierte Interviews mit Lehrerinnen und Schülerinnen der Interventionsklassen des Projekts durchgeführt. Anschließend wurden die Interviews mithilfe der thematischen Analyse deduktiv-induktiv untersucht, um Erkenntnisse zu gewinnen, wie die Teilnehmerinnen die Intervention erleben und deuten. Die Analyse der Interviews der Lehrerinnen ergab insgesamt acht Themen, in denen die Einhaltung der Programmvorgaben, die Häufigkeit der Implementierung, die Qualität der Programmweitergabe, das Sich-Involvieren der Teilnehmer, die Anwendbarkeit der Intervention und die Akzeptanz aufgegriffen werden. Aus den Interviews mit den Schülerinnen konnten Informationen hinsichtlich der Qualität der Programmweitergabe und des Sich-Involvierens der Teilnehmer gewonnen werden. Insgesamt lassen die Ergebnisse eine von den Lehrerinnen wahrgenommene Wirksamkeit der Maßnahme erkennen, die auf eine hohe Implementierungsqualität verweist. Dennoch lassen die Ergebnisse eine schwankende Implementierungsqualität der einzelnen Lehrerinnen erkennen.

The aim of this investigation was to identify possible related factors associated to the performance of the crunning test in European children and adolescents. A total number of 559 children and adolescents (age range 6–14 years) of which 308 boys (55.1%) and 251 girls (44.9%), from seven European countries, were screened. A questionnaire concerning demographic and personal life-related factors and a cognitive assessment were performed. A regression analysis was conducted with the performance measures of the crunning movement. T-tests and ANCOVA were used to analyze sub-group differences. Boys have greater crunning performance values compared to girls (5.55 s vs. 7.06 s, p < 0.001) and older children perform better than younger ones (R2 −0.23; p < 0.001). Children with healthy and active habits (exercising or spending time with family members vs. reading or surfing the internet) performed better in the test. Children engaged in team sports had better crunning performances compared to those engaged in individual sports (6.01 s vs. 6.66 s, p = 0.0166). No significant association was found regarding cognitive-related aspects in either children engaged in team or individual sports and the crunning performance. Older and male children performed better in the crunning test than younger and female children. Physical activity-related aspects of children’s life are associated with crunning movement performance. No association was found between higher cognitive performance and the crunning test results.

Regular physical activity (PA) and low levels of sedentary behavior (SB) have positive health effects on young people. Adolescent girls of low socioeconomic background represent a high-risk group with regard to physical inactivity and SB. In this study, accelerometer-measured levels of PA and SB of female sixth graders attending lower secondary schools in Germany are presented, patterns of PA and SB throughout the day are described and differences between weekdays and weekend days are analyzed. Data of 425 students of the CReActivity project were analyzed. Sampling and processing of accelerometer data followed recent recommendations, which had not been applied to data of a German-speaking sample before. The WHO recommendation of daily 60 min moderate-to-vigorous PA was fulfilled by 90.4% of the girls on weekdays and by 57.4% on weekend days. The significant weekday–weekend differences were mainly associated with active commuting to and from school. Students engaged in SB for more than 8 h on weekdays and for over 7 h on weekend days. The results suggest a strong need for interventions increasing PA and reducing SB, especially during school hours and on weekends. Furthermore, a comparison with methods and results of previous studies highlights the need to follow recent criteria in accelerometer data sampling and processing to ensure an accurate and valid differentiation between PA-related risk groups and non-risk groups.

Background: The majority of children and adolescents are insufficiently physically active. Self-efficacy is considered one of the most important determinants of physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to validate the German version of the physical activity self-efficacy scale by means of a multi-level approach. Factorial validity, internal consistency and criterion validity were examined for the individual and the class level.Methods: The final sample comprised 454 female sixth-graders of 33 classes. To examine the factorial validity of the translated 8-item scale, a multi-level confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with the lavaan package in R. Internal consistency was estimated with the alpha function of the psych package. Criterion validity was examined by correlating self-efficacy with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) assessed with accelerometers.Results: In contrast to previous validation studies, a unidimensional structure of the scale was not supported. Instead, two highly correlated (r_individual = .87; r_class = .69) but distinct latent factors, representing PA self-efficacy and social support from family and friends, were differentiated on both the individual and class level. The best overall fit exhibited a multi-level 1 × 1-model, including only the six items measuring PA self-efficacy (χ2 = 32.10, CFI = .986, TLI = .976, RMSEA = .059, SRMR = .035). Internal consistencies for the complete 8-item scale and the 6-item scale were good on the individual level and excellent on the class level. For the two items measuring social support, Cronbach’s alpha was low on the individual and excellent on the class level. Weak relations between self-efficacy and MVPA were found for the individual level, strong associations were found for the class level.Conclusions: The validation speaks for the use of the abridged 6-item scale, which allows for a unidimensional assessment of PA self-efficacy. Generally, the results support the relevance of a multi-level approach, which not only differentiates between self-efficacy on the individual level and on the class level but also between the respective implications regarding reliability and criterion validity on both levels. Thereby, this study offers a rigorously validated scale and further illustrates possible consequences of the usual neglect of group-level variance in scale validation.

The standing broad jump (SBJ) is a valid, reliable and feasible field-based test, which can evaluate explosive strength of the lower limbs and physical fitness. This study aimed to provide normative data for the SBJ for male and female children and adolescents and describe differences in performance between age groups and genders. A total number of 2140 children and adolescents, sampled in seven European nations have been included for analysis. The SBJ was performed to derive percentile values for gender and each age group. In general, males have greater jumping performance compared to females. Data demonstrate a linear increase in the jumping distance for both males and females until adolescence. However, such increase is evident in males up to 16-17 years old, whereas in females a plateau value is met at 12-13 years old, with a subsequent decrease in the jumping performance. No differences were present in jumping performance between male and female children, however differences between male and female adolescents were evinced. The study has provided percentile values useful to monitor the physical fitness status of children and adolescents.

The standing broad jump (SBJ) is a valid, reliable and feasible field-based test, which can evaluate explosive strength of the lower limbs and physical fitness. This study aimed to provide normative data for the SBJ for male and female children and adolescents and describe differences in performance between age groups and genders. A total number of 2140 children and adolescents, sampled in seven European nations have been included for analysis. The SBJ was performed to derive percentile values for gender and each age group. In general, males have greater jumping performance compared to females. Data demonstrate a linear increase in the jumping distance for both males and females until adolescence. However, such increase is evident in males up to 16-17 years old, whereas in females a plateau value is met at 12-13 years old, with a subsequent decrease in the jumping performance. No differences were present in jumping performance between male and female children, however differences between male and female adolescents were evinced. The study has provided percentile values useful to monitor the physical fitness status of children and adolescents.

Purpose: The effects of physical exercise on executive functions (EFs) are well-documented. EFs are involved in daily activities, and their development determines the quality of people’s future life, both in terms of mental health and quality of life. The purpose of the current paper is to evaluate the effects of a physical education program, elaborated within the Enriched Sports Activity Program (ESA Program), an Erasmus + Project, on EFs, namely, visuospatial working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and task switching. Method: Data were collected on November 2017 (t₁) and May 2018 (t₂). At t₁, a sample of 357 children from four European countries (Italy, Germany, Lithuania, and Turkey) performed a cognitive test battery made up of Digit Span Forward/Backward, Stroop Task, and Trail Making Test (TMT), whose order was randomized. From November until May, classrooms from the experimental group followed the ESA Program, while classrooms from the control continued with the ordinary physical education class. At t₂, children from both experimental and control groups performed again the cognitive battery. Result: The repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of the ESA Program on the TMT B and on Digit Span Backward, but no significant effects were found on Digit Span Forward and Stroop Task. Conclusion: The introduction of a sport program enriched with cognitive stimuli has beneficial effects for children working memory and cognitive flexibility.

Introduction: This study aimed to create a composite measure of a healthy lifestyle for adolescents, and analyze its relationship to sociodemographic factors.Methods: Data were from the Health Behavior in School‐Aged Children 2014 International survey. Participants were 167 021 adolescents (48.2% boys and 51.8 girls), aged 10‐16 years, from 38 countries.Results: Five healthy behaviors used in this study included engaging in ≥60 minutes of physical activity every day, daily consumption of fruit and vegetables, spending <2 hours daily immersed in screen‐based behaviors, and abstinence from alcohol as well as from tobacco products. Only 1.9% (95% CI: 1.4%, 2.3%) of adolescents had a healthy lifestyle, achieving all five healthy behaviors. In contrast, 4.2% (95% CI: 3.7%, 4.6%) reported none of the healthy behaviors.Conclusions: Despite the benefits of engaging in physical activity, engaging in low levels of screen‐based activity, regular consumption of fruits and vegetables, and abstaining from alcohol and cigarettes, only 2% of adolescents could be classified as having a healthy lifestyle.