Go Tani

Purpose : To determine the association between meeting 24-hour movement guidelines and markers of adiposity in children, including body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and percentage body fat. Methods : The sample included 910 children aged 6–10 years from Northern Portugal. Meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines was defined as (1) moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA): ≥60 minutes per day, (2) sleep: 9 to 11 hours/night, and (3) screen time: ≤2 hours per day. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sleep duration were assessed with wrist-worn accelerometry over 7 days, and screen time was assessed by parental report. Results : A total of 5.4% of the sample met none of the guidelines, whereas 23% met all 3 guidelines. Children who met individual guidelines (MVPA, screen time, and sleep) had significantly lower levels of body mass index z -scores and waist circumference, whereas those who met the MVPA and sleep guidelines had lower waist-to-height ratio. Those who met the MVPA guideline had lower percentage body fat than those who did not. There were significant linear trends (all P < .01) between the number of guidelines met (0, 1, 2, and 3) and lower levels of all markers of adiposity. Conclusions : We found significant associations between meeting 24-hour guidelines and lower levels of adiposity among Portuguese children.

Background and Objectives: Adolescents’ engagement with physical activity (PA) supportive environments has mostly been examined through variable-centered approaches, with PA rather than physical fitness (PF) as the outcome. We aimed to (1) identify latent profiles of combined engagement with home-based PA equipment and activity locations among adolescents, (2) examine whether profile membership differed by age, sex, and family sociodemographic characteristics, and (3) investigate the associations between the identified profiles and PF components. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 764 adolescents (357 girls) aged 10–17 years from the population-based DESpertar project, conducted across the nine islands of the Azores archipelago, Portugal. Caregivers reported adolescents’ engagement across six indicators (small, medium, and large equipment; domestic, public, and institutional places). PF was evaluated with six field tests assessing muscular, motor, and cardiorespiratory components. Latent profile analysis, multinomial logistic regression, and multivariate regression were used. Results: Five profiles were identified: Low overall engagement (26.2%), Average overall engagement (42.8%), Equipment-oriented engagement (13.5%), Location-oriented engagement (11.4%), and High overall engagement (6.2%). Older age was associated with a lower relative likelihood of membership in all profiles compared with Low overall engagement (RRR per year 0.58–0.83). Higher parental education was associated with Average, equipment-oriented, and High overall engagement membership, and larger household size with High overall engagement membership. Compared with the Low overall profile, adolescents in the High overall profile had higher scores in all PF components, and those in the equipment-oriented profile had higher muscular and motor fitness, whereas the location-oriented engagement profile did not differ from the Low profile. Conclusions: High overall engagement and Equipment-oriented engagement profiles were generally associated with better physical fitness.

The Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior (BJMB) celebrates two decades of continuous contribution to the dissemination of motor behavior research. This article presents a comprehensive retrospective of the journal’s 20-year history, highlighting its foundation, consolidation, growth, and internationalization, as well as the evolution of its editorial policies and publishing practices. Bibliometric analyses were conducted to characterize the journal’s scientific development, including trends in publication output, authorship patterns, institutional diversity, collaboration networks, and keyword co-occurrence. These analyses demonstrate the expansion of the journal’s scientific community, the strengthening of national and international collaborations, and the diversification of research topics published over time. The article also discusses the milestones that have contributed to the BJMB’s increasing visibility and scientific recognition, as well as the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. By documenting its evolution and impact, this review provides an overview of the journal’s contribution to the advancement of motor behavior research and outlines future perspectives for enhancing its editorial quality, international reach, and scientific impact.

Motor Behavior (MB) has experienced remarkable growth in Brazil over the past 50 years, evolving from an emerging research area into a well-established scientific field. This article presents a historical review of the development of MB in Brazil, describing its origins, major milestones, scientific achievements, and future challenges. The narrative highlights the contributions of the pioneering researchers who introduced the field into the country following their graduate education abroad and established the first laboratories, research groups, and graduate training programs. Academic genealogy analyses demonstrate the enduring influence of the pioneers through successive generations of researchers, illustrating the consolidation and nationwide dissemination of the field. The article also describes the foundation of the Brazilian Society of Motor Behavior (SOCIBRACOM) and the creation of its official journal, the Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior (BJMB), both of which have played central roles in strengthening scientific collaboration, promoting knowledge dissemination, and increasing the international visibility of Brazilian MB research. To understand the development and consolidation of MB research in Brazil, a bibliometric analysis was conducted to characterize the scientific production, impact, collaboration patterns, and thematic trends of research conducted by Brazilian researchers affiliated with Brazilian institutions. Finally, the article discusses future challenges for the field and for SOCIBRACOM. Together, these achievements demonstrate the maturity of MB in Brazil and provide a foundation for its continued development over the coming decades.

Purpose : To (1) describe secular trends in gross motor coordination (GMC) scores by sex and age; (2) investigate GMC trends adjusted for concomitant secular trends in height, weight, and overall physical fitness; and (3) examine trends in children’s frequencies within different GMC categories. Method : The sample comprises 1562 Peruvian children (690 in 2009 and 872 in 2019), aged 6–11 years, from Junín (a high-altitude region). GMC was assessed with the KörperkoordinationsTest für Kinder. Physical fitness was assessed with handgrip strength, standing long jump, and shuttle-run test. Height and weight were measured with standardized protocols. Analysis of variance, covariance, and logistic regression were used. Results : A negative secular trend in GMC (based on raw scores) for boys and girls aged 6–8 years was observed. However, a positive trend was observed at 11 years of age but only in boys. Finally, there were no significant changes in the likelihood of children having below-normal GMC from 2009 to 2019. Conclusions : Secular trends in GMC were negative in Peruvian children, especially at 6–8 years of age. Further, body size and physical fitness trends did not affect the negative secular trend. A high prevalence of children had below-normal GMC in both 2009 and 2019.

This study examined the temporal relationship between fundamental movement skills (FMSs) and sport-specific skills (SSSs) in children aged 7 to 10. Based on the premise that FMSs are the basis for sport skills, we implemented a 10-week intervention program targeting two FMSs (running and stationary dribbling) and one SSS (speed dribbling), followed by immediate and long-term assessments. Using a path-modeling approach, we tested two models: one examining whether FMSs were associated with sport skill performance at the same time point and another exploring whether this influence emerged over time. Results revealed significant FMS and SSS improvements immediately after the intervention program. However, significant associations between the FMSs and SSS emerged only at later time points (8 to 20 months post-intervention), suggesting the delayed influence of the FMSs on the SSS. These findings support that while FMSs are essential for developing more complex skills, their effect may not be immediately observable, emphasizing the importance of long-term follow-up. The results also align with theoretical models contending that proficiency in FMS and sustained practice opportunities are key to integrating fundamental and sport-specific motor skills and may represent an important foundation for public health initiatives advocating early FMS interventions as a strategy to promote lifelong physical activity and sustained engagement in sports.

This study investigated the effects of different practice schedules—static traditional, dynamic traditional, whole with kuzushi preparation, and progressive parts with kuzushi—on the acquisition of the tai otoshi technique in experienced young judokas. Thirty-two children (8.63 ± 0.99 years), each with at least one year of judo training, were randomly assigned to four groups. The protocol included a pre-test, four practice sessions (totaling 160 trials), a post-test, and a retention test. Performance was evaluated via video analysis using a validated checklist assessing global technique, kuzushi movement, and actual opponent unbalancing. All groups improved in global technique and kuzushi movement pattern. However, only the whole practice group showed significant gains in actual kuzushi across post-test and retention phases. Intergroup analysis demonstrated that this group outperformed the others in both global technique and opponent unbalancing, particularly in retention. These findings suggest that whole practice incorporating pre-kuzushi strategies promotes more effective learning than traditional or segmented approaches, even among children with prior experience. The study advances the discussion on whole versus part practice, indicating that tai otoshi, though moderately complex, benefits from high task organization and continuous execution. It also critiques traditional uchikomi, which may neglect realistic fight conditions. Integrating pre-kuzushi appears to improve timing, leverage, and opponent destabilization, key components in successful execution. The results reinforce the value of aligning practice methods with combat demands to optimize motor learning in martial arts.

Children’s fundamental movement skills (FMS) require planned and guided interventions to develop appropriately. We investigated the effect of a novel Physical Education (PE) method to develop children’s object control, locomotor skills, and motor competence. Further, we examined children’s trainability, i.e., their differential responses to the new method, and identified low and high responders to the intervention. The study lasted three months and included six to seven-year-old children in two groups: control (the current, official PE program; n = 38) and experimental (the new method; n = 52). Twelve FMS [object control (OC), locomotor (LO)] were reliably assessed using the Meu Educativo^® app. Using a mixed-effects model, results showed that the experimental group experienced greater changes (p < 0.05) than the control group in OC and LO. Positive individual changes were more frequent with the new method, but children showed a similar pattern in their interindividual variability in both methods. There was a greater reduction in the number of children with lower proficiency in the experimental group. In sum, the new PE method proved superior to the current, official one. Individual responses to the new method showed considerable variation, highlighting the need for personalization in teaching strategies and necessary support for children with lower proficiency levels, ensuring that no child is left behind in their motor development process.

The benefits of allowing learners to control when to receive knowledge of results (KR) compared to a yoked group has been recently challenged and postulated to be mild at best. A potential explanation for such dissident findings is that individuals differentially utilize the autonomy provided by the self-controlled condition, which, in its turn, affects the outcomes. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of self-controlled KR on motor learning focusing on the frequency of KR requests when performing an anticipatory timing task. Self-controlled groups were created based on participants' KR frequency of request (High, Medium, and Low referring to fifth, third, and first quintile) and, then, Yoked groups were created self-control condition pairing the KR request of the Self-controlled groups. We also measured self-efficacy and processing time as means to verify potential correlates. The results supported the expected interaction. While no difference between self-controlled and yoked groups were found for low frequencies of KR, a moderate amount of KR request was related to better results for the self-controlled group. Nonetheless, the opposite trend was observed for high frequencies of KR; the yoked group was superior to the self-controlled group. The results of this study allow us to conclude that the choices made, and not just the possibility of choosing, seem to define the benefits of KR self-control in motor learning.