Design of a Health-related Fitness test Battery in adults: The ADULT-FIT Battery

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Website

https://adultfitstudy.uca.es

Principal Investigator

José Castro Piñero (1,2) and Magdalena Cuenca García (1,2)

1GALENO Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cadiz, Puerto Real, Spain
2Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz (INiBICA), Cadiz, Spain

Timeline

1/1/2018 – 12/31/2020

Other participants

Dr. Julio Conde Caveda.

Dr. David Sánchez Oliva.

Dr. Alberto Grao Cruces.

Dr. Víctor Segura Jiménez.

Dr. Daniel Camiletti Moirón.

Dra. Inmaculada Álvarez Gallardo.

Dra. Rocio Izquierdo Gómez.

Dr. Jorge del Rosario Fernández Santos.

Dra. Carmen Padilla Moledo.

Dra. Milkana Borges.

Dr. Alejandro Pérez Pérez.

Dra. Nuria Jiménez Marín.

Dª. Carolina Cruz Leon.

Abstract

Regular physical fitness is considered a powerful health marker in different populations at preschool, childhood adolescence, adults and older adults. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness, with morbidity and all-cause mortality. Consequently, physical fitness assessment is considered an important prevention and diagnosis tool. Physical fitness can be objectively and accurately measured through laboratory tests. However, due to their high cost, necessity of sophisticated instruments, qualified technicians and time constraints, their use is limited in population-based studies. Field-based fitness tests provide a reasonable alternative since they are easy to administer, involve minimal equipment, low in cost, and a large number of participants can be evaluated in a relatively short period of time and simultaneously. Valid, reliable, feasible, safe and responsiveness are characteristics that need to be assured for any measurement tool. Longitudinal studies have recently contributed to the existing health related fitness battery archiving those characteristics in children and adolescents (The ALPHA Study) and preschool children (The PREFIT study). However, researchers, clinicians and sport practitioners do not have enough information about which fitness tests are more reliable, valid and informative from the health point of view to be implemented in adults. Therefore, the main purpose of this project is to propose a valid, reliable, feasible, safe and responsiveness field-based physical fitness tests battery to be used for health monitoring purposes in adults. Expected results are: (i) design a valid, reliable, feasible, safe and responsiveness field-based fitness tests battery to be used for health monitoring purposes in adults; (ii) homogenization in the assessment of health-related fitness tests at this population, allowing us to obtain normative reference values of physical fitness in adults; comparing physical fitness levels at this population; and encouraging the implementation of strategies to improve the health status of adults with greater success and achieving more effective results, obtaining a significant reduction of costs in the public health monitoring system (improving the cost-effectiveness) .

Effects of the inclusion of physical activity in academic classes on educational indicators and health markers: the ACTIVE CLASS study

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Website

Principal Investigator

David Sánchez Oliva(1,2,3) & Daniel Camiletti Moirón(1,2)

1. GALENO Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cadiz, Puerto Real, Spain

2. Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz (INiBICA), Cadiz, Spain.
3. ACAFYDE Research Group, Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Body Expression, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain.

Timeline

6/1/2020 – 12/31/2023

Other Participants

Tomás García Calvo

ACAFYDE Research Group, Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Body Expression, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain.

Carmen Padilla Moledo

1. GALENO Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cadiz, Puerto Real, Spain

2. Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz (INiBICA), Cadiz, Spain.

Inmaculada González Ponce

ACAFYDE Research Group, Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Body Expression, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain.

Alberto Grao Cruces

1. GALENO Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cadiz, Puerto Real, Spain

2. Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz (INiBICA), Cadiz, Spain.

Abstract

Physical inactivity has been highlighted as one of the main determinants of childhood obesity, and the World Health Organization emphasizes that physical inactivity is considered the fourth risk factor with respect to mortality worldwide. Specifically, it has been observed how during the school day students spend most of their time in sedentary behaviors, so the educational context is an interesting framework to increase the physical activity (PA) levels. The main aim of this project is to develop an intervention program based on the inclusion of PA in academic classes, as well as to evaluate the impact on PA, health, educational, and cognition outcomes.

We will carry out a Randomized Controlled Trial at school level. We estimate the participation of 6 high schools and 300 students from 1st and 2nd degree of secondary stage from Cáceres and Cádiz regions. Schools will be randomized assigned to a control group (n = 2), experimental group I (n = 2), and experimental group II (n = 2). The experimental group I will be characterized by the implementation of 4 active classes per week in Math. The experimental group II will be characterized by the inclusion of a daily active break 10 minutes long. Both interventions will last 12 weeks, and measures will be taken before the intervention, at week 6, in the last week of intervention (week 12), and 8 weeks after the intervention. In each of the data collection, PA and sedentary levels will be assessed by accelerometry, levels of health-related physical fitness through field tests, body composition parameters through anthropometry, academic performance through grades, positive health (quality of life and self-rated health status) by questionnaires and cognition parameters (attention and concentration capacity) through specific cognition tests. Additionally, a qualitative study will also be carried out, with the aim to know the teachers perception regarding the intervention program (interest, barriers, facilities, student perception of learning, future intention to implement, etc.).

This project will be the first national empirical study about physically active classes interventions, and it is expected to verify the positive effects of the intervention to promote healthy lifestyles in adolescents, which will contribute with teaching resources that may be used by teachers in order to increase PA levels and, therefore, improve health during the school day.

Main objective

To test the effects of an intervention programme based on the inclusion of PA in academic classes on PA levels, sedentary time, educational indicators, cognition and health markers in secondary school students.