ECSS Paris 2023: OP-MH08
INTRODUCTION: Many children do not achieve recommended levels of physical activity (PA), although PA is important for cardiovascular health, mental well-being, and reducing chronic disease risk. The aim of this study was to describe longitudinal changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior (SED) during primary school and to examine whether a school-based active learning intervention was associated with attenuated age-related declines in PA. Baseline cross-sectional age gradients are presented as descriptive context and are not interpreted as a causal counterfactual for longitudinal change. METHODS: The study sample consisted of n = 2123 children (50% females) from the Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP) in Norway with valid accelerometer data in 2015, aged 6–12 years (mean 9.46 ± 1.75). MVPA and SED were objectively assessed using hip-worn accelerometers based on seven-day averages. Data from 2015–2019 were analyzed using linear and generalized linear mixed-effects models to account for repeated measures and clustering. RESULTS: Baseline cross-sectional analyses suggested a decline of 3.5 min·day⁻¹ of MVPA per year of age among children aged 6–12 years. Longitudinally, across five years (2015–2019), MVPA declined on average by 2.2 min·day⁻¹·year⁻¹ (p < 0.001) and SED increased by 6.7 min·day⁻¹·year⁻¹ (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Physical activity levels declined, and sedentary behavior increased with age, beginning in early primary school. Over follow-up, the observed longitudinal decline in MVPA and increase in SED were less steep than the baseline cross-sectional age gradients presented for context, but these comparisons should be interpreted descriptively rather than causally.
Read CV Asgeir MamenECSS Paris 2023: OP-MH08
INTRODUCTION: Executive functions (EF) are higher-order cognitive processes central to goal-directed behavior. Maturation of EF is prolonged, resulting in a longer period of heightened sensitivity (Ferguson et al., 2021). Muscular strength and EF start developing in early childhood and preserve training responsiveness across the lifespan. Given the developmental overlap (García-Alonso et al., 2025) muscular strength may contribute to EF. We aimed to investigate the association of muscular strength and EF as well as its moderation by age. METHODS: To address the research question, we analyzed data from 348 healthy children and adolescents (5-21 years) of the Healthy Brain Network (HBN) cohort (Alexander et al., 2017). EF was assessed using NIH Toolbox tasks (Flanker, Card Sorting) and the WISC-V Digit Span Backward, capturing inhibition, task shifting and working memory updating (WM) in a composite EF score. Muscular strength was assessed with the FitnessGram battery (curl-up, push-up and trunk lift) and integrated into a composite strength score. RESULTS: Using structural equation modelling, we found that greater muscular strength was significantly associated with better WM (β = .223, p = .006), cognitive flexibility (β = .193, p = .001) and inhibition (β = .219, p < .001). These associations were partly moderated by age as the relation between muscular strength and inhibition (β = -.184, p < .001) as well as cognitive flexibility (β = -.097, p = .048) was lower in participants with higher age. CONCLUSION: Higher muscular strength is associated with better inhibition, cognitive flexibility and WM promoting a cohesive relationship of the three subdomains. As the associations for inhibition and cognitive flexibility appear to vary as a function of age, there might be developmental periods in which EF is more sensitive to aspects of physical fitness, such as muscle strength. REFERENCES: Alexander, L. M., Escalera, J., Ai, L., Andreotti, C., Febre, K., Mangone, A., Vega-Potler, N., Langer, N., Alexander, A., Kovacs, M., Litke, S., O’Hagan, B., Andersen, J., Bronstein, B., Bui, A., Bushey, M., Butler, H., Castagna, V., Camacho, N., … Milham, M. P. (2017). An open resource for transdiagnostic research in pediatric mental health and learning disorders. Scientific Data, 4(1), 170181. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.181 Ferguson, H. J., Brunsdon, V. E. A., & Bradford, E. E. F. (2021). The developmental trajectories of executive function from adolescence to old age. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80866-1 García-Alonso, Y., Ramírez-Vélez, R., Legarra-Gorgoñon, G., Izquierdo, M., & Alonso-Martínez, A. M. (2025). Associations between physical fitness, physical activity, sedentary behavior and executive function in preschoolers. Pediatric Research, 98(4), 1492–1499. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-03946-w
Read CV Sarah Marie BajerECSS Paris 2023: OP-MH08
INTRODUCTION: Postural deviations among school-aged children are increasing, while physical-health problems such as obesity and insufficient muscle mass are becoming more prevalent. Educational reform in physical education (PE) calls for the development of specialized curricula; if prevention of postural abnormalities and improvement of physical fitness can be mutually reinforcing, the health-promoting value of primary and secondary school PE could be substantially enhanced. This study aimed to examine associations between postural abnormalities and body fat and muscle mass distribution in school-aged children to inform PE curriculum design and guide future teaching reform. METHODS: A total of 158 children aged 6–14 (87 males: 8.93±1.96 years; 71 females: 8.96±1.85 years) were recruited from Capital University of Physical Education and Sports. Postural assessments followed the national standard "Test Indicators and Methods for Body Posture of Children and Adolescents" (TY/T 501-2022), supplemented by the Foot Posture Index-6 (FPI-6). Body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis (InBody-260). Metrics included fat mass (BFM), fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), percent body fat (PBF), and waist-hip ratio (WHR) across various body segments. Data were analyzed via SPSS 18.0 using K-S tests, independent-samples T-tests, Chi-square tests, and Pearson correlation analysis (P<0.05). RESULTS: Postural deviations were prevalent in 67.82% of boys and 87.32% of girls. The most common issues were flatfoot (35.6%) and anterior pelvic tilt (24.1%) in boys, and flatfoot (32.4%) and shoulder height asymmetry (29.6%) in girls. Significant sex differences were found in bilateral leg imbalance, foot posture, and shoulder height asymmetry (P<0.05). In boys, scoliosis correlated with SMM, FFM, and trunk FFM (P<0.05); forward head posture and increased thoracic kyphosis significantly correlated with BFM across all segments and WHR (P<0.01). In girls, anterior pelvic tilt showed strong correlations with SMM and FFM across multiple segments (P<0.05). Flatfoot was associated with WHR in boys and trunk fat mass in girls. CONCLUSION: Postural deviations are common among school-aged children and show sex-specific patterns. Foot posture abnormalities had the highest prevalence and were more frequent in boys than girls, but the associated body-composition correlates differed by sex. Postural deviations of the head, neck and extremities (e.g., forward head posture, increased thoracic kyphosis, shoulder asymmetry, flatfoot) were more often associated with adiposity-related indices, whereas trunk and spinal deviations (e.g., scoliosis, anterior pelvic tilt) were more often associated with muscle-mass–related indices. For future PE curriculum design, preventive programs addressing head, neck and limb posture are recommended to be combined with fat-reduction interventions, while preventive programs for spinal and trunk posture should be combined with muscle-building interventions.
Read CV Yizhuo YangECSS Paris 2023: OP-MH08