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Sport Science, Physical Activity Promotion, and Public Health

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Sport and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (24 May 2023) | Viewed by 10403

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Dr. Lavinia Falese

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Department of Human Sciences, Society and Health, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Interests: physical activity; sport; public health; psychology of sport and health; epidemiology of sport and physical activity; determinants of health; social inequalitites in physical activity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Scientific evidence shows that physical activity (PA) provides many physiological and psychosocial benefits and could be a cost-effective and nonpharmacological strategy for the prevention and management of chronic and complex diseases. However, most of the population, of all ages, remains insufficiently active, with physical inactivity representing the fourth most common risk factor for death worldwide. Factors that can affect PA participation can be individual, environmental and PA-related. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the processes behind PA barriers and facilitators, with multilevel and multisector approaches, would be useful to suggest practical interventions, promote public health policies and environmental changes to facilitate an increase in the number of active individuals worldwide. For the current Special Issue, we invite researchers to contribute high-quality scientific original articles, communications, and reviews relevant to the promotion and planning of physical activity for health. In particular, we welcome contributions including (but not limited to): Evidence-based strategies for effective PA promotion and for increasing PA in individuals and the population; health benefits evidence of sport and PA in different populations; role of practitioners and sport scientists in PA planning and promotion; identification and assessment of specific recommendations and guidelines to create a public health foundation for physical activity; physical activity policies and programs especially for socio-economically disadvantaged and medically underserved groups; PA school-based approaches; behavioural and social approaches to understanding and promoting PA; environmental approaches to promoting PA (analysis of built environments, including park features, condition, access, aesthetics, safety, and policies; transportation, sustainability, neighbourhood infrastructures, etc.); role of new technologies in PA promotion.

Dr. Lavinia Falese
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

physical activity
public health
physical activity policies
physical activity promotion
sport science

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 571 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Association of Self-Reported Depression Symptoms with Physical Activity Levels in Czechia

by Geraldo A. Maranhao Neto, Eduardo Lattari, Bruno Ribeiro Ramalho Oliveira, Anna Bartoskova Polcrova, Maria M. Infante-Garcia, Sarka Kunzova, Gorazd B. Stokin and Juan P. Gonzalez-Rivas

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14319; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114319 - 2 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1380

Abstract

Worldwide, depressive disorder is one of the leading determinants of disability-adjusted life years. Although there are benefits associated with a higher physical activity (PA) level, there is a lack of information related to this relationship, especially in countries such as Czechia, where modern approaches to mental health care only recently emerged. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between the level of depression and different PA levels following the World Health Organization (WHO) PA guidelines and according to specific symptoms that indicate depression. Multivariable-adjusted Poisson regression models were used to calculate the prevalence rate (PR) in a sample of 2123 participants (45.3% men, median 48 years). Compared to subjects with insufficient PA, moderate and high PA levels were inversely associated with continuous depression scores (PR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.75–0.97; and PR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.70–0.92). Depressed mood and worthlessness were the symptoms associated with moderate and high PA. Tiredness, change in appetite, and concentration problems were related to high PA. The results suggest that reaching the minimum PA target according to the guidelines seems to be effective, and this could stimulate adherence. However, more specific improvements in symptomatology will require a subsequent gradual increase in PA levels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Science, Physical Activity Promotion, and Public Health)

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Review

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20 pages, 6236 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Effectiveness of E-Health Interventions Promoting Physical Activity and Reducing Sedentary Behavior in College Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

by Sanying Peng, Fang Yuan, Ahmad Tajuddin Othman, Xiaogang Zhou, Gang Shen and Jinghong Liang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 318; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010318 - 25 Dec 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2807

Abstract

Insufficient physical activity (PA) and excessive sedentary behavior (SB) are detrimental to physical and mental health. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify whether e-health interventions are effective for improving PA and SB in college students. Five electronic databases, including Medline, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest, were searched to collect relevant randomized controlled trials up to 22 June 2022. In total, 22 trials (including 31 effects) with 8333 samples were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that e-health interventions significantly improved PA at post-intervention (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.45, p < 0.001) compared with the control group, especially for total PA (SMD = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.58, p = 0.005), moderate to vigorous PA (SMD = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.32, p = 0.036), and steps (SMD = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.23, 1.28, p < 0.001. There were no significant effects for both PA at follow-up (SMD = 0.24, 95% CI: – 0.01, 0.49, p = 0.057) and SB (MD = −29.11, 95% CI: −70.55, 12.32, p = 0.17). The findings of subgroup analyses indicated that compared to the control group, interventions in the group of general participants (SMD = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.63, p < 0.001), smartphone apps (SMD = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.73, p = 0.001), and online (SMD = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.43, p < 0.001) can significantly improve PA at post-intervention. Moreover, the intervention effects were significant across all groups of theory, region, instrument, duration, and female ratio. At follow-up, interventions in groups of developing region (SMD = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.73, 1.62, p < 0.001), objective instrument (SMD = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.23, 1.42, p = 0.007), duration ≤ 3-month (SMD = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.72, 1.39, p < 0.001), and all female (SMD = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.02, 1.56, p = 0.044) can significantly improve PA. The evidence of this meta-analysis shows that e-health interventions can be taken as promising strategies for promoting PA. The maintenance of PA improvement and the effect of interventions in reducing SB remain to be further studied. Educators and health practitioners should focus on creating multiple e-health interventions with individualized components. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Science, Physical Activity Promotion, and Public Health)

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13 pages, 650 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Effects and Types of Parental Involvement in School-Based Sport and Health Programs Still Represent a Knowledge Gap: A Systematic Review

by Klára Kovács, Karolina Eszter Kovács, Katinka Bacskai, Zsolt Békési, Ádám József Oláh and Gabriella Pusztai

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12859; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912859 - 7 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3278 | Correction

Abstract

Background: Health-related behaviours and attitudes acquired in childhood significantly shape health behaviours in adulthood and play an important role in preventing children from becoming overweight. Interventions incorporating parental involvement can provide outstanding support in shaping a child’s health-related behaviour. However, parental involvement has not been investigated from the perspective of efficacy except for obesity. Therefore, this systematic review investigates school-based physical activity intervention programmes incorporating parental involvement. We aim to explore the impact of these programmes and the parental involvement they provide on behaviours that influence child health, which are essential for preventing children and adults from becoming overweight and promoting health-conscious lifestyles. Methods: This systematic literature review follows PRISMA guidelines. The EBSCO Discovery Service Search Engine was used for searching for literature. Papers included met the following inclusion criteria: (1) reported original, empirical research or systematic review published in a peer-reviewed journal; (2) primary or secondary school age (6–18 years) as the target population; (3) examined school-based sport or health prevention and intervention programs; (4) only healthy children and youth in the indicated age group; (5) school-based prevention or intervention program; (6) examines parental involvement; (7) in the English language, and (8) in disciplines of education, psychology, social work, sociology, social sciences and humanities. Results: An extremely limited number of interventions of sufficient quality address the role of parental involvement (N = 17). The forms of parental involvement show a huge variety, ranging from leaflets, home packs, sports organisations “forced” by the pandemic, parent meetings, programmes, courses, and school programmes with diverse children over several months (cooking together, gardening, playing sports together, etc.). Therefore, it is difficult to measure their effectiveness and impact. Conclusions: The impact of parental involvement on children’s health behaviour, especially physical activity and nutrition, as two of the most important factors in preventing them from becoming overweight, are unclear, and other correlations, e.g., academic achievement, are scarce. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Science, Physical Activity Promotion, and Public Health)

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17 pages, 1686 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Effectiveness of Planning Interventions for Improving Physical Activity in the General Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

by Sanying Peng, Ahmad Tajuddin Othman, Fang Yuan and Jinghong Liang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7337; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127337 - 15 Jun 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2049

Abstract

Planning interventions such as action planning (AP) and coping planning (CP) have been recognized as influential strategies in promoting physical activity (PA), but mixed results of existing evidence have been observed. This study aims to perform a systematical meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of planning interventions for improving PA in the general population. Eight databases, including Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ProQuest, CNKI, and Wanfang Data, were searched to locate relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from their inception to 31 December 2021. In total, 41 trials with 5439 samples were included in this systematic review, and 35 trials were used in our meta-analysis. The results showed that PA was better promoted in the planned intervention group compared to the control group (SMD = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.25–0.44, I² = 61.4%). Based on the subgroup analyses, we found that planning strategies were more effective among patients, males, when adopting AP intervention, when using the face-to-face sessions delivery mode, and when reinforcements were conducted during the follow-up. The findings of this study indicate that planning interventions significantly improved PA behavior, and, in some contexts, the effects performed better. Future research needs to be conducted to explore the underlying mechanisms of planning interventions and validate their effects more extensively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Science, Physical Activity Promotion, and Public Health)

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