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IntroductionAthletes competing in weight-class sports often seek to gain an advantage by competing at lower weights. Athletes competing in weight-class sports often seek to gain an advantage by competing at lower weights. To achieve this, they aim to lose weight during the competition period, leading to various physiological and psychological changes. This study aimed to investigate the biochemical, hormonal, and psychological effects of weight reduction in elite wrestlers during the competition phase.MethodsThirty-seven elite male free style wrestlers (age: 19.02 ± 1.27) participated in the study. Samples were collected 5 days before and on the day of the match.ResultsA significant decrease in body weight was observed (p

Esports is a natural extension of digital games. Digital games provide a platform for players to showcase their skills, thereby forming the foundation of e-sports. These two domains continuously support each other, demonstrating significant growth in popularity and establishing a solid presence in the competitive landscape. Digital games require high levels of attention, strategy, reflexes, and coordination, offering pathways to reach the pinnacle of competition. The benefits derived from digital games enhance the ability to perform effectively under stress, making them crucial for both physical and mental performance. This study investigates the effects of digital gaming on the physical performance, shoulder flexibility, muscle strength and reaction speed of female volleyball players. A total of 50 female volleyball players took part, who were divided into two groups based on their digital playing habits: Group 1 consisted of female players who played video games for at least 4 h per day in the last 6 months, while Group 2 included those who played

Background and aimThe correlation between eating attitudes, positive body image, and body esteem is a pivotal area of research that has garnered substantial attention in recent years, given its implications for both mental and physical well-being. The objective of this study was to examine the interplay between positive body image, body esteem, and eating attitudes within an Iranian population.Materials and methodsThis study employed a cross-sectional study design and was conducted in the year 2022. A convenience sample of 752 participants residing in Tehran, Iran, was included in the study. The data collection tools were comprised of a demographic registration form, the Adolescence/Adults Scale (PBIAS), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), and the Body Esteem Scale (BES) as measurement instruments.ResultsMean age of participants was 26.36 (SD = 8.49). Significant relationships were found among positive body image (B = − 0.095, β = −0.150, p

Background and purposeRecent new mutations and increases in transmission of COVID-19 among adolescents and children highlight the importance of identifying which factors influence parental decisions regarding vaccinating their children. The current study aims to explore whether child vulnerability and parents' attitudes toward vaccines mediate the association between perceived financial well-being and vaccine hesitancy among parents.MethodA predictive, cross-sectional, multi-country online questionnaire was administered with a convenience sample of 6,073 parents (Australia, 2,734; Iran, 2,447; China, 523; Turkey, 369). Participants completed the Parent Attitude About Child Vaccines (PACV), the Child Vulnerability Scale (CVS), a Financial Well-being (FWB) measure, and Parental Vaccine Hesitancy (PVH) questionnaire.ResultsThe current study revealed that perceived financial well-being had significant and negative associations with parents' attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines and child vulnerability among the Australian sample. Contrary to the Australian findings, results from Chinese participants indicated that financial well-being had significant and positive predictive effects on parent attitudes toward vaccines, child vulnerability, and parental vaccine hesitancy. The results of the Iranian sample revealed that parents' attitudes toward vaccines and child vulnerability significantly and negatively predicted parental vaccine hesitancy.ConclusionThe current study revealed that a parents' perceived financial well-being had a significant and negative relationship with parental attitudes about vaccines and child vulnerability; however, it did not significantly predict parental vaccine hesitancy among Turkish parents as it did for parents in Australia, Iran, and China. Findings of the study have policy implications for how certain countries may tailor their vaccine-related health messages to parents with low financial wellbeing and parents with vulnerable children.

This study investigates the relationship between spiritual well-being, social support, and financial distress with depressive symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A path analysis was used to analyze data collected from 1,156 Iranian participants via an online survey. The results showed that spiritual well-being and social support were negatively related to depressive symptoms and financial distress. The impact of COVID-19 events showed negative associations with depressive symptoms. In addition, the link between spiritual well-being and financial distress with depressive symptoms was partially mediated by the impact of events.

PurposeBesides the evident positive effect on body development, physical activity has proven to boost executive functions, especially if the exercises are enriched with cognitive stimuli. Previous studies have shown that introducing challenging exercises in the physical activity routine can also enhance motivation. Therefore, enriching a physical education program with cognitively challenging exercises may also foster children’s motivation during physical education classes, where the motivation is high at the beginning of the school year and low at the end of it. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to test if a sport program enriched by cognitive stimuli may improve kids’ motivation or take them out from a state of amotivation along the school year.MethodsA sample of 342 school children (203 boys, 139 girls) took part in the study. Participants were asked to complete a battery of motivation and perceived social support questionnaires before and after they completed the ESA Program, a sport program enriched with cognitive stimuli. Moreover, parents of these children attended four seminars about the importance of supporting children for the practice of regular physical activity (PA). A control group consisting of children that attended the ordinary physical education school class was also included.ResultsA repeated measures MANOVA model showed that the ESA Program was able to improve children’s general motivation, in particular the intrinsic motivation. The program was not effective in social support, but, independently from the group, the family social support in sports activities decreased for females.ConclusionApart from cognitive improvement, the ESA Program can have beneficial effects on children’s sports motivation in physical education, but not on perceived social support.

PurposeThe 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.MethodData 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.ResultThe 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.ConclusionThe introduction of a sport program enriched with cognitive stimuli has beneficial effects for children working memory and cognitive flexibility.