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Background Learning cooking skills during childhood and adolescence is associated with positive dietary outcomes in adulthood as well as being tracked from adolescence to adulthood. In addition studies have found that perceived competence to be a greater motivator to perform a behaviour than actual competence. However, a lack of validated tools that effectively measure behavioural and dietary changes including cooking confidence in children is a limitation. Therefore, this research aimed to develop and validate age-appropriate perceived cooking competence measures for younger and older primary school aged children. Methods Two measures of perceived Cooking Competence (CooC11 and CooC7) for older (8–12 years) and younger (6–7 years) children were developed from a critical evaluation of publically available recommendations and expert consultation. The cooking skills within the measures were illustrated by a graphic designer in consultation with a chef and reviewed in an iterative manner by the research team. The measures were piloted for clarity, ease of use and initial face validity. Multiple studies were used for both CooC11 and CooC7 to establish psychometric properties of the measures, temporal stability, internal consistency reliability, construct validity, as well as responsiveness to change for CooC11. Analysis included Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Intraclass Correlation Coefficients, Pearson’s Correlations, ANOVAs and Cronbach’s Alphas. Results Both measures had high levels of face validity and received positive user feedback. Two factors were shown in both measures with the measures showing excellent temporal stability (ICC > 0.9) and good internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alphas > 0.7). Both measures showed initial discriminant validity, with significant differences (PCooC11 was significantly correlated with an adult cooking measure and had a significant responsiveness to change (P Conclusions The CooC11 and CooC7 are the first validated age-appropriate measures for assessing children’s perceived Cooking Competence for ages 8–12 and 6–7 years respectively. They can be used to evaluate the efficacy of children’s cooking intervention studies or school nutrition education programmes.

The authors thank the study participants and collaborators on the individual studies that provided data for this pooled IPD analysis., Objectives To determine if subpopulations of students benefit equally from school-based physical activity interventions in terms of cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity. To examine if physical activity intensity mediates improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness. Design Pooled analysis of individual participant data from controlled trials that assessed the impact of school-based physical activity interventions on cardiorespiratory fitness and device-measured physical activity. Participants Data for 6621 children and adolescents aged 4-18 years from 20 trials were included. Main outcome measures Peak oxygen consumption (VO2Peak mL/kg/min) and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity. Results Interventions modestly improved students’ cardiorespiratory fitness by 0.47 mL/kg/min (95% confidence interval 0.33 to 0.61), but the effects were not distributed equally across subpopulations. Girls and older students benefited less than boys and younger students, respectively. Students with lower levels of initial fitness, and those with higher levels of baseline physical activity benefitted more than those who were initially fitter and less active, respectively. Interventions had a modest positive effect on physical activity with approximately one additional minute per day of both moderate and vigorous physical activity. Changes in vigorous, but not moderate intensity, physical activity explained a small amount (~5%) of the intervention effect on cardiorespiratory fitness. Conclusions Future interventions should include targeted strategies to address the needs of girls and older students. Interventions may also be improved by promoting more vigorous intensity physical activity. Interventions could mitigate declining youth cardiorespiratory fitness, increase physical activity, and promote cardiovascular health if they can be delivered equitably and their effects sustained at the population level.

This study examined the relationship between fundamental movement skills (FMS) and health related fitness (HRF) components in children. A cross section of Irish primary school children across all age groups participated in this study (n=2098, 47% girls, age 5-12 years of age, mean age 9.2 ± 2.04). FMS were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-3), along with two additional assessments of vertical jump and balance. All HRF components were also assessed: body composition through BMI and waist circumference, muscular strength (MS) using a hand dynamometer, muscular endurance (ME) through the plank test, flexibility with back-saver sit-and-reach, and cardiovascular endurance (CVE) using the 20 m PACER test. Hierarchal multiple regressions were used to measure associations between the HRF components and overall FMS and the FMS subtests: locomotor, object control and balance skills. Results show significant positive relationships between FMS and MS (

IntroductionHealth literacy research has focused predominantly on the adult population, and much less is understood about this concept from an adolescent perspective. The tools currently available to measure adolescent health literacy have been adapted from adult versions. This limits their applicability to young people because of the developmental characteristics that impact on adolescents’ behaviour, including impulse control and judgement skills. This protocol describes the intended development and validity testing of a questionnaire to measure health literacy in adolescents.Methods and analysisThis protocol describes this mixed methods study that has three phases: the first phase will involve grounded research with adolescents using qualitative group interviews, co-design and concept mapping workshops to understand what health and healthy behaviours mean to adolescents and to explore their health literacy needs and the potential domains for the questionnaire. The draft health literacy domains identified will be presented to the youth advisory panel, and the questionnaire will be altered based on their feedback. Cognitive pretesting of the questionnaire items will also be conducted. Phase 2 will involve piloting the questionnaire to a two-stage random sample of young people in five urban and rural schools in Ireland. Test–retest reliability will be conducted using Pearson correlation coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis will also be conducted to analyse the psychometric properties of the questionnaire. Phase 3 will involve the questionnaire being rolled out to a nationally representative sample of adolescents (n=6052) in Ireland to assess their levels of health literacy.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval to conduct this study has been granted from the University College Dublin Human Research Ethics Committee – Sciences (LS-20–08). Informed assent from adolescents and informed consent from parents/guardians will be sought. The findings of this research will be disseminated at national and international conferences, as well as through publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Health-related fitness (HRF) is theoretically defined as a multidimensional construct containing the components cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition. Given the range of field-based HRF tests available, health practitioners face a difficult task in selecting tests that best reflect the HRF construct as defined in the literature. This study aimed to investigate the underlying factor structure of the theoretical HRF construct with a view to identifying field-based tests representative of HRF in youth. Participants were 261 children (53% female, 47% male; mean age 12.22 ± 0.48 years). Indicators of four fitness components (20m shuttle run, curl-ups, push-ups, horizontal jump, vertical jump, handgrip, and modified back-saver sit-and-reach) were measured. Confirmatory factor analysis of the four-component model revealed a low contribution of flexibility (.10) to the overall model, leading to its removal. The subsequent three-component model showed better fit across all fit statistics (NFI, TLI, CFI, RMSEA, SRMR). Analysis of indicator loadings led to the removal of handgrip (.37), further improving model fit. The reduced three-component model was re-specified as a first-order model containing five indicators, and showed the best fit (NFI, CFI, SRMR). These findings suggest that a fitness construct in youth is adequately represented by three HRF components included in the theoretical definition (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance). These components load onto the same construct and can be tested using five tests (20m shuttle run, curl-ups, push-ups, horizontal jump, vertical jump) suitable for field-based research.

Cooking interventions have been criticised for their weak designs and ‘kitchen sink’ approach to content development. Currently, there is no scientific guidance for the inclusion of specific skills in children’s cooking interventions. Therefore, a four step method was used to develop age-appropriate cooking skill recommendations based on relevant developmental motor skills. The steps include: 1) a critical review of academic and publically available sources of children’s cooking skills recommendations; 2) cooking skill selection, deconstruction and mapping to relevant motor skills; 3) grouping the cooking skills by underlying motor skills for age appropriateness to generate evidence based recommendations; 4) establish face validity using a two-stage expert review, critique and refinement with a multidisciplinary international team. Seventeen available sources of cooking skills recommendations were identified, critiqued and deconstructed and cooking skills mapped to developmental motor skills. These new recommendations consist of 32 skills, across five age categories: 2 – 3 years, 3 – 5 years, 5 – 7 years, 7 – 9 years, and 9+ years. The proposed recommendations will strengthen programme design by providing guidance for content development targeted at the correct age groups and can act as a guide to parents when including their children in cooking activities at home.

Physical activity (PA) decreases with age. The school transition is noted for significant changes in PA behaviour. Motor competence (MC), health-related fitness (HRF), and perceived competence (PC) are generally positively associated with PA. The aim of this study was to examine longitudinal cross-lagged relationships between PA, MC, HRF, and PC across the school transition from final year of primary school to first year of second-level school in Irish youth. PA (accelerometery), object-control and locomotor MC (TGMD-III), PC (perceived athletic competence subscale of the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents), and HRF (20 m shuttle run, horizontal jump, vertical jump, push-ups, curl-ups) were measured in final year of primary school (6th class) and first year of second-level school (1st year). In the sixth class, 261 participants (53% female, mean age 12.22 &plusmn, 0.48 years) were tested. In first year, 291 participants (48% female, mean age: 13.20 &plusmn, 0.39 years) were tested. In total, 220 participants were involved in the study at both timepoints. Cross-lagged regression in AMOS23, using full information maximum likelihood estimation, was conducted to test reciprocal and predictive pathways between variables. The full cross-lagged model showed acceptable fit (&chi, 2 = 69.12, df = 8, p &lt, 0.01, NFI = 0.93, CFI = 0.94). HRF was the strongest predictor of future PA (&beta, = 0.353), and also predicted PC (&beta, = 0.336) and MC (&beta, = 0.163). Object-control MC predicted future PA (&beta, = 0.192). Reciprocal relationships existed between object-control MC and PA, and between object-control MC and PC. HRF was the strongest predictor of PA. Object-control MC also predicted PA. PA promotion strategies should target the development of HRF and object-control MC in primary school to reduce the decline in PA frequently observed after the school transition.

Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the biological determinants of physical activity (PA) is inconclusive. In this umbrella review, we summarized the current evidence on the biological determinants of PA across the life course, by pooling the results of the available systematic literature reviews (SLRs) and meta-analyses (MAs).We conducted an online search on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases up to January 2018. SLRs and MAs of observational studies that investigated the association between biological determinants of PA and having PA as outcome were considered eligible. The extracted data were assessed based on the importance of the determinants, the strength of evidence, and the methodological quality.We identified 19 reviews of which most were of moderate methodological quality. Determinants that were studied most frequently among all ages and demonstrated evidence suggesting a positive association to PA were younger age, being male, higher health status, and higher physical fitness levels. Among adults, normal birth weight was found to be positively associated to PA with convincing strength of evidence, while findings among adolescents were inconsistent and with limited strength of evidence.Different social or behavioral factors may contribute to the decrease of PA with age and among females versus males, and creating programmes targeted at diverse ages, female population, and adults with abnormal birth weight is recommended. Future studies should use prospective study designs, standardized definitions of PA, and objective measurement methods of PA assessment.

Luis Lopes is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (CEECIND/01089/2017 and FCT/UIDB/00617/2020); Rute Santos is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (CEECIND/01069/2017 and FCT/UIDB/00617/2020); Jorge Mota, Carla Moreira, Cesar Agostinis-Sobrinho, Pedro Silva and Eduarda Sousa-Sa are supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT/UIDB/00617/2020); Erik Sigmund is supported by grant No. 19-03276S from the Czech Science Foundation; Irene Esteban-Cornejo is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (RTI2018-095284-J-100) and by the Spanish Ministry of of Science and Innovation (RYC2019-027287-I); Jaime Carcamo-Oyarzun is supported by the National Commission for Scientific Research and Technology of Chile (CONICYT-FONDECYT 11170525); Jonatan Ruiz is supported by the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016 (Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health [UCEES]), by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), by the Junta de Andalucia, Consejeria de Conocimiento, Investigacion y Universidades (ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR); Antonio Garcia-Hermoso is a Miguel Servet Fellow (Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FSE, CP18/0150)., Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach. MC is a growing area of research, especially in children and adolescents due to its positive association with a plethora of health and developmental outcomes. Many questions, however, remain to be answered in this field of research, with regard to: (i) Health and Developmental-related Associations of MC; (ii) Assessment of MC; (iii) Prevalence and Trends of MC; (iv) Correlates and Determinants of MC; (v) MC Interventions, and (vi) Translating MC Research into Practice and Policy. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature, summarizing current knowledge, identifying key research gaps and presenting questions for future investigation on MC in children and adolescents. This is a collaborative effort from the International Motor Competence Network (IMCNetwork) a network of academics and researchers aiming to promote international collaborative research and knowledge translation in the expansive field of MC. The knowledge and deliverables generated by addressing and answering the aforementioned research questions on MC presented in this review have the potential to shape the ways in which researchers and practitioners promote MC and physical activity in children and adolescents across the world., Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology FCT/UIDB/00617/2020 CEECIND/01089/2017 CEECIND/01069/2017, Grant Agency of the Czech Republic 19-03276S, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness RTI2018-095284-J-100, Spanish Ministry of of Science and Innovation RYC2019-027287-I, National Commission for Scientific Research and Technology of Chile (CONICYT-FONDECYT) 11170525, University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigacion, European Commission, Junta de Andalucia SOMM17/6107/UGR, Miguel Servet Fellow (Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FSE) CP18/0150

International audience; The ability to control speed and accuracy of goal directed aiming tasks underpins many activities of daily living. Recent evidence has begun to suggest that obesity can affect the control of movement. This study evaluated perceptual motor control of 183 normal weight, overweight, and obese participants using a discrete Fitts' task on a digital tablet. In addition, we manipulated tablet orientation to determine whether tablet orientation influences task difficulty with the view to increase the task's constraints. Our study found that the traditional relationship between target distance and target width hold true for each of the three weight groups in both tablet orientations. Interestingly, no significant differences were found for movement time between the groups, while movement kinematics differed between weight groups. Obese participants demonstrated significantly higher peak acceleration values in the horizontal tablet orientation when compared to their normal weight and overweight counterparts. Further to this, obese participants made significantly more errors than normal weight and overweight groups. These findings suggest that obese individuals have altered control strategies compared to their normal weight peers.

Objectives This study proposes an extension of a widely used test evaluating fundamental movement skills proficiency to an adolescent population, with a specific emphasis on validity and reliability for this older age group. Design Cross-sectional observational study. Methods A total of 844 participants (n = 456 male, 12.03 ± 0.49) participated in this study. The 12 fundamental movement skills of the TGMD-2 were assessed. Inter-rater reliability was examined to ensure a minimum of 95% consistency between coders. Confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken with a one-factor model (all 12 skills) and two-factor model (6 locomotor skills and 6 object-control skills) as proposed by Ulrich et al. (2000). The model fit was examined using χ2, TLI, CFI and RMSEA. Test–retest reliability was carried out with a subsample of 35 participants. Results The test–retest reliability reached Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.78 (locomotor), 0.76 (object related) and 0.91 (gross motor skill proficiency). The confirmatory factor analysis did not display a good fit for either the one-factor or two-factor model due to a really low contribution of several skills. A reduction in the number of skills to just seven (run, gallop, hop, horizontal jump, bounce, kick and roll) revealed an overall good fit by TLI, CFI and RMSEA measures. Conclusions The proposed new model offers the possibility of longitudinal studies to track the maturation of fundamental movement skills across the child and adolescent spectrum, while also giving researchers a valid assessment to tool to evaluate adolescent fundamental movement skills proficiency level.

Low levels of physical activity in youth are an issue internationally, with the age related decline in levels over the adolescent period of particular concern. This study evaluated a multi-component school-based intervention (Y-PATH: Youth-Physical Activity Towards Health), focused on halting the age-related decline in physical activity of youth in early adolescence. A cluster randomized controlled trial in 20 post primary schools (10 control, 10 intervention) was conducted. Data were collected from all 20 schools at baseline (2013), and 12 months (2014), and from 10 of these schools (5 intervention) at 24 months (2015). The setting was mixed gender post primary schools residing in the greater area of Dublin, Ireland. Principals from each school were asked to nominate one first year class group attending their school in September 2013 to participate in the study (N = 564). Intervention schools implemented the Y-PATH whole school intervention, comprising teacher component, parent component, and PE component; while control schools continued with usual care. The main outcome measure was accelerometer derived average minutes of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Data were analysed from October 2015 – November 2017. At baseline 490 participants were assessed (mean age 12.78y ± .42). Results of the multilevel regression analysis confirmed that there was a significant time intervention effect, and this was predominantly contributed by the difference between control and intervention groups within females. Findings support the case for national dissemination of the Y-PATH intervention so that the knowledge learned can be translated to routine practice in schools. Key Words: Physical activity, youth, randomized controlled trial, whole school intervention

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are the basic building blocks of more advanced, complex movements required to participate in physical activity. This study examined FMS proficiency across the full range of Irish primary school children (n = 2098, 47% girls, age range 5–12 years). Participants were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development, 3rd edition (TGMD-3), Victorian Fundamental Movement skills manual, and the balance subtest from the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 2 (BOT-2). Independent sample t-tests and a one way between groups ANOVA with planned comparisons were used analyse sex and age differences. Mastery or near mastery of skills ranged from 16% for overhand throw, to 75.3% for run. Girls scored significantly higher than boys in the locomotor and balance subtests with the boys outperforming the girls in object control skills. Improvements in ability can be seen over time (F(8,1968) = 70.18, p < 0.001), with significant increases in FMS proficiency seen up to the age of 10, after which proficiency begins to decline. The findings demonstrate the low levels of FMS proficiency amongst Irish primary school children, the differences between sex that exist, and highlights the need for more programmes that focus on developing these FMS at an early age.

Background Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the biological determinants of physical activity (PA) is inconclusive. In this umbrella review, we summarized the current evidence on the biological determinants of PA across the life course, by pooling the results of the available systematic literature reviews (SLRs) and meta-analyses (MAs). Methods We conducted an online search on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases up to January 2018. SLRs and MAs of observational studies that investigated the association between biological determinants of PA and having PA as outcome were considered eligible. The extracted data were assessed based on the importance of the determinants, the strength of evidence, and the methodological quality. Results We identified 19 reviews of which most were of moderate methodological quality. Determinants that were studied most frequently among all ages and demonstrated evidence suggesting a positive association to PA were younger age, being male, higher health status, and higher physical fitness levels. Among adults, normal birth weight was found to be positively associated to PA with convincing strength of evidence, while findings among adolescents were inconsistent and with limited strength of evidence. Conclusions Different social or behavioral factors may contribute to the decrease of PA with age and among females versus males, and creating programmes targeted at diverse ages, female population, and adults with abnormal birth weight is recommended. Future studies should use prospective study designs, standardized definitions of PA, and objective measurement methods of PA assessment.

Objectives To explore daily patterns of physical activity in early adolescent youth, and identify whether patterns differed across varying activity levels. Design Cross-sectional observational study. Methods Adolescent youth ( n =715, 11.8–14.4 years) were asked to wear an Actigraph accelerometer for a 9-day period. Average daily and hourly minutes spent in moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were calculated for each participant. Participants were grouped into sex-specific quartiles (Q) based on average daily MVPA accumulation (Q4 most active, Q1 least active). Principal components analysis was used to identify, from hourly MVPA data, distinct time blocks for Weekday and Weekend days. Mixed between-within ANOVA's were conducted separately by gender to assess the impact of Quartile grouping on minutes of MVPA across the distinct time blocks. Results Males accumulated significantly more minutes of MVPA daily than females (55.3±21.6min, versus 47.4±18.1min). Principal Components Analysis revealed three distinct time components for MVPA during weekdays, and weekend days. The total difference between Q4 and Q1 was greatest ‘Weekend Afternoons' for Males (22min), and ‘Weekend Midday' for females (12.8min); with Q4 accumulating significantly more MVPA in these time periods than the other three Quartiles ( p Conclusions This study points to the weekend midday and afternoon periods as particular time blocks to target for intervening with inactive youth. Future research should examine the reasons why some youth choose to be active during these particular periods while others do not, with a view to developing appropriate strategies for intervention.

This study aims to assess fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency, physical self-confidence levels, and the relationship between these variables and gender differences among adolescents. Three hundred and ninety five adolescents aged 13.78 years (SD = ±1.2) from 20 schools were involved in this study. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd Edition (TGMD), TGMD-2 and Victorian Skills Manual were used to assess 15 FMS. Participants' physical self-confidence was also assessed using a valid skill-specific scale. A significant correlation was observed between FMS proficiency and physical self-confidence for females only (r = 0.305, P 0.001). Males rated themselves as having significantly higher physical self-confidence levels than females (P = 0.001). Males scored significantly higher than females in FMS proficiency (P 0.05), and the lowest physical self-confidence group were significantly less proficient at FMS than the medium (P 0.001) and high physical self-confidence groups (P 0.05). This information not only highlights those in need of assistance to develop their FMS but will also facilitate in the development of an intervention which aims to improve physical self-confidence and FMS proficiency.

Fine motor skill proficiency is an essential component of numerous daily living activities such as dressing, feeding or playing. Poor fine motor skills can lead to difficulties in academic achievement, increased anxiety and poor self-esteem. Recent findings have shown that children's gross motor skill proficiency tends to fall below established developmental norms. A question remains: do fine motor skill proficiency levels also fall below developmental norms? The aim of this study was to examine the current level of fine motor skill in Irish children. Children (N=253) from 2nd, 4th and 6th grades (mean age=7.12, 9.11 and 11.02 respectively) completed the Fine Motor Composite of the Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 2nd Edition (BOT-2). Analysis revealed that only 2nd grade children met the expected level of fine motor skill proficiency. It was also found that despite children's raw scores improving with age, children's fine motor skill proficiency was not progressing at the expected rate given by normative data. This leads us to question the role and impact of modern society on fine motor skills development over the past number of decades.

Objective. To investigate whether obesity alters the sensory motor integration process and movement outcome during a visual rhythmic coordination task. Methods. 88 participants (44 obese and 44 matched control) sat on a chair equipped with a wrist pendulum oscillating in the sagittal plane. The task was to swing the pendulum in synchrony with a moving visual stimulus displayed on a screen. Results. Obese participants demonstrated significantly (p<0.01) higher values for continuous relative phase (CRP) indicating poorer level of coordination, increased movement variability (p<0.05), and a larger amplitude (p<0.05) than their healthy weight counterparts. Conclusion. These results highlight the existence of visual sensory integration deficiencies for obese participants. The obese group have greater difficulty in synchronizing their movement with a visual stimulus. Considering that visual motor coordination is an essential component of many activities of daily living, any impairment could significantly affect quality of life.

Background The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether physical self-efficacy mediates the relationship between movement competence (fundamental movement skills and perceived movement skill competence) and physical activity in children. Methods A purposive sample of 860 children (47.7% female, 10.9 ± 1.16 years) were recruited and completed assessments for physical self-efficacy (Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Scale), fundamental movement skills (Test of Gross Motor Development-3), perceived movement skill competence (Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence), and physical activity (PACE+). A bootstrap mediation analysis was employed using movement competence as the predictor variable and physical activity as the outcome variable, and physical self-efficacy as the potential mediator of the relationship. Results The results from a bootstrap mediation analysis yielded a statistically significant mediation effect for physical self-efficacy, with the entire model explaining approximately 10.3% of the variance of physical activity. The indirect effect of perceived movement skill competence through physical self-efficacy was significantly larger than the indirect effect of fundamental movement skills through physical self-efficacy. Neither sex nor age acted as a covariate. Conclusion Movement competence (fundamental movement skills and perceived movement skill competence) acts as a source of information for children's physical self-efficacy, moreover physical self-efficacy mediates the movement competence – PA relationship. Findings highlight the need for interventions to target and improve movement competence as a whole for children.

Objectives The addition of cycling to the fundamental movement phase of the motor development model has been proposed. Lifelong physical activity behaviours, like cycling, are established during childhood and it is vital that research focuses on these skills. In order to determine the position of cycling within this newly proposed model, the learning process of this skill must be examined. The current paper will quantify the skill of cycling as a learning process and investigate cycling’s place as a Foundational Movement Skill. Investigation into whether a composite score could be derived from combining fundamental movement skills proficiency scores and ability on a balance bike (as a measure of the learning process of cycling) will also be conducted. Design and Methods Ninety-seven preschool children were assessed on ability on a balance bike (bike with no pedals) using two separate timed tracks (straight and curved) and fundamental movement skill proficiency. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations and principal axis factoring. Results Statistically significant correlations were found between ability on a balance bike and all three subcomponents of fundamental movement skills (locomotor, object-control & stability). Principal axis factoring revealed the presence of one component that all four variables could explain. Conclusion Ability on a balance bike is a standalone Foundational Movement Skill and is not a representation of locomotor, object-control or stability. Furthermore, ability on a balance bike can be combined with locomotor, object-control and stability to produce an overall composite score for Foundational Movement Skills.

Programme card #### Country/locality/coverage #### Target population #### What modes/types/domains of physical activity does the programme promote? #### Which of the seven best investments does the programme address? #### What sectors does it involve? #### Estimated programme reach #### What is special about this programme? #### Key contact #### Programme website The problem of low levels of youth physical activity (PA) participation in Ireland and internationally is clear and irrefutable.1 2 The Youth-Physical Activity Towards Health (Y-PATH) programme commenced in 2010, with cross-sectional research exploring predisposing and reinforcing factors influencing low levels of Irish youth PA participation (including fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency, and attitudes, motivation and knowledge towards PA).3 In consultation with key stakeholders a targeted ‘whole-school’ intervention programme was developed on the …

Objectives: To explore the relationship between fundamental movement skill (FMS) competence, perceived FMS competence, and physical activity (PA) in adolescents. Methods: The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD), the TGMD 2nd Edition (TGMD-2), and the Victorian Skills manual were used to assess FMS competence (locomotor, object control, and stability). The Physical Self Confidence scale was used to assess perceived FMS competence (locomotor, object control, and stability). Moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) was measured via accelerometry. Multi-level modelling analyses was used to examine (i) actual FMS as the predictor and perceived FMS as the outcome, (ii) perceived FMS as the predictor and MVPA as the outcome, and (iii) actual FMS as the predictor and MVPA as the outcome. All analyses were completed for each subtest of FMS (locomotor, object control, and stability). Results: A total of 584 adolescents (boys n = 278) aged 12.82–15.25 years (M = 13.78, SD = .42) participated in this study. Actual stability was associated with perceived stability (p p p ≤ .05). Boys scored significantly higher than girls for FMS proficiency, perceived FMS, and MVPA (p Discussion: Gender differences may exist due to cultural gender differences in sport participation norms. Considering the magnitude of physical and psychological changes occurring during adolescence, it is recommended to track young people over time to better understand the relationship between perceived and actual FMS, as well as PA participation.

Introduction Sleep loss can result in cognitive, motor, and neurobehavioral impairments. In an aviation context, this can cause a serious threat to flight safety. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the effects of 24-h sleep deprivation on mood, fatigue, and airline pilot competencies. Methods Seven subjects attended two 24-h testing periods, one with an 8-h sleep opportunity, and the other with no sleep opportunity (i.e., sleep deprivation). Subjects were required to complete a battery of mood, fatigue, and analogue measures of pilot competency tasks every 8 h (0 h, 8 h, 16 h, 24 h) throughout each testing period. Results While total mood disturbance was found to significantly increase (83.42, SD = 25.7), both objective (352.71, SD = 42.00) and subjective (34.85, SD = 8.82) fatigue were found to significantly decrease following 24-h sleep deprivation. Cognitive flexibility (757.45, SD = 58.48) and hand-eye coordination (dominant hand only) (60.28, SD = 3.86) were also negatively impacted following 24-h sleep deprivation. However, working memory and situation awareness were not significantly negatively impacted by the bout of sleep deprivation. Discussion Some pilot-specific task-related factors such as subjective fatigue, cognitive flexibility, and working memory were found to be particularly susceptible to sleep loss, with significant declines in performance observed following 16-h continuous wakefulness, suggesting reductions in optimal functioning following this period of wakefulness. Further investigation using more regular testing time points, employing additional pilot competencies, and using more aviation-specific tasks is warranted.O'Hagan AD, Issartel J, McGinley E, Warrington G. A pilot study exploring the effects of sleep deprivation on analogue measures of pilot competencies. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(7):609-615.

It is well established that lack of physical activity and high bouts of sedentary behaviour are now associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical activity participation, overall screen time and weight status amongst early Irish adolescent youth. Participants were a sample of 169 students: 113 boys (mean age = 12.89 &plusmn, 0.34 years) and 56 girls (mean age = 12.87 &plusmn, 0.61 years). The data gathered in the present study included physical activity (accelerometry), screen time (self-report) and anthropometric measurements. Overweight and obese participants accumulated significantly more minutes of overall screen time daily compared to their normal-weight counterparts. A correlation between physical activity and daily television viewing was evident among girls. No significant interaction was apparent when examining daily physical activity and overall screen time in the prediction of early adolescents&rsquo, body mass index. Results suggest the importance of reducing screen time in the contribution towards a healthier weight status among adolescents. Furthermore, physical activity appears largely unrelated to overall screen time in predicting adolescent weight status, suggesting that these variables may be independent markers of health in youth. The existing relationship for girls between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and time spent television viewing may be a potential area to consider for future intervention design with adolescent youth.

Background\ud To date, the scientific literature on socioeconomic correlates and determinants of physical activity behaviours has been dispersed throughout a number of systematic reviews, often focusing on one factor (e.g. education or parental income) in one specific age group (e.g. pre-school children or adults). The aim of this umbrella review is to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of the scientific literature from previously conducted research by summarising and synthesising the importance and strength of the evidence related to socioeconomic correlates and determinants of PA behaviours across the life course.\ud \ud Methods\ud Medline, Embase, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus were searched for systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies investigating the association between socioeconomic determinants of PA and PA itself (from January 2004 to September 2017). Data extraction evaluated the importance of determinants, strength of evidence, and methodological quality of the selected papers. The full protocol is available from PROSPERO (PROSPERO2014:CRD42015010616).\ud \ud Results\ud Nineteen reviews were included. Moderate methodological quality emerged. For adults, convincing evidence supports a relationship between PA and socioeconomic status (SES), especially in relation to leisure time (positive relationship) and occupational PA (negative relationship). Conversely, no association between PA and SES or parental SES was found for pre-school, school-aged children and adolescents.\ud \ud Conclusions\ud Available evidence on the socioeconomic determinants of PA behaviour across the life course is probable (shows fairly consistent associations) at best. While some evidence is available for adults, less was available for youth. This is mainly due to a limited quantity of primary studies, weak research designs and lack of accuracy in the PA and SES assessment methods employed. Further PA domain specific studies using longitudinal design and clear measures of SES and PA assessment are required.

Background\ud Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the policy determinants of physical activity (PA) is inconclusive. This umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) summarizes the current evidence on the policy determinants of PA across the life course, by pooling the results of the available SLRs and meta-analyses (MAs).\ud \ud Methods\ud A systematic online search was conducted on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus databases up to April 2016. SLRs and MAs of observational studies investigating the association between policy determinants of PA and having PA as outcome were considered eligible. The extracted data were assessed based on the importance of the determinants, the strength of evidence and the methodological quality.\ud \ud Results\ud Fourteen reviews on 27 policy determinants of PA were eligible for this umbrella SLR. The majority of the reviews were of moderate quality. Among children, a clear association between time spent outdoors and PA emerged. Among adults, working hours were negatively associated with PA, though evidence was limited. At the population level, community- and street-scale urban design and land use policies were found to positively support PA levels, but levels of evidences were low.\ud \ud Conclusions\ud With this umbrella SLR the policy determinants of PA at individual-level and population-level have been summarized and assessed. None of the investigated policy determinants had a convincing level of evidence, and very few had a probable level of evidence. Further research is needed, preferably by using prospective study designs, standardized definitions of PA and objective measurement of PA.

Background: Literature suggests that physical education programmes ought to provide intense instruction towards basic movement skills needed to enjoy a variety of physical activities. Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are basic observable patterns of behaviour present from childhood to adulthood (e.g. run, skip and kick). Recent evidence indicates that children have the developmental potential to master most FMS by 6 years of age during physical education, physical activity (PA) and sport.Purpose: With a noticeable absence in the literature relating to adolescent movement patterns, the present study assessed the performance of 9 FMS during physical education class amongst 12- to 13-year olds. The study further assessed the range of FMS at the behavioural component level with a view to identifying weaknesses within performance across individual skills.Participants and setting: Baseline data were collected in 2010 as part of a larger longitudinal study evaluating the effectiveness of a prescribed adolescent...

International audience; Low levels of physical activity (PA) are reported to contribute to the occurrence of non-communicable diseases over the life course. Although psychological factors have been identified as an important category concerning PA behavior, knowledge on psychological determinants of PA is still inconclusive. Therefore, the aim of this umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize and synthesize the scientific evidence on psychological determinants of PA behavior across the life course. A systematic online search was conducted on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases. The search was limited to studies published in English from January 2004 to April 2016. SLRs and meta-analyses (MAs) of observational studies investigating the association of psychological variables and PA were considered eligible. Extracted data were evaluated based on importance of determinants, strength of evidence, and methodological quality. The full protocol is available from PROSPERO (Record ID: CRD42015010616). Twenty reviews (14 SLRs and 6 MAs), mostly of moderate methodological quality, were found eligible. Convincing evidence was found for self-efficacy (positive association with PA) in children and adolescents, and stress (negative association with PA) regardless of age. Most of the evidence revealing an association between psychological determinants and PA is probable and limited, mainly due to differences in the definition of PA and of psychological determinants across reviews. Thus, scholars are urged to reach a consensus on clear definitions of relevant psychological determinants of PA, subsuming cultural biases and allowing the possibility to obtain clear interpretations and generalizability of findings. Finally, most psychological determinants should be considered within a larger framework of other multi-level determinants that may interact or mediate some of the effects.

Multicomponent, school-based interventions are considered to be an effective method for improving fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency levels and physical activity (PA) among youth. This study aimed to evaluate if the youth-physical activity toward health intervention can improve FMS proficiency in a randomized controlled trial among adolescents.Participants were 482 adolescents aged 12-13 years from 20 schools. For an academic year, participants in 10 schools received the youth-physical activity toward health intervention. The remaining 10 schools received their regular weekly physical education lessons. Fifteen FMS were assessed using validated tools; their PA was assessed using accelerometers; their height, weight, and cardiorespiratory fitness were also recorded. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, postintervention, and 3 months later at retention. Multilevel analysis was performed using MLwiN 2.35 software.Significant intervention effects across time were observed for total object control (P .0001; β = 2.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 2.92) and total locomotor (P .0001; β = 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.44 to 2.82), with the greatest improvements evident for total FMS score (P .0001; β = 4.04; 95% confidence interval, 2.39 to 5.69). The effects of the intervention were significant and positive for all children in the intervention group regardless of gender, weight status, or PA level (P = .03 to .0001).Youth-physical activity toward health has the potential to improve FMS proficiency among adolescents regardless of gender, weight status, and activity levels.

BackgroundParticipation in regular physical activity is associated with a multitude of health benefits across the life course. However, many people fail to meet PA recommendations. Despite a plethora of studies, the evidence regarding the environmental (physical) determinants of physical activity remains inconclusive.ObjectiveTo identify the physical environmental determinants that influence PA across the life course.MethodsAn online systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus. The search was limited to studies published in English (January 2004 to April 2016). Only systematic literature reviews (SLRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) of observational studies, that investigated the association between physical determinants and physical activity outcomes, were eligible for inclusion. The extracted data were assessed on the importance of determinants, strength of evidence and methodological quality.ResultsThe literature search identified 28 SLRs and 3 MAs on 67 physical environmental characteristics potentially related to physical activity that were eligible for inclusion. Among preschool children, a positive association was reported between availability of backyard space and outdoor toys/equipment in the home and overall physical activity. The availability of physical activity programs and equipment within schools, and neighbourhood features such as pedestrian and cyclist safety structure were positively associated with physical activity in children and adolescents. Negative street characteristics, for example, lack of sidewalks and streetlights, were negatively associated with physical activity in adults. Inconsistent associations were reported for the majority of reviewed determinants in adults.ConclusionThis umbrella SLR provided a comprehensive overview of the physical environment determinants of physical activity across the life course and has highlighted, particularly amongst youth, a number of key determinants that may be associated with overall physical activity. Given the limited evidence drawn mostly from cross-sectional studies, longitudinal studies are needed to further explore these associations. published

Unimanual coordination is a vital component of everyday life and underpins successful engagement of many activities of daily living and physical activity participation. The ability to coordinate with environmental stimuli has been extensively studied in adults in a variety of situations. However, we know little about these processes in children and even less about how these processes change as age increases. This paper examines children's performance in a rhythmic unimanual coordination task using a handheld pendulum. Participants (aged 6, 9 and 11 years) manipulated the pendulum at 3 frequencies (preferred frequency, +20% of preferred and -20% of preferred frequency) in coordination with 3 stimuli (Visual, Auditory and Visual-Auditory combined). Results showed that children's coordination levels and movement variability improved with age, however still fell below those observed in adults. In addition children demonstrated preferences for visual stimuli or multisensory stimuli compared to auditory stimuli on their own Interestingly, children were found to demonstrate different movement amplitudes for -20%, preferred and +20% frequency conditions. In conclusion, children's unimanual coordination levels were found to follow the typical maturation process and improve with age. Further to this, findings suggest the potential benefit of multisensory information for uni manual coordination in children.

peer-reviewed A growing body of evidence suggests long work hours adversely affect mental health across a variety of domains. Mental health issues have been found to negatively affect work performance. This finding was highlighted in the aviation industry by the 2015 Germanwings incident in which 150 people died. Further investigation into work hours and their associated factors (e.g., demographic characteristics and experiences of sleep and fatigue in the cockpit) contributing to mental health issues among pilots is warranted. A cross-sectional survey investigating attitudes and experiences of fatigue was developed and distributed to commercial airline pilots. Results found pilots who reported typically spending longer hours on duty per week were twice as likely to report feeling depressed or anxious. Pilots’ experiences of job-related sleep disturbance and fatigue may explain why pilots who typically spend long hours on duty each week are more likely to report feeling depressed or anxious. peer-reviewed

Background\ud \ud Low levels of physical activity (PA) are a global concern and increasing PA engagement is becoming a priority in current public health policies. Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the behavioral determinants of PA is still inconclusive. Thus, the aim of this umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize the evidence on the behavioral determinants of PA across the life course.\ud Methods\ud \ud A systematic online search was conducted on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases. The search was limited to studies published in English from January, 2004 to April, 2016. SLRs and meta-analyses (MAs) of observational studies that investigated the behavioral determinants of PA were considered eligible. The extracted data were assessed based on the importance of the determinants, the strength of evidence, and the methodological quality. The full protocol is available from PROSPERO (PROSPERO 2014:CRD42015010616).\ud Results\ud \ud Seventeen reviews on 35 behavioral determinants of PA were eligible for this umbrella SLR. Regardless of age, the most investigated determinants were those related with ‘screen use’ and ‘smoking’. For youth, probable positive evidence emerged for ‘previous PA’ and ‘independent mobility and active transport’ among children and adolescents. For the adult population, ‘transition to university’ and ‘pregnancy/having a child’ showed probable negative associations.\ud Conclusions\ud \ud Although the majority of the evidence was limited and most of the determinants were not associated with PA, this umbrella SLR provided a comprehensive overview of the associations between behavioral determinants and PA. Youth should be physically active in the early years and increase active transportation to/from school, independent mobility, and ‘free-range activities’ without adult supervision, whilst adult PA behaviors are mostly influenced by the life events. Finally, more research is needed that incorporates prospective study designs, standardized definitions of PA, objective measurement methods of PA assessment, and the use of interactionist and mediational approaches for the evaluation of different behavioral determinants influencing PA behaviors.

Research indicates that commercial exergames do not support acquisition of user Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) owing to both technical and theoretical limitations. That is, affordable 3D sensors (e.g. Kinect®) demonstrate poor accuracy detection enabling users to ‘cheat’ motor skill outputs during gameplay and, lack fundamental design principles crucial to improve motor skill outcomes over time. Accordingly, this study outlines a principled framework to support design and deployment of video games with a primary ‘play’ purpose of motor skill acquisition. A systematic review of effective real-life interventions for motor skill acquisition was undertaken. Twenty-two studies met criteria for inclusion and were then analysed for underpinning ‘principled’ ingredients. Findings were discussed alongside fundamental game design principles, framed by The Theory of Constraints, The Exertion Framework and gaming schema from gaming literature. This led to development of a generalised framework entitled ‘PaCMAn’ (Principles and Conditions for Motor Acquisition). PaCMAn is intended to support effective design of video games for motor skill acquisition and, guide non-gaming experts (teachers, clinicians, researchers) tasked with a ‘human-in-the-loop’ deployment process deemed necessary to negotiate currently existing limitations of affordable 3D sensors.

Background:The primary purpose of this study was to investigate patterns of noncompliance in an adolescent field based accelerometer study. A further purpose was to investigate the effect of a cost efficient strategy (SMS reminder message) on the compliance of adolescentsMethod:The research carried out in 2010 involved 117 second level students (12.41 ± .53 yrs) from 4 schools in a rural Irish town. The Actigraph accelerometer data were processed over 7 days to determine compliance level.Results:Students were more likely to remove their monitor in the evening period than at any other time, however if students removed their monitor after school it remained unworn for a significantly longer duration than in any other time period. Students who received a SMS message were significantly more likely (P = .008) to wear their monitor in the morning than those that did not.Conclusions:Sending an SMS message each morning is effective for improving the number of students wearing monitors to school. The after school period is a critical period for nonwear time and should be targeted in future studies wishing to improve compliance.

Working long duty hours has often been associated with increased risk of incidents and accidents in transport industries. Despite this, information regarding the intermediate relationship between duty hours and incident risk is limited. This study aimed to test a work hours/incident model to identify the interplay of factors contributing to incidents within the aviation industry.Nine hundred and fifty-four European-registered commercial airline pilots completed a 30-item survey investigating self-report attitudes and experiences of fatigue. Path analysis was used to test the proposed model.The fit indices indicated this to be a good fit model (χ(2) = 11.066, df = 5, p = 0.05; Comparative Fit Index = 0.991; Normed Fit Index = 0.984; Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.962; Root Mean Square of Approximation = 0.036). Highly significant relationships were identified between duty hours and sleep disturbance (r = 0.18, p 0.001), sleep disturbance and fatigue in the cockpit (r = 0.40, p 0.001), and fatigue in the cockpit and microsleeps in the cockpit (r = 0.43, p 0.001).A critical pathway from duty hours through to self-reported incidents in flight was identified. Further investigation employing both objective and subjective measures of sleep and fatigue is needed.

Here, we propose that bidirectionality in implicit motor coordination between humanoid robots and humans could enhance the social competence of human–robot interactions. We first detail some questions pertaining to human–robot interactions, introducing the Uncanny Valley hypothesis. After introducing a framework pertinent for the understanding of natural social interactions, motor resonance, we examine two behaviors derived from this framework: motor coordination, investigated in and informative about human–human interaction, and motor interference, which demonstrate the relevance of the motor resonance framework to describe human perception of humanoid robots. These two lines of investigation are then put together to “close the loop” by proposing to implement a key feature of motor coordination, bidirectionality, in robots’ behavior. Finally, we discuss the feasibility of implementing motor coordination between humanoid robots and humans, and the consequences of this implementation in enhancing the social competence of robots interacting with humans. Keywords: interpersonal interaction, motor resonance, motor coordination, motor interference, social robotics, anthropomorphism

International audience; The main purpose of this article was to identify whether an interpersonal motor co-ordination emerges between two participants when they intentionally tried to not co-ordinate their movements between each other. To do this we conjointly examined both the emergence of the motor co-ordination (collective properties) between the two participants, and the maintenance of the individual intrinsic motor properties present in the interpersonal co-ordination. Six pairs of participants performed three situations where they freely moved their right forearm with no instructions (nor restrictions) on frequency or relative phase. The goal of the first two situations was for participants to intentionally co-ordinate (P-on) or not co-ordinate (P-off) their movements between each other. In order to determine his/her individual motor properties, each participant performed this task alone, in a third condition. The cross-wavelet transform (CWT) revealed in the P-off condition the emergence of an unintended co-ordination in the frequency domain. Moreover, random distribution of the relative phase appeared, in this condition, whereas in the P-on condition, we observed a collective organization especially at a relative phase around 0°. Conjointly, the wavelet transform (WT) showed the presence of individual intrinsic motor properties (motor signature) in the three conditions. These results indicate that, when there was information sharing, participants could not avoid (unintentionally) coordinating with someone. This study suggests that, in daily life, interactions with other people lead the individual motor behavior to adapt unintended motor co-ordination.

The aim of this study was to determine if a potential relationship among physical activity (PA), fundamental movement skills and weight status exists amongst early adolescent youth. Participants were a sample of 85 students; 54 boys (mean age = 12.94 ± 0.33 years) and 31 girls (mean age = 12.75 ± 0.43 years). Data gathered during physical education class included PA (accelerometry), fundamental movement skills and anthropometric measurements. Standard multiple regression revealed that PA and total fundamental movement skill proficiency scores explained 16.5% (P < 0.001) of the variance in the prediction of body mass index. Chi-square tests for independence further indicated that compared with overweight or obese adolescents, a significantly higher proportion of adolescents classified as normal weight achieved mastery/near-mastery in fundamental movement skills. Results from the current investigation indicate that weight status is an important correlate of fundamental movement skill proficiency during adolescence. Aligned with most recent research, school- and community-based programmes that include developmentally structured learning experiences delivered by specialists can significantly improve fundamental movement skill proficiency in youth.

a b s t r a c t Objectives: To establish reliability, content validity and concurrent validity of the physical self-confidence scale among adolescents. Demonstrate the use of this scale to assess the physical self-confidence of adolescents across genders at performing specific fundamental movement skills (FMS). Design: Three hundred and seventy six adolescents were involved in this study. A 15 item scale was developed to assess physical self-confidence. Methods: The scale was developed based on 15 specific FMS. Experts in the field reviewed the scale to ensure content validity. The reliability of the scale was assessed on a sub-sample of 67 participants who answered the scale 7-days apart. Concurrent validity was assessed on the sub-sample using the Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP) as a comparative tool. 376 adolescents completed the physical self-confidence scale (mean age = 13.78, SD = ±1.21, males n = 193) to assess gender differences, and also their levels of physical self-confidence across all skills. Results: An Intra Class Correlation indicated excellent test retest reliability for the scale with an overall r = 0.92. Content validity and concurrent validity were also good, with the scale achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.72 with the PSPP. Males possess significantly higher physical self-confidence than females across all items. Conclusions: This scale is the first reliable and valid tool which specifically measures physical selfconfidence in performing FMS among adolescents. The results highlight gender differences in physical self-confidence and emphasise the importance of measuring this at skill level as differences were task specific. This scale will facilitate future research examining the relationship between self-confidence, FMS proficiency and physical activity participation.

International audience; This article sheds light on a quantitative method allowing psychologists and behavioral scientists to take into account the specific characteristics emerging from the interaction between two sets of data in general and two individuals in particular. The current article outlines the practical elements of the cross-wavelet transform (CWT) method, highlighting WHY such a method is important in the analysis of time-series in psychology. The idea is (1) to bridge the gap between physical measurements classically used in physiology-neuroscience and psychology; (2) and demonstrates how the CWT method can be applied in psychology. One of the aims is to answer three important questions WHO could use this method in psychology, WHEN it is appropriate to use it (suitable type of time-series) and HOW to use it. Throughout these explanations, an example with simulated data is used. Finally, data from real life application are analyzed. This data corresponds to a rating task where the participants had to rate in real time the emotional expression of a person. The objectives of this practical example are (i) to point out how to manipulate the properties of the CWT method on real data, (ii) to show how to extract meaningful information from the results, and (iii) to provide a new way to analyze psychological attributes.

Background: The use of embedded smartphone sensors offers opportunities to measure physical activity (PA) and human movement. Big data—which includes billions of digital traces—offers scientists a new lens to examine PA in fine-grained detail and allows us to track people’s geocoded movement patterns to determine their interaction with the environment. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the validity of the Movn smartphone app (Moving Analytics) for collecting PA and human movement data. Methods: The criterion and convergent validity of the Movn smartphone app for estimating energy expenditure (EE) were assessed in both laboratory and free-living settings, compared with indirect calorimetry (criterion reference) and a stand-alone accelerometer that is commonly used in PA research (GT1m, ActiGraph Corp, convergent reference). A supporting cross-validation study assessed the consistency of activity data when collected across different smartphone devices. Global positioning system (GPS) and accelerometer data were integrated with geographical information software to demonstrate the feasibility of geospatial analysis of human movement. Results: A total of 21 participants contributed to linear regression analysis to estimate EE from Movn activity counts (standard error of estimation [SEE]=1.94 kcal/min). The equation was cross-validated in an independent sample (N=42, SEE=1.10 kcal/min). During laboratory-based treadmill exercise, EE from Movn was comparable to calorimetry (bias=0.36 [−0.07 to 0.78] kcal/min, t82=1.66, P=.10) but overestimated as compared with the ActiGraph accelerometer (bias=0.93 [0.58-1.29] kcal/min, t89=5.27, P

Understanding how we synchronize our actions with stimuli from different sensory modalities plays a central role in helping to establish how we interact with our multisensory environment. Recent research has shown better performance with multisensory over unisensory stimuli; however, the type of stimuli used has mainly been auditory and tactile. The aim of this article was to expand our understanding of sensorimotor synchronization with multisensory audio-visual stimuli and compare these findings to their individual unisensory counterparts. This research also aims to assess the role of spatio-temporal structure for each sensory modality. The visual and/or auditory stimuli had either temporal or spatio-temporal information available and were presented to the participants in unimodal and bimodal conditions. Globally, the performance was significantly better for the bimodal compared to the unimodal conditions; however, this benefit was limited to only one of the bimodal conditions. In terms of the unimodal conditions, the level of synchronization with visual stimuli was better than auditory, and while there was an observed benefit with the spatio-temporal compared to temporal visual stimulus, this was not replicated with the auditory stimulus.

Daily life evolves around the perception of multimodal stimuli in our environment and developing coordinated action. Recent findings by Varlet et al. (2012) demonstrated better coordination with bimodal compared to unimodal conditions using auditory and visual stimuli with varying continuity (discrete or continuous). This improvement in coordination was due to the integration of auditory and visual information, something that is required in every day life activities. The role of spatio-temporal integration in coordination is also an important aspect for understanding multisensory coordination.

The physical education environment is a key opportunity to intervene because of access to children and adolescents for the purpose of increasing physical activity participation and improving fundamental movement skill proficiency. A non-randomised controlled trial involving two schools in a rural Irish town was carried out in September 2011 to evaluate the Youth-Physical Activity Towards Health (Y-PATH) intervention. Data were collected on 12 to 14 year olds (n = 174) at 3 time points (pre, post and retention). Data collected included measured height and weight, physical activity measured by accelerometry and by self-report and fundamental movement skill performance. Both the control and intervention school showed significant increases in daily physical activity and gross motor skill proficiency over time. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant interaction effect between school attended and time for physical activity (F (2, 38) = 6.177, p = .005) and fundamental movement skills (F (2, 100) = 4.132, p = .019), with a significantly greater increase in physical activity and fundamental movement skills observed in the intervention school. Preliminary findings from this study suggest a positive effect for the Y-PATH intervention and provide support for its potential in increasing physical activity and fundamental movement skill levels of adolescent youth. Further research involving a definitive randomised controlled trial with a larger sample size is warranted.

International audience; Vision plays an important role in allowing the development of coordinated movements and often acts as the dominant perceptual modality for every day movements. This visual information is often presented in the spatio-temporal domain but the specific role of spatio-temporal information has not been specifically assessed in the literature. This experiment used two visual stimuli to assess the reliance on spatio-temporal integration and the effect of supplementing spatial information to a temporal stimulus on coordination. Participants manipulated a hand held pendulum at three frequencies in coordination with these stimuli. The results revealed that the supplementation of spatial information significantly improved coordination. Interestingly, the absence of spatial information still produced good levels of coordination indicating a resilience of motor coordination to adapt to changes in the environment.