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The main purpose of the study was to define optimal criterion-referenced cut-points for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) associated with overweight/obesity. In this cross-sectional study, participants were 1,612 children aged 7–14years (mean age±SD=9.7±2.4years 52.5% girls). CRF was assessed by the Maximal multistage 20-m shuttle run test, from which maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was estimated. Anthropometric indices included body-mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to determine cut-off points. In boys, the optimal cut-off points of CRF in defining overweight/obesity for BMI, WC, and WHtR were 44.6, 46.4, and 46.9mlO2/kg/min. The areas under the curves (AUC) were 0.83 (95% CI 0.78–0.88, p

Lovro Štefan,1 Mario Kasović,1,2 Martin Zvonar2,3 1Faculty of Kinesiology, Department of General and Applied Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; 2Faculty of Sports Studies, Department of Sports Motorics, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; 3RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicCorrespondence: Lovro ŠtefanFaculty of Kinesiology, Department of General and Applied Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Horvaćanski Zavoj 15, Zagreb, CroatiaTel +385-98-9177-060Email lovro.stefan1510@gmail.comPurpose: The main purpose of the study was to establish a gait speed cut-off value to predict foot pain and the risk of falls among community-dwelling older adults.Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, one-hundred and twenty White older women speaking Croatian (mean ± SD age 71.02 ± 6.78 years, height 161.77 ± 6.23 cm, weight 70.29 ± 12.97 kg, body mass index 26.79 ± 4.42 kg/m2) were recruited. The prevalence of foot pain was assessed by a single-item question and the risk of falls by the Downtown Fall Risk Index with a proposed cut-off value of “low risk” (< 3 points) vs “high risk” (≥ 3 points) of falls. Self-selected gait speed (the independent variable) was estimated with a pressure platform (Zebris Company, Munich, Germany).Results: Mean gait speed was 0.95 m/s. Of the total sample, 53.30% and 33.30% reported foot pain and had higher risk of falls. For foot pain and the risk of falls, gait speed cut-off values were 0.88 m/s and 0.85 m/s (area under the curve = 0.80 and 0.83, standard error = 0.043 and 0.043, p < 0.001). Sensitivity for foot pain and the risk of falls was 66.20% and 85.90% and specificity was 84.80% and 69.00%. Slower gait speed was associated with higher prevalence of foot pain (OR = 10.92, 95% CI 4.28 to 27.89, p < 0.001) and higher risk of falls (OR = 13.59, 95% CI 5.45 to 33.87, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Proposed gait speed values of 0.88 m/s and 0.85 m/s may be used in clinical settings to predict foot pain and the risk of falls among community-dwelling older women.Keywords: velocity, discomfort, elderly, risk, falls

Although evidence suggests that obesity track well from childhood to adolescence, most of the research has been done in Western and high-income countries. Moreover, most of the studies have tracked body-mass index, as a proxy of nutritional status, while tracking characteristics of circumferences and skinfold thicknesses have been less studies. Therefore, the main purpose of the study was to explore tracking characteristics of complete anthropometric data from childhood to adolescence. This sub-study was part of the Czech ELSPAC study. In the present 8-year longitudinal study, we collected information from pediatrician's medical records at the ages of 8 y (n = 888), 11 y (n = 1065), 13 y (n = 811) and 15 y (n = 974), including circumferences (head, chest, waist, hips, and arm), indices (body-mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio) and skinfold thicknesses (biceps, triceps, subscapula, suprailiaca, thigh and the sum of 5 skinfolds). Linear generalized estimating equations were conducted to analyze tracking patterns over an 8-year follow-up period for all anthropometric measurements. Tracking coefficients were moderate to strong, ranging from 0.40 to 0.62 for circumferences, 0.41 to 0.74 for indices and 0.72 to 0.86 for skinfolds. According to body-mass index and waist circumference standards, overweight/obese children and children with abdominal obesity at the age of 8 y were 11.31 (95% CI = 8.41 to 15.22, p < 0.001) and 10.73 (95% CI = 7.93 to 14.52, p < 0.001) more likely to remain overweight/obese and to have abdominal obesity at the age of 15 y. Findings show moderate to strong tracking of anthropometric characteristics, i.e. circumferences track moderately well, while strong tracking for indices and skinfold thicknesses is observed. Moreover, strong tracking of general overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity between ages 8 y and 15 y indicates that the detection of these risk factors at the beginning of primary school should be advocated.

Maintaining stability in the knee joint is important because of the maintenance of body balance in the space and walking. One of the areas that biomechanics deals with is the understanding of the influence of forces on some changes occurring in joints, including in the knee. The topic of this paper is the biomechanical of the knee joint and analysis of walking and how the analysis of walking can help us prevent and detect injuries and irregularities in the knee joint. The biomechanical analysis of the knee joint is described in the paper, which can further explain the knee movements while walking and sports activities. The pedobarography procedure analysed walking parameters in static and dynamic measurements on subjects with multiple foot deformations and Varus leg deformations. This paper describes the relationship between biomechanical and walking analyses and their interdependence. The measurement for work purposes was conducted at the Biomechanical Laboratory at the Faculty of kinesiology in Zagreb.

Evidence has shown that higher levels of physical fitness (PF) in youth have beneficial effects on adult health-related outcomes. However, the tracking of separate PF components during adolescence has been less studied. Since PF often starts to rapidly decline during adolescence, it is necessary to provide information regarding critical time-point for interventions. This study aimed to analyze the extent of tracking the components of PF through PF tests. In this longitudinal study, we recruited 240 adolescent girls with recorded data at 2 time-points (15 y and 17 y). PF included body composition (fat mass), explosive power of lower extremities (standing broad jump), muscle endurance of the trunk (sit-ups in 60 sec), flexibility (sit-and-reach test), muscle endurance of lower extremities (squats in 60 sec), aerobic endurance (the 800 m run test) and speed endurance (the 400 m run test). Tracking coefficients were calculated using generalized estimating equations. Tertiles (high, moderate and low) were calculated for each fitness component. The highest tracking coefficients between the two time-points were found for explosive power of lower extremities (β=0.98), followed by flexibility (β=0.89), body composition (β=0.88), speed endurance (β=0.86), aerobic endurance (β=0.75), muscle endurance of lower extremities (β=0.65), and muscle endurance of the trunk (β=0.51). Tertile ratings remained stable across the two time-points. Moderate to high tracking of PF in adolescent girls suggests that interventions aiming to increase the level of PF should probably begin in early adolescence.

Objective: Our aim was to analyze dose–response associations between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and physical activity levels with childhood sports injury rates. Meth-ods: Participants included pre-pregnant mothers (n = 4811) and their children at the age of 7 years (n = 3311). Maternal anthropometry (height, weight, and body mass index), time spent in physical activity, and education level were recorded. All sports injuries were defined as injuries reported in the past year by the children at the age of 7 years. Results: Children whose mothers were over-weight/obese in the pre-pregnancy period were 2.04 (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.12–3.71) times more likely to report a sports injury at the age of 7 years. Underweight mothers exhibited a 74% decrease in the odds of their children reporting a sports injury at follow-up (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.10–0.68). Finally, an increase in maternal physical activity across the last three quartiles was associated with a lower odds of sports injuries. Conclusions: The risk of reporting a sports injury was greater for children whose mothers were overweight/obese in the pre-pregnancy period. However, there was a lower risk with both maternal underweight status and increasing minutes of physical activity. (PDF) Maternal pre-pregnancy nutritional status and physical activity levels and the risk of sports injury in children: a 7-year follow-up study. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358607780_Maternal_pre-pregnancy_nutritional_status_and_physical_activity_levels_and_the_risk_of_sports_injury_in_children_a_7-year_follow-up_study [accessed Feb 22 2022].

It is well known that body mass index may affect postural control (Ku et al., 2012) and sway (Hamilton et al., 2015), which is indirectly associated with performance (Kim, 2019). However, there has been less research exploring direct associations between body mass index and shooting performance, especially in special forces. By determining such associations, proper training protocols and interventions intended to change body mass index may be established and implemented within the program system. Therefore, the main purpose of the study was to explore, whether body mass index was associated with shooting efficiency in special police officers. In this cross-sectional study, participants were special police male officers (N=30), members of the Antiterrorist unit ‘Lučko’ (agemean±SD=40±6 years, heightmean±SD=180±5 cm, weightmean±SD=89±8 kg). Height and weight were objectively measured using stadiometer and calibrated digital scale. Body mass index was calculated by the following formula: [weight (kg)/height (m2)]. Shooting efficiency at target 10 m away was tested on a scale from 0-5, while standing on Zebris pedobarographic platform. Body mass index was negatively, yet non-significantly associated with shooting performance ; i.e. higher body mass index values exhibited lower shooting scores (r = -0.01, p = 0.923). When the model was adjusted for standing position (diagonal vs. parallel position when shooting), a positive association between body mass index and shooting performance was observed (r = 0.04, p = 0.459). Although non-significant, our study shows that body mass index is negatively associated with shooting performance. On the other hand, when adjusting for the type of feet position, the associations become positive, which means that different foot position may be having a mediated effect between the body mass index and shooting performance. Thus, future evidence is needed to determine and confirm such hypotheses.