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The health and fitness (H&F) sector is rapidly evolving and appears to be a vibrant space for industry stakeholders with a great potential globally. This observational study aimed to identify the most popular trends related to H&F services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time, focused on the industry status after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and aimed to detect potential differences with the recent results observed in other countries or regions. Additionally, a chi-square analysis was applied to determine the significant differences between trends and demographics, such as sex, age, experience, and work status. A national online survey was conducted, and applied the methodology of similar international surveys that have been carried out by the American College of Sports Medicine since 2006. In particular, simple random sampling was utilized through an online questionnaire sent to 2771 professionals involved in the UAE's H&F sector. In total, 322 responses were collected with a response rate of 11.6%. The 10 most popular H&F trends in the UAE during the post-COVID-19 era were exercise for weight loss, personal training, traditional strength training, employing certified exercise professionals, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, youth athletic development, high-intensity interval training, massage, bodyweight training, and wearable technologies. Exercise for weight loss (p = 0.001) and lifestyle medicine (p = 0.032) were more popular among females compared to males, while traditional strength training (p = 0.035) was reported more frequently by males. Going to health clubs and spas (p = 0.001) and practicing yoga (p = 0.011) were more popular trends among middle-aged (36-64 years) respondents compared to young ones (18-34 years). Athletic development (p = 0.042) was more frequently reported by non-practitioners (students) compared to practitioners (part- and full-time employees). The present results are partially in line with those reported in other recent national, regional, and global surveys, which investigated the top H&F trends after the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, the main outcomes of this study indicate that the industry stakeholders should focus on in-person H&F services since trends related to technology and digital services are not currently popular nationwide. Moreover, the majority of the top trends were more traditional and rooted activities, which showed that the current status of the H&F sector has established particular training services, programs, and products in the UAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interrelated nature of mental health and indicators of school success in children and adolescents has been under‐investigated from a person‐centered perspective. In this exploratory study, we examined patterns of health behavior in relation to mental health and school satisfaction. A convenience sample of 315 students (Mage = 11.39; SD = 2.045) from two British schools in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates participated in an online survey that included self‐report measures of physical activity, screen time, sleep quality, dietary habits, mental health, and school satisfaction. Based on latent profile analysis, we identified four distinct health behavior profiles: high, low, average, and poor sleep and diet. Significant variation across profiles was evident for mental health subscores, age, and gender, although the results for gender were due to a high number of participants identifying as "other" or preferring not to say their gender. Profile membership was significantly associated with mental health and school satisfaction with students in the high health behavior profile reporting the highest scores on these outcomes. This study presents novel findings about students' health behaviors and school satisfaction and provides impetus for continuing research in this area of inquiry from a person‐centered perspective. Practitioner Points: Students were classified into three health behavior profiles (high, low, and poor diet and sleep).Profile membership was related to mental health and school satisfaction.Mental health and school satisfaction were highest for students in the high health behavior profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Hydroxyapatite (HAP), a crucial constituent of natural bone mineral, significantly enhances the osteoconductivity of alginate hydrogels (AH) in biodegradable composites mimicking the mineral composition, porosity, and mechanical properties of bone tissue. Ionic crosslinking of sodium alginate hydrogels with Ca+ ions result in the rapid formation of egg-box structures, leading to enthalpy-driven hydration and dehydration mechanisms observable through swelling and subsequent shrinkage of the crosslinked aerogel. The fast shrinkage induces non-linear sizing of water-containing pockets, impacting the unilinear pore size distribution of freeze-dried aerogels, thereby influencing the porosity and mechanical properties of the final scaffolds. EXPERIMENTAL: Kinetics of gel-sol phase transformations of 2 % AH gel with fixed amount of mixture of hydroxyapatite (HAP) in 2 % CaCl2 water bath with mass ratios of HAP to CaCl2 (100:0, 35:75, 50:50, 75:35 and 0:100 respectively) was observed on a plate-plate Anton Paar 302 rheometer. Viscoelastic measurements were conducted in linear viscoelastic region (LVE) with constant strain (γ = 0.1 %) and varying angular frequencies (ω= 0.1, 0.5 and 1 rad. s-1 that simulated different mixing rates. Once that viscoelastic parameters (Transient complex viscosity (η*+ ), Storage modulus (G´) and Loss modulus (G´´)) reached their plateau values, samples were removed from rheometer were freeze dried for morphological observation with Scanning electron microscope (SEM) Hitachi S-4700, (Chiyoda City, Tokyo, Japan). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Kinetic of Ca+ ions induced crosslinking of alginate hydrogels is a complex, non-linear process governed by colloidal forces and change in system enthalpy, dependent on ions concentration and mixing frequency. Stepwise process of adsorption of Ca2+ ions onto HAP particles and their release into sodium alginate hydrogel results in nonlinear time-dependent crosslinking kinetic dependent on suspension ions concentration and mixing rate followed by reversable hydration and dehydration. Formation of smaller egg-box structures that contain interlocked water is observable through change in rheological parameters and in structure of freeze-dried aerogels. CONCULSIONS: Step-wise adsoption of Ca+ ions ono HAP particles in CaCl2 suspension, enables their controlled release once the suspension is poured into sodium alginate hydrogel and formation of uniform pores size distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) and mental health (MH) are priorities for health promotion during early adolescence. This study explored associations between intrinsic motivation for PA, exercise attitudes, PA and MH in young adolescents. Methods: Participants were 315 students (Mage = 11.41; SD = 2.09; 45.1% girls) conveniently sampled from two private British schools in Dubai. Data were collected via a survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: As hypothesized, higher intrinsic motivation was directly associated with more favorable exercise attitudes, and attitudes was directly associated with increased PA. Unexpectedly, however, PA was not associated with better MH outcomes. A better fitting model was specified in which attitudes was directly associated with both PA and MH. Conclusions: Further research examining associations between exercise attitudes, PA, and MH in young adolescents is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]