Irene Esteban-Cornejo

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Muscular Strength as Mediators of the Influence of Fatness on Academic Achievement

OBJECTIVE To examine the combined association of fatness and physical fitness components (cardiorespiratory fitness [CRF] and muscular strength) with academic achievement, and to determine whether CRF and muscular strength are mediators of the association between fatness and academic achievement in a nationally representative sample of adolescents from Chile. STUDY DESIGN Data were obtained for a sample of 36 870 adolescents (mean age, 13.8 years; 55.2% boys) from the Chilean System for the Assessment of Educational Quality test for eighth grade in 2011, 2013, and 2014. Physical fitness tests included CRF (20-m shuttle run) and muscular strength (standing long jump). Weight, height, and waist circumference were assessed, and body mass index and waist circumference-to-height ratio were calculated. Academic achievement in language and mathematics was assessed using standardized tests. The PROCESS script developed by Hayes was used for mediation analysis. RESULTS Compared with unfit and high-fatness adolescents, fit and low-fatness adolescents had significantly higher odds for attaining high academic achievement in language and mathematics. However, in language, unfit and low-fatness adolescents did not have significantly higher odds for obtaining high academic achievement. Those with high fatness had higher academic achievement (both language and mathematics) if they were fit. Linear regression models suggest a partial or full mediation of physical fitness in the association of fatness variables with academic achievement. CONCLUSIONS CRF and muscular strength may attenuate or even counteract the adverse influence of fatness on academic achievement in adolescents.

A whole brain volumetric approach in overweight/obese children: Examining the association with different physical fitness components and academic performance. The ActiveBrains project

Abstract Obesity, as compared to normal weight, is associated with detectable structural differences in the brain. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has examined the association of physical fitness with gray matter volume in overweight/obese children using whole brain analyses. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the association between the key components of physical fitness (i.e. cardiorespiratory fitness, speed‐agility and muscular fitness) and brain structural volume, and to assess whether fitness‐related changes in brain volumes are related to academic performance in overweight/obese children. A total of 101 overweight/obese children aged 8–11 years were recruited from Granada, Spain. The physical fitness components were assessed following the ALPHA health‐related fitness test battery. T1‐weighted images were acquired with a 3.0 T S Magnetom Tim Trio system. Gray matter tissue was calculated using Diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration Through Exponentiated Lie algebra (DARTEL). Academic performance was assessed by the Batería III Woodcock‐Muñoz Tests of Achievement. All analyses were controlled for sex, peak high velocity offset, parent education, body mass index and total brain volume. The statistical threshold was calculated with AlphaSim and further Hayasaka adjusted to account for the non‐isotropic smoothness of structural images. The main results showed that higher cardiorespiratory fitness was related to greater gray matter volumes (P < 0.001, k = 64) in 7 clusters with &bgr; ranging from 0.493 to 0.575; specifically in frontal regions (i.e. premotor cortex and supplementary motor cortex), subcortical regions (i.e. hippocampus and caudate), temporal regions (i.e. inferior temporal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus) and calcarine cortex. Three of these regions (i.e. premotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex and hippocampus) were related to better academic performance (&bgr; ranging from 0.211 to 0.352; all P < 0.05). Higher speed‐agility was associated with greater gray matter volumes (P < 0.001, k = 57) in 2 clusters (i.e. the inferior frontal gyrus and the superior temporal gyrus) with &bgr; ranging from 0.564 to 0.611. Both clusters were related to better academic performance (&bgr; ranging from 0.217 to 0.296; both P < 0.05). Muscular fitness was not independently associated with greater gray matter volume in any brain region. Furthermore, there were no statistically significant negative association between any component of physical fitness and gray matter volume in any region of the brain. In conclusion, cardiorespiratory fitness and speed‐agility, but not muscular fitness, may independently be associated with greater volume of numerous cortical and subcortical brain structures; besides, some of these brain structures may be related to better academic performance. Importantly, the identified associations of fitness and gray matter volume were different for each fitness component. These findings suggest that increases in cardiorespiratory fitness and speed‐agility may positively influence the development of distinctive brain regions and academic indicators, and thus counteract the harmful effect of overweight and obesity on brain structure during childhood. HighlightsPhysical fitness components are positively associated with gray matter volumes in overweight/obese children.Cardiorespiratory fitness and speed‐agility affect development of distinctive brain regions.Cardiorespiratory fitness and speed‐agility related‐changes in brain volumes are associated with better academic performance.Muscular fitness is not associated with cortical and subcortical brain volumes.Physical activity that involves aerobic exercise and motor‐agility tasks is important for the brain and academic performance.

Diet quality and attention capacity in European adolescents: the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study

Adolescence represents an important period for the development of executive functions, which are a set of important cognitive processes including attentional control. However, very little is known regarding the associations of nutrition with components of executive functions in adolescence. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate associations of dietary patterns and macronutrient composition with attention capacity in European adolescents. This cross-sectional study included 384 (165 boys and 219 girls) adolescents, aged 12·5-17·5 years, from five European countries in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study. Attention capacity was examined using the d2 Test of Attention. Dietary intake was assessed through two non-consecutive 24 h recalls using a computer-based self-administered tool. Three dietary patterns (diet quality index, ideal diet score and Mediterranean diet score) and macronutrient/fibre intakes were calculated. Linear regression analysis was conducted adjusting for age, sex, BMI, maternal education, family affluence scale, study centre and energy intake (only for Mediterranean diet score). In these adjusted regression analyses, higher diet quality index for adolescents and ideal diet score were associated with a higher attention capacity (standardised β=0·16, P=0·002 and β=0·15, P=0·005, respectively). Conversely, Mediterranean diet score or macronutrient/fibre intake were not associated with attention capacity (P>0·05). Our results suggest that healthier dietary patterns, as indicated by higher diet quality index and ideal diet score, were associated with attention capacity in adolescence. Intervention studies investigating a causal relationship between diet quality and attention are warranted.

Physical fitness and psychological health in overweight/obese children: A cross-sectional study from the ActiveBrains project

OBJECTIVES To examine the associations of physical fitness (i.e. cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and speed/agility) with psychological distress and psychological well-being in overweight/obese pre-adolescent children. DESIGN 110 overweight/obese children (10.0±1.1years old, 61 boys) from the ActiveBrains project (http://profith.ugr.es/activebrains) participated in this cross-sectional study. METHODS Physical fitness was evaluated by the ALPHA battery test. Cardiorespiratory fitness was additionally evaluated by a maximal incremental treadmill. Stress was assessed by the Childrens Daily Stress Inventory, anxiety by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, depression by the Children Depression Inventory, positive affect and negative affect by the Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children, happiness by the Subjective Happiness Scale, optimism by the Life Orientation Test, and self-esteem by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem questionnaire. Linear regression adjusted for sex and peak height velocity was used to examine associations. RESULTS Absolute upper-body muscular strength was negatively associated with stress and negative affect (β=-0.246, p=0.047; β=-0.329, p=0.010, respectively). Furthermore, absolute lower-body muscular strength was negatively associated with negative affect (β=-0.301, p=0.029). Cardiorespiratory fitness, expressed by the last completed lap, and relative upper-body muscular strength were positively associated with optimism (β=0.220, p=0.042; β=0.240, p=0.017, respectively). Finally, absolute upper-body muscular strength was positively associated with self-esteem (β=0.362, p=0.003) independently of sex and weight status (p for interactions >0.3), and absolute lower-body muscular strength was also positively associated with self-esteem (β=0.352, p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS Muscular strength was associated with psychological distress (i.e. stress and negative affect) and psychological well-being (i.e. optimism and self-esteem) as well as cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with optimism. Therefore, increased levels of physical fitness, specifically muscular strength, could have significant benefits for overweight/obese children psychological health.

Active commuting to school was inversely associated with academic achievement in primary but not secondary school students

Physical activity has numerous benefits for children when it comes to academic achievements. This study determined whether active commuting – walking or cycling – to school, as a way of increasing total physical activity levels, was associated with academic achievements in students aged seven to 18 years.

Fatness and fitness in relation to functional movement quality in overweight and obese children

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the independent and combined associations between several fatness indicators and fitness components with functional movement quality in overweight/obese children. A total of 56 children (33 girls, aged 8–12) classified as overweight/obese according to the World Obesity Federation standard cut points, participated in this study. Participants underwent assessments of fatness [body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and bioelectrical impedance measures], fitness [1 repetition maximum bench and leg press, and ALPHA test battery], and functional movement quality [4 tests from Functional Movement Screen TM (FMS)]. All fatness outcomes, except waist circumference, were negatively associated with total FMS score, after controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness. Cardiorespiratory fitness, lower limbs muscle strength, and speed-agility were positively associated with the total FMS score, regardless of BMI. Our results suggest that children with greater fatness indicators demonstrate lower functional movement quality independently of their fitness level, whereas children with better fitness level (i.e. cardiorespiratory fitness, lower limbs muscular strength, and speed-agility) demonstrate greater functional movement quality independently of their fatness level. However, children´s weight status seems to be more determinant than their fitness level in terms of functional movement quality, whereas being fit seems to moderately attenuate the negative influence of fatness.

Neural perspectives on cognitive control development during childhood and adolescence should take into account how obesity affects brain development

Cognitive control comprises working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility and error monitoring and is closely tied to the development of the prefrontal cortex. The fact that the prefrontal cortex is important for cognitive control has been consistently shown among adults (1). Crone and Steinbeis explored new ways of categorising developmental progressions in cognitive control during childhood and adolescence (1). They revealed that the functional development of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex supports the development of deliberative processes, whereas the medial prefrontal cortex supports the development of internalised decisions (1). We definitely agree with the prefrontal cortex model of cognitive control development, which takes into account the distinctions between the ventral–dorsal and the lateral–medial prefrontal cortex in children and adolescents. However, we also think that there is another very important factor that should be a fundamental part of this theoretical framework, that is the heavy burden of overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence and its effects on cognitive control development. This paper draws attention to two important determinants related to paediatric obesity in this context: the influence of overweight and obesity on cognitive control during childhood and adolescence and how overweight and obesity might interfere with the Crone and Steinbeis model when differentiating between the ventral–dorsal and the lateral–medial prefrontal cortex. Obesity, which is defined as having excess body fat, is a major public health concern for children and adolescents. During the past 30 years, paediatric obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents worldwide (2). Obesity in these age groups is clearly associated with a decreased ability to modulate the cognitive control network, as reflected by both electroencephalographic recordings, such as N2 and P3 components and error-related negativity, and behavioural measures (3). In addition, resting-state