Jorge Lizandra

Does Sedentary Behavior Predict Academic Performance in Adolescents or the Other Way Round? A Longitudinal Path Analysis

This study examined whether adolescents’ time spent on sedentary behaviors (academic, technological-based and social-based activities) was a better predictor of academic performance than the reverse. A cohort of 755 adolescents participated in a three-year period study. Structural Equation Modeling techniques were used to test plausible causal hypotheses. Four competing models were analyzed to determine which model best fitted the data. The Best Model was separately tested by gender. The Best Model showed that academic performance was a better predictor of sedentary behaviors than the other way round. It also indicated that students who obtained excellent academic results were more likely to succeed academically three years later. Moreover, adolescents who spent more time in the three different types of sedentary behaviors were more likely to engage longer in those sedentary behaviors after the three-year period. The better the adolescents performed academically, the less time they devoted to social-based activities and more to academic activities. An inverse relationship emerged between time dedicated to technological-based activities and academic sedentary activities. A moderating auto-regressive effect by gender indicated that boys were more likely to spend more time on technological-based activities three years later than girls. To conclude, previous academic performance predicts better sedentary behaviors three years later than the reverse. The positive longitudinal auto-regressive effects on the four variables under study reinforce the ‘success breeds success’ hypothesis, with academic performance and social-based activities emerging as the strongest ones. Technological-based activities showed a moderating effect by gender and a negative longitudinal association with academic activities that supports a displacement hypothesis. Other longitudinal and covariate effects reflect the complex relationships among sedentary behaviors and academic performance and the need to explore these relationships in depth. Theoretical and practical implications for school health are outlined.

Competing Effects Between Screen Media Time and Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls: Clustering a Self-Organizing Maps Analysis

BACKGROUND Previous research shows contradictory findings on potential competing effects between sedentary screen media usage (SMU) and physical activity (PA). This study examined these effects on adolescent girls via self-organizing maps analysis focusing on 3 target profiles. METHODS A sample of 1,516 girls aged 12 to 18 years self-reported daily time engagement in PA (moderate and vigorous intensity) and in screen media activities (TV/video/DVD, computer, and videogames), separately and combined. RESULTS Topological interrelationships from the 13 emerging maps indicated a moderate competing effect between physically active and sedentary SMU patterns. Higher SES and overweight status were linked to either active or inactive behaviors. Three target clusters were explored in more detail. Cluster 1, named temperate-media actives, showed capabilities of being active while engaging in a moderate level of SMU (TV/video/DVD mainly). In Cluster 2, named prudent-media inactives, and Cluster 3, compulsive-media inactives, a competing effect between SMU and PA emerged, being sedentary SMU behaviors responsible for a low involvement in active pursuits. CONCLUSION SMU and PA emerge as both related and independent behaviors in girls, resulting in a moderate competing effect. Findings support the case for recommending the timing of PA and SMU for recreational purposes considering different profiles, sociodemographic factors and types of SMU.

Longitudinal changes in physical activity, sedentary behavior and body mass index in adolescence: Migrations towards different weight cluster

This study examined longitudinal changes in physical activity, sedentary behavior and body mass index in adolescents, specifically their migrations towards a different weight cluster. A cohort of 755 adolescents participated in a three-year study. A clustering Self-Organized Maps Analysis was performed to visualize changes in subjects’ characteristics between the first and second assessment, and how adolescents were grouped. Also a classification tree was used to identify the behavioral characteristics of the groups that changed their weight cluster. Results indicated that boys were more active and less sedentary than girls. Boys were especially keen to technological-based activities while girls preferred social-based activities. A moderate competing effect between sedentary behaviors and physical activities was observed, especially in girls. Overweight and obesity were negatively associated with physical activity, although a small group of overweight/obese adolescents showed a positive relationship with vigorous physical activity. Cluster migrations indicated that 22.66% of adolescents changed their weight cluster to a lower category and none of them moved in the opposite direction. The behavioral characteristics of these adolescents did not support the hypothesis that the change to a lower weight cluster was a consequence of an increase in time devoted to physical activity or a decrease in time spent on sedentary behavior. Physical activity and sedentary behavior does not exert a substantial effect on overweight and obesity. Therefore, there are other ways of changing to a lower-weight status in adolescents apart from those in which physical activity and sedentary behavior are involved.

Trabajo entre pares en la curación digital de contenidos curriculares / Peer-working in the digital curation of curricular contents

In this paper it is presented a collaborative work by peers for the digital curation of curricular contents in high education. To do so it was created a net of blogs in which the digital resources related to these curricular contents were published. This was the information on which the content healing work was done through a peer assessment. Furthermore, the results of the assessment and opinion of the students about it are shown, based on information of a qualitative and quantitative nature. A total of 69 students (13 females and 56 males) from the second grade in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences participated in the experience. However, only 50 of the participants (10 females and 40 males) remained active until end of the work. As results, a good feedback was obtained from both the creation of the blog network and the peer evaluation performed, highlighting the amount of information obtained through collaborative work. However, some aspects of improvement were detected, such as the reliability of the sources of information, the intra-group organization and the management of autonomy, elements in which it is necessary to continue working to consolidate the network of collaborative work in higher education.