José Joaquín Muros

Factors associated with low adherence to a Mediterranean diet in healthy children in northern Spain

There is a tendency in Mediterranean countries to abandon the characteristic Mediterranean diet. This is especially apparent within younger populations. This could have negative consequences for health such as, cardiovascular diseases, obesity or metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to describe adherence to the Mediterranean diet within a population of school children and to examine the influence of different socio-demographic factors and lifestyle habits. The study was conducted on a representative sample of 321 school children aged 11-12 years from 31 schools in the city of Logroño (La Rioja). Socio-demographic variables, anthropometric variables, blood pressure, level of development, aerobic fitness, lifestyle, physical activity habits and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were recorded. High adherence to the Mediterranean diet was reported by 46.7% of school children, with low adherence being reported by 4.7% of them. Children attending state schools, immigrants and families from low-to-medium socio-economic strata reported significantly lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p = .039), but the results did not reveal any significant differences in terms of body composition. Correlations were found between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and other lifestyle habits, especially level of physical activity (r = .38) and screen time (r = -.18). Adherence to a Mediterranean diet differs according to the type of school attended by children, and the childs nationality and socio-economic status. Children who attended state schools, immigrants and those from families with a medium-to-low socio-economic status were less likely to follow healthy diets.

Effect of Physical Activity, Nutritional Education, and Consumption of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Lipid, Physiological, and Anthropometric Profiles in a Pediatric Population

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the effects of nutritional education and vigorous physical activity on health-related parameters. METHODS The sample group consisted of 134 children from 5 rurally located schools. Participants were divided between 5 different experimental groups: control group (CG), physical activity group (PA), nutritional education group (NE), combined intervention group (PA+NE), and a combined intervention group with additional substitution of normally used oil for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO; PA+NE+EVOO). The intervention consisted of 60 minute sessions of physical activity held twice a week as well as nutritional education sessions held over 6 months. RESULTS Students in the groups receiving physical activity reduced their fat percentage and increased their muscle mass post intervention. At posttest the lipid profile improved in all intervention groups. The proportion of macronutrients and dietary cholesterol improved in the groups receiving nutritional education. The posttest comparison showed significantly lower fat percentage, sum of skinfolds and waist circumference in NE relative to CG and PA relative to CG. Diastolic blood pressure and glycaemia were significantly lower in PA+NE+EVOO relative to CG. CONCLUSION A school-based program consisting of nutritional education or nutritional education plus a physical activity program showed a positive effect on health-related parameters in children.

A pilot duplicate diet study on manganese, selenium and chromium intakes in institutionalised children and adolescents from Guatemala.

Hidden hunger occurs in the presence of an otherwise nutritionally or energetically appropriate diet that is deficient in essential vitamins and minerals. Guatemala has the highest rate of child malnutrition in Latin America and the prevalence of hidden hunger is high. The aim of this study was to determine the Mn, Se and Cr dietary intakes in Guatemalan institutionalised children (4-14 years), a population group at high risk of mineral deficiency. For this purpose, the contents of Mn, Se and Cr were analysed in a duplicate diet (for 7 consecutive days) by electrothermal atomisation-atomic absorption spectrophotometry following acid digestion. Mn, Se and Cr intakes from the duplicate diets were in the range of 1·3-2·31 mg/d, 58·7-69·6 µg/d and 6·32-27·57 µg/d, respectively. Mn and Cr values were below current recommended daily intakes. A cereal- and legumes-based diet is habitually consumed by this population. Local vegetables, fruits and nutritional supplements are included daily, but the consumption of fish, meat, eggs and dairy products is very infrequent or negligible. Mean daily energy intake from the 7-d diet was 8418·2 kJ (2012 kcal), with a macronutrient energy distribution of carbohydrates 69·4 %, proteins 12·3 % and fats 18·3 %. Correlations between Mn, Se and Cr intakes and energy and other nutrient intakes were also evaluated. The present findings will help establish new nutritional strategies for this and similar population groups.

Nutritional intake and anthropometric changes of professional road cyclists during a 4-day competition

Appropriate nutrition through adequate dietary intake of total calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients is an essential component of optimizing the performance of all elite athletes. The aim of this study was to describe the food intake, body composition, and biochemical profile of professional cyclists during the Tour of Andalusia, a four‐stage race covering a total distance of 647.6 km. Nutritional data were collected by trained investigators who weighed all of the food and fluid ingested by the cyclists. The nutritional intake of the cyclists was as follows: CHO, 12.8 ± 1.7 g/kg of body weight (BW; 62.3%); fat, 2.1 ± 0.2 g/kg BW (23.2%); proteins, 3.0 ± 0.3 g/kg BW (14.5%); total kcal was 5644.3 ± 593.1. Intake of all micronutrients, except for folate and potassium [which were 93.7% and 91.3% of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA)] exceeded the RDA/I. Percentage of body fat and fat weight significantly decreased (P < 0.05) while weight of muscle mass remained unchanged after the Tour. Concentrations of urea, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, creatine kinase, myoglobin, and high‐density lipoproteins significantly increased (P < 0.05) after the Tour. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe both nutritional intake and the body and biochemical composition of a sample of professional road cyclists during a top‐class cycling race.

Differences in Mediterranean Diet Adherence between Cyclists and Triathletes in a Sample of Spanish Athletes

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) has rapidly declined in Mediterranean countries due to the increasing introduction of the Western diet. The aim of this study was to describe adherence to the MD within a sample of athletes from Spain. A second aim was to predict adherence to various components of the MD according to region, sex, and sport discipline. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 4037 (34.14 ± 9.28 years old) cyclists and triathletes (men: 90.1%). Participants self-reported their sex, date of birth, the number of years they had been practicing their sport, height, weight, sport discipline (cyclist, triathlon), and region. Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) was used to determine level of adherence to the MD. Women reported a higher MEDAS score and body mass index (BMI) (p ˂ 0.000) than men. Cyclists reported a lower MEDAS score (7.44, SD 2.12 vs. 7.85, SD 2.08), and older age (37.72, SD 9.67 vs. 34.54, SD 8.58) and BMI (23.74, SD 2.69) vs. 22.85, SD 2.28) than triathletes. The study showed that a large proportion of the surveyed athletic population were not meeting the MD guidelines, with particularly low consumption amongst men and cyclists. There were no regional effects. Nutritional guidelines for athletes should be individual rather than general and follow specifications identified by the present research.

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is Associated with Physical Activity, Self-Concept and Sociodemographic Factors in University Student

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and to examine the relationship between MD adherence, physical activity, self-concept, and other sociodemographic factors; (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study (N = 597; 18.99 ± 0.64 years) was conducted in a sample of university students from Ceuta, Melilla, and Granada (Spain). Religious beliefs and place of residence were directly reported, while physical activity and adherence to the MD were self-reported using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) and the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED) respectively. Self-concept was evaluated using the Five-Factor Self-Concept Scale; (3) Results: Of those students reporting high levels of habitual physical activity, 82.3% also reported high adherence to the MD, with 17.7% reporting a medium adherence. Of students reporting no physical activity, 25.7% also reported medium adherence to the MD. No significant associations were found between the MD and religious beliefs. It was observed that the university campus was associated with the level of adherence to the MD (p = 0.030), with adherence being lowest in Ceuta and Melilla. Finally, the MD was associated with academic (p = 0.001) and physical self-concept (p = 0.005); 4) Conclusions: The MD should be promoted to university students, particularly those studying at Ceuta and Melilla, given the present findings of lower MD adherence. In addition, as higher MD adherence was also highlighted with more positive self-concept, its promotion would be beneficial in wider educational contexts.

Nutritional intake and body composition changes in a UCI World Tour cycling team during the Tour of Spain

Abstract The aim of this study was to quantify the food intake of an International Cyclist Union (UCI) World Tour professional cyclist team and to analyse changes in body composition during the Tour of Spain. Nine male professional road cyclists (31.3 ± 3.0 years) volunteered to participate in the study. Nutritional data were collected each day throughout the 3-week Tour by two trained investigators who weighed the food ingested by the cyclists. Mean nutritional intake of the cyclists was as follows: carbohydrate, 12.5 ± 1.8 g/kg/day of body weight (BW) (65.0 ± 5.9%); fat, 1.5 ± 0.5 g/kg/day BW (17.9 ± 5.6%); and protein, 3.3 ± 0.3 g/kg/day BW (17.1 ± 1.6%). Intake of all micronutrients, except for folate, vitamin D and potassium (which were 78.7%, 46% and 84% of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), respectively), exceeded the RDA. Height, weight, skinfolds, circumferences and diameters were taken following the guidelines outlined by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry. Body density, body fat percentage, muscle mass, total muscle mass and fat mass of the arms and thighs were calculated. Percentage body fat, fat mass and upper arm fat mass significantly decreased (p < .05) after the Tour independent of the equation method used in the calculations. Total muscle mass remained unchanged. Generally, this sample of cyclists consumed more protein and less fat than the recommended amount and had low weight, BMI and fat mass. It is suggested that sports nutritionists design personalised diets in order to maintain a correct proportion of nutrients as well as controlling possible anthropometrical changes that could affect performance.

The influence of exercise on adolescents self-concept.

Motivational research over the past decade has provided ample evidence for the existence of two distinct motivational systems. Implicit motives are affect-based needs and have been found to predict spontaneous behavioral trends over time. Explicit motives in contrast represent cognitively based self-attributes and are preferably linked to choices. The present research examines the differentiating and predictive value of the implicit vs. explicit achievement motives for team sports performances. German students (N = 42) completed a measure of the implicit (Operant Motive Test) and the explicit achievement motive (Achievement Motive Scale-Sport). Choosing a goal distance is significantly predicted by the explicit achievement motive measure. By contrast, repeated performances in a team tournament are significantly predicted by the indirect measure. Results are in line with findings showing that implicit and explicit motive measures are associated with different classes of behavior.It has been argued that representative tasks are needed to understand the processes by which experts overcome their less skilled counterparts. Little is known, however, about the essential characteristics of these tasks. In this study we identified the degree to which a laboratory-based task of decision making in cricket batting represented in-situ performance. The in-situ task required skilled batters to play against a bowler across a range of delivery lengths. Skilled batsmen produced a transitional pattern of foot movements with front foot responses being dominant for balls landing 0 – 6m from the wicket and back foot responses for balls landing 8 – 14m from the wicket. In the laboratory-based task, the same batsmen viewed video footage of the same bowlers. Again, skilled batsmen responded with similar patterns of foot movement transitions. Novice batsmen produced a generic forward movement in response to all deliveries. We conclude that for decision making about delivery length, the laboratory-based task has a high degree of fidelity and reliability. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the importance of establishing the necessary degree of fidelity of representative task designs in order to study perception and action more accurately.In this study the specific foci were as follows: (1) to identify profiles of athletes in the junior-to-senior transition (JST) based on their personal characteristics (athletic identity, self-estee ...The present research sheds light on the importance of physical activity with regards to self-concept in Spanish adolescents and considers physical exercise, family and academic variables. An explanatory and relational study was conducted. A total of 2,134 teenagers aged between 15 and 18 years old participated in the study. A descriptive and relational analysis by means of the ANOVA Test was also undertaken. The results obtained are discussed here taking into account the relevant specialised literature. It was found that two thirds of the students sampled did exercise regularly, team sports being the most popular. These learners presented a high degree of self-concept, particularly for the social and family dimensions. It can also be concluded from this study that better physical condition and appearance are related to sport engagement, and that physical activity is related to improved self image and to fostering social and family relationships.Previous research has shown that skilled football goalkeepers effectively utilised individualised visual search patterns to gather anticipatory cues from a penalty taker. Deceptive cues employed by a penalty taker induced lower save rates. However, it is unclear if goalkeeper visual search (percentage viewing time of areas of interest) differed between deceptive and non-deceptive conditions. This study investigated the effectiveness of using fake visual cues by the penalty taker, and corresponding visual search behaviours. Nine skilled goalkeepers simulated saves of 15 deceptive and 15 non-deceptive 2000ms clips by moving their hands left or right. Deception involved kicker’s gaze direction and approach angle. Deceptive trials had a lower percentage save rate. When two deceptive cues were combined, performance was further impaired. Available data for four participants showed individualised visual search patterns. In conclusion, using deceptive cues by a penalty taker is effective and individualised visual search behaviour was present.

Influencia de la composición corporal y la aceptación por las clases de educación física sobre la autoestima de niños de 14-16 años de Alicante, España

espanolIntroduccion: La autoestima parece ser un importante predictor de sintomas depresivos entre los jovenes, y sobre todo en el genero femenino. Algunos autores sugieren que la existencia de sobrepeso y/o obesidad en jovenes se relaciona con una menor autoestima asi como la participacion deportiva se ha asociado con unos valores mas altos de la misma. Objetivos: Analizar las relaciones existentes entre el indice de masa corporal, sexo, aceptacion a las clases de Educacion Fisica y autoestima en una muestra representativa de escolares de 3o y 4o de Educacion Secundaria Obligatoria de la ciudad de Alicante. Metodos: El estudio se llevo a cabo sobre una muestra representativa compuesta por 1.150 alumnos escolarizados en la ciudad de Alicante. Se obtuvieron datos sociodemograficos, antropometricos, valores de autoestima y de aceptacion por las clases de educacion fisica. Resultados: Existe una correlacion positiva entre la aceptacion a las clases de educacion fisica y el autoestima (r= ,319) y una correlacion negativa entre esta y el sexo de los alumnos (r= -,289), siendo el grupo femenino el que muestra unas menores puntuaciones. Existe una correlacion negativa entre el autoestima y los valores de indice de masa corporal (r= -,083), y el sexo (r= -,308), siendo el grupo femenino el que muestra unos valores menores de autoestima. Conclusiones: En vista de los resultados se hace necesario planificar actuaciones encaminadas a reforzar y aumentar la autoestima durante la adolescencia, centrandose en los grupos de riesgo formados por los jovenes con sobrepeso/obesidad y sobre por el grupo de las chicas. EnglishIntroduction: Self-esteem seems to be an important predictor of depressive symptoms in adolescents, especially in females. Some authors suggest that there is a relationship between adolescents with overweight or obesity and lower self-esteem. In addition, sports participation has been associated with a higher self-esteem. Objectives: To analyses the relationships between BMI, gender, acceptance for physical education classes and self-esteem in a representative sample of 14-16 years students of the Alicante city. Methods: Research was conducted with a representative sample of 1,150 students (15.1 ± 0.8 years) of the Alicante city. Data included their socio-demographic background, anthropometric measurements, self-esteem and acceptance for physical education classes. Results: There is a positive correlation between acceptance for physical education classes and selfesteem (r= .319) and there is a negative correlation between this acceptance and gender (r= -.289), lower scores were shown in a female group. There is a negative correlation between self-esteem and BMI (r= -.083) and gender (r= -.308), lower self-esteem were shown in a female group. Results: It is necessary to plan actions aimed as reinforcing and increasing self-esteem during the adolescent period, focusing on the group of girls and the group of young adults with overweight and obesity problems and especially in the girl group.INTRODUCTION Self-esteem seems to be an important predictor of depressive symptoms in adolescents, especially in females. Some authors suggest that there is a relationship between adolescents with overweight or obesity and lower self-esteem. In addition, sports participation has been associated with a higher self-esteem. OBJECTIVES To analyses the relationships between BMI, gender, acceptance for physical education classes and self-esteem in a representative sample of 14-16 years students of the Alicante city. METHODS Research was conducted with a representative sample of 1,150 students (15.1 ± 0.8 years) of the Alicante city. Data included their socio-demographic background, anthropometric measurements, self-esteem and acceptance for physical education classes. RESULTS There is a positive correlation between acceptance for physical education classes and self-esteem (r= .319) and there is a negative correlation between this acceptance and gender (r= -.289), lower scores were shown in a female group. There is a negative correlation between self-esteem and BMI (r= -.083) and gender (r= -.308), lower self-esteem were shown in a female group. CONCLUSIONS It is necessary to plan actions aimed as reinforcing and increasing self-esteem during the adolescent period, focusing on the group of girls and the group of young adults with overweight and obesity problems and especially in the girl group.

Influencia del índice de masa corporal en la autoestima de niños y niñas de 12-14 años

INTRODUCTION During the last decades, the increase in the rate of children and adolescents that are overweight or obese is alarming and it is related with a lower social competency, and low self-esteem. METHOD A transversal study was conducted with a representative sample of 292 students enrolled in years 8 and 9 at secondary school (13.05±0.97 years) in the city of Jaen, Spain. RESULTS Girls wanted a thinner figure than boys (P < .001). Regarding self-esteem we observed statistically lower values in the case of girls (P < .000) as compared to their male counterparts. Regarding the BMI, students with a healthy weight have a statistically higher self-esteem score than students that are overweight and these have a slightly higher score than those that are obese. Positive correlation exists between the perceived silhouette and the desired silhouette (r=.485) and a negative correlation between the BMI and self-esteem (r=-.248). CONCLUSION It is necessary to plan actions aimed as reinforcing and increasing self-esteem, focusing on the group of girls and the group of young adults with overweight and obesity problems.