Overall, up to 100% of youth may be sufficiently active when using a threshold of approximately >1000e1500 cpm. With the most cited cut-off point (i.e. >2000 cpm), up to 87% of European youth might be considered physically active with reference to the current recommendations. Alternatively, with a cut-off point >3000 cpm, no more than 3e5% of them appeared to achieve these recommendations. The large discrepancy in outcomes released by accelerometer data is mainly due to the variety of cut-off points for MVPA among youth, hindering the definition of a clear goal towards PA promotion in Europe.Standardization of methods is urgently required.

To date, few data on how the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions affected children's physical activity in Europe have been published. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of physical activity and screen time from a large sample of European children during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform strategies and provide adequate mitigation measures. An online survey was conducted using convenience sampling from 15 May to 22 June, 2020. Parents were eligible if they resided in one of the survey countries and their children aged 6-18 years. 8,395 children were included (median age [IQR], 13 [10-15] years; 47% boys; 57.6% urban residents; 15.5% in self-isolation). Approximately two-thirds followed structured routines (66.4% [95%CI, 65.4-67.4]), and more than half were active during online P.E. (56.6% [95%CI, 55.5-57.6]). 19.0% (95%CI, 18.2-19.9) met the WHO Global physical activity recommendation. Total screen time in excess of 2 hours/day was highly prevalent (weekdays: 69.5% [95%CI, 68.5-70.5]; weekend: 63.8% [95%CI, 62.7-64.8]). Playing outdoors more than 2 hours/day, following a daily routine and being active in online P.E. increased the odds of healthy levels of physical activity and screen time, particularly in mildly affected countries. In severely affected countries, online P.E. contributed most to meet screen time recommendation, whereas outdoor play was most important for adequate physical activity. Promoting safe and responsible outdoor activities, safeguarding P.E. lessons during distance learning and setting pre-planned, consistent daily routines are important in helping children maintain healthy active lifestyle in pandemic situation. These factors should be prioritised by policymakers, schools and parents.

Overall, the WHO references yield an overestimation in overweight and/or obesity within this sample of schoolchildren as compared to the French references and the IOTF. The magnitude of agreement coefficients between the three references depends on of both sex and age categories. The French references seem to be in rather close agreement with the IOTF in defining overweight, especially in 7-12-year-old children.

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This study is aimed at updating the relationships between physical activity (PA) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and/or insulin resistance (IR) in youth. Cross-sectional, prospective cohort and intervention studies, which examined the effect of PA on MetS, its components and IR in children and adolescents (<18 yrs), were searched by applying a combination of criteria in the PubMed database. The electronic search of studies published from 2000-2010 yielded >150 references. Of these, 37 studies were included. Twenty-six studies (70%) were cross-sectional observation studies, and two studies (8%) were prospective cohort studies. The remaining eight studies (22%) were interventions, of which three (<10% of all included studies) were randomized controlled trials. Commonly, higher PA levels were consistently associated with an improved metabolic profile and a reduced risk for MetS and/or IR in these populations. The impact of PA on MetS and/or IR appeared to be either independent of other factors, or alternatively or simultaneously mediated by the physical fitness and adiposity of youth. However, more-robustly designed interventions (i.e., some mega-randomized controlled trials based on lifestyle interventions) and additional cohort studies are required to make definitive inference about the magnitude and role of PA as a single genuine preventive and treatment strategy for the metabolic and cardiovascular risk of youth in the current obesogenic context.