INTRODUCTION:The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing with its negative medical and psychosocial consequences. This paper examines the association between body mass index (BMI), motor abilities and leisure habits of 668 children within the CHILT (Children's Health InterventionaL Trial) project. METHOD: A total of 668 children (51.0% boys; 49.0% girls) and their parents were questioned on sport and leisure behaviour of the children. The anthropometric data were measured. Motor abilities were determined by a body gross motor development test for children (Köperkoordinationstest für Kinder; KTK) and a 6-min run. RESULTS: The children were 6.7070.42 y old, 122.7275.36 cm tall and weighed 24.4774.59 kg, the average BMI was 16.1772.27 kg/m 2 . KTK showed an average motor quotient (MQ) of 93.49715.01, the 6-min run an average of 835.247110.87 m. Both tests were inversely correlated with BMI (KTK and BMI r ¼ À0.164 (Po0.001); 6-min run and BMI r ¼ À0.201 (Po0.001)); the group of overweight/obese children showed poorer results than the normal/underweight ones, even after adjustment for gender and age (in each case Po0.001). Children with the greatest extent of exercise achieve the highest MQ (P ¼ 0.035). SUMMARY: Overweight/obesity is associated with a poorer body gross motor development and endurance performance. On the other hand, an active lifestyle is positively correlated with a better gross motor development in first-grade children. Therefore, to prevent the negative consequences of physical inactivity and overweight/obesity early intervention to support exercise and movement is recommended.

The application of a comprehensive gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS)-based method for stable carbon isotopes of endogenous urinary steroids is presented. The key element in sample preparation is the consecutive cleanup with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of underivatized and acetylated steroids, which allows the isolation of ten analytes (11beta-hydroxyandrosterone, 5alpha-androst-16-en-3beta-ol, pregnanediol, androsterone, etiocholanolone, testosterone, epitestosterone, 5alpha-androstane-3alpha,17beta-diol, 5beta-androstane-3alpha,17beta-diol and dehydroepiandrosterone) from a single urine specimen. These steroids are of particular importance to doping controls as they enable the sensitive and retrospective detection of steroid abuse by athletes. Depending on the biological background, the determination limit for all steroids ranges from 5 to 10 ng/mL for a 10 mL specimen. The method is validated by means of linear mixing models for each steroid, which covers repeatability and reproducibility. Specificity was further demonstrated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for each analyte, and no influence of the sample preparation or the quantity of analyte on carbon isotope ratios was observed. In order to determine naturally occurring (13)C/(12)C ratios of all implemented steroids, a reference population of n = 61 subjects was measured to enable the calculation of reference limits for all relevant steroidal Delta values.

BackgroundData on barriers to physical activity in older adults in Germany are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse barriers to physical activity in a cohort of older adults, allowing comparisons between men and women, and age groups.Methods1,937 older adults with a median age of 77 (range 72-93) years (53.3% female) took part in the 7-year follow-up telephone interviews of the getABI cohort. Participants who stated that they did not get enough physical activity were surveyed with respect to barriers to physical activity. Barriers were analysed for all respondents, as well as by sex and age group for cases with complete data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate differences between sexes and age groups. The level of significance (alpha < 0.05) was adjusted for multiple testing according to Bonferroni (p < .004).Results1,607 (83.0%) participants stated that they were sufficiently physically active. 286 participants rated their physical activity as insufficient and responded to questions on barriers to physical activity completely. The three most frequently cited barriers were poor health (57.7%), lack of company (43.0%), and lack of interest (36.7%). Lack of opportunities for sports or leisure activities (30.3% vs. 15.6%), and lack of transport (29.0% vs. 7.1%) were more frequently stated by female respondents than male respondents. These differences between men and women were significant (p = .003; p < .001) after adjustment for respondents' age. Analyses by age groups revealed that poor health was more frequently considered a barrier to physical activity by participants aged 80+ years compared to the younger age group (71.1% vs. 51.5%). This age-dependent difference was significant (p = .002) irrespective of the participants' sex.ConclusionsThe present study provides relevant data on barriers to physical activity in older adults. By revealing appreciable differences between men and women, and age groups, this study has implications for efforts to increase older adults' physical activity. Promotion and intervention strategies should consider the barriers and tailor measures to the specific needs of older adults in order to reduce their constraints to physical activity.

BackgroundBack pain is a frequent health problem in the general population. The epidemiology of back pain in the general population is well researched, but detailed data on the prevalence and risk factors of back pain in athletes are rare.ObjectiveThe primary objective was to review articles about back pain in athletes to provide an overview of its prevalence in different sports and compare its prevalence among various types of sports and the general population.Data SourcesA comprehensive search of articles published through May 2015 was conducted. Two independent reviewers searched six databases from inception (PubMed®, Embase, MEDLINE®, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO and PSYNDEX), using specifically developed search strategies, for relevant epidemiological research on back pain in 14- to 40-year-old athletes of Olympic disciplines. The reviewers independently evaluated the methodological quality of reviewed articles meeting the inclusion criteria to identify potential sources of bias. Relevant data were extracted from each study.ResultsForty-three articles were judged to meet the inclusion criteria and were included in the assessment of methodological quality. Of these, 25 were assessed to be of high quality. Lifetime prevalence and point prevalence were the most commonly researched episodes and the lower back was the most common localization of pain. In the high-quality studies, lifetime prevalence of low back pain in athletes was 1–94%, (highest prevalence in rowing and cross-country skiing), and point prevalence of low back pain was 18–65% (lowest prevalence in basketball and highest prevalence in rowing).ConclusionThe methodological heterogeneity of the included studies showed a wide range of prevalence rates and did not enable a detailed comparison of data among different sports, within one discipline, or versus the general population. Based on the results of this review, however, it seems obvious that back pain requires further study in some sports.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0645-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Effects of a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor and oral amino acid supplementations on physical and mental performance as well as neuroendocrine variables were investigated. 10 male subjects cycled in four trials until exhaustion. Participants ingested a placebo in trial (T) I, 20 mg paroxetine in T II, 21 g branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) in I Ill and 20 g tyrosine (TYR) in T IV. Heart rate, capillary lactate, plasma insulin, free fatty acids, glucose, serotonin and fI-endorphine did not differ in trials. Plasma ammonia increments during exercise were higher in T Ill. Plasma BCAA in T Ill and plasma TYR in T IV were increased after 30 mm of exercise according to the supplemented substances. In contrast to all other trials, the ratio of plasma free TRP/BCAA did not increase in T Ill. Plasma TYR/BCAA was augmented in I IV and decreased in T III after 30 mm of exercise, whereas it did not change in I I and II. Plasma prolactin (PRL), growth hormone, cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone, norepinephrine and epinephrine increased during all trials. Plasma PRL increments were higher in I IV. Exhaustion was reached earlier in I II. No significant differences were found between other trials. Drive during psychometric testing subsequent to exercise was improved in I III and IV. The results indicate that fatigue during endurance exercise was increased by pharmacological augmentation of the brain serotonergic activity. However, a reduction of 5-HI synthesis via BCAA supplementation did not affect physical fatigue. TYR administration did not alter physical performance either although plasma PRI increments suggest that changes in the monoaminergic system were induced. Precaution is necessary before assuming an ergogenic value of amino acids.