Evidence suggests that moderate physical activity (PA) positively relates to creativity and emotional intelligence (EI) in adolescents. However, it is unknown whether cooperative PA (physical exercises in pairs or small groups to enhance motivation, self-efficacy, and pro-social behaviours), performed over less time but at higher intensity, could have similar effects within a school setting. The aim was to analyse the effect of cooperative high-intensity interval training (C-HIIT) on creativity and EI in adolescents aged 12–16 years, and whether improvement effects are different according to weekly PA level. A randomised controlled trial was conducted with a control group (CG, n = 94), which did static stretching, and an experimental group (EG, n = 90), which performed C-HIIT. Both groups performed the activity during 16 minutes at the beginning of physical education (PE) classes. Creativity was assessed with one factor, and EI through four factors (well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability). Age and body mass index (BMI) were used as confounders. Both were measured twice (baseline and after 12 weeks). The EG increased well-being and sociability factors after the C-HIIT programme (both p < 0.001). More specifically, inactive adolescents in the EG showed significant improvements in comparison to the CG in creativity, well-being, and sociability ( p = 0.028, p < 0.001, and p < 0.003, respectively). However, we did not find changes among active adolescents. A programme of C-HIIT in PE is a novel strategy to improve creativity and EI, especially in physically inactive adolescents. Starting PE classes with 16 minutes of C-HIIT could be recommended, independently of other activities planned for the session.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of 8 weeks of Pokémon GO on physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness [CRF], Speed/Agility [S/A], and muscular strength [MS]) and fatness (body mass index [BMI], percentage of body fat [%BF], and waist-hip index), as well as possible differences between weekly physical activity (PA) levels, in Spanish adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age. Design, setting and method: Comparative design, with a control group ( n = 86) that did not participate in Pokémon GO, and an intervention group ( n = 78) which did so over an 8-week period. Age, sex, number of home computers, and maternal educational level were controlled for as possible confounding variables. Results: Results show that players walked a total of 52 km in 8 weeks. Moreover, they played the game for a mean of 40 min/day. Pokémon GO players showed improvements in CRF and BMI ( p < .05). Inactive young people showed a 22.2% increase in CRF and an 11.3% decrease in their %BF compared to non-players. Despite these results, less than half of the participants considered that Pokémon GO had improved their overall fitness and felt more encouraged to engage in PA. Conclusion: Pokémon GO increased PA and CRF levels and decreased BMI and %BF after 8 weeks of practice independently of age, sex, number of computers at home, and maternal education. The Pokémon GO app could be used in school and family contexts to increase the daily amount of MVPA, improve CRF, and to take advantage of the effects of loss of body fat.

El objetivo del presente estudio fue conocer el efecto agudo de dos tipos diferentes de descansos activos (baja y alta intensidad), llevados a cabo entre dos clases, sobre varias variables cognitivas como la memoria, atención-concentración, cálculo matemático, razonamiento lingüístico y creatividad en jóvenes de Educación Secundaria. Participaron 136 adolescentes de 12.92 ± 0.43 años. Se emplearon 3 grupos de estudio: 1) Grupo de control (GC) que permaneció sentado dentro de la clase; 2) Grupo experimental 1 (GE1) que realizó 1 descanso activo de 4 minutos a baja intensidad; y 3) Grupo experimental 2 (GE2) que llevó a cabo ejercicios de alta intensidad. Para analizar los efectos de los diferentes tipos de descansos se empleó ANCOVA de medidas repetidas 3 Grupo (GC, GE1, GE2) x 2 Tiempo (pre, post). Se empleó como covariables la edad, sexo y estudios de la madre. Los resultados mostraron que los descansos activos mejoraron la memoria posterior de los participantes (p<0.001). Los descansos activos de baja intensidad presentaron un efecto de mejora similar en la atención y concentración (21 y 25%, p<0.001). Se observaron mejoras en el cálculo matemático tras ambos tipos de descansos activos, sin embargo, las diferencias no han llegado a ser significativas. Los adolescentes no mostraron mejoras en la capacidad lingüística ni en la creatividad. Se sugiere la inclusión de descansos activos, preferiblemente a baja intensidad, para obtener beneficios a corto plazo en la atención, concentración y cálculo matemático en jóvenes de educación secundaria.   Abstract. The objective of this study was to know the acute effect of two different types of active breaks (low and high intensity), carried out between two classes, on several cognitive variables such as memory, attention-concentration, mathematical calculation, linguistic reasoning and creativity in high school youth. 136 adolescents of 12.92 ± 0.43 years participated. Three study groups were used: 1) Control group (CG) that remained seated within the class; 2) Experimental group 1 (EG1) that made 1 active break of 4 minutes at low intensity; and 3) Experimental group 2 (EG2) that carried out high intensity exercises. To analyze the effects of the different types of breaks, ANCOVA was used with repeated measures 3 Group (CG, EG1, EG2) x 2 Time (pre, post). Age, sex and studies of the mother were used as covariates. The results showed that active rest improved the participants' later memory (p <0.001). The low intensity active breaks had a similar improvement effect in attention and concentration (21 and 25%, p <0.001). Improvements in the mathematical calculation were observed after both types of active breaks, however, the differences have not become significant. The adolescents showed no improvement in linguistic ability or creativity. It is suggested the inclusion of active breaks, preferably at low intensity, to obtain short-term benefits in the attention, concentration and mathematical calculation in secondary school youth.

The relationship between parental support and physical activity enjoyment appears to be mediated by individual-level factors. The aim of this study was to examine whether the relationship between perceived parental support and physical activity enjoyment is mediated by overweight and obese adolescents’ physical fitness, both subjectively and objectively assessed. A total of 163 participants (mean age =14.30 years, 55.8% boys) with an average body mass index of 28.97 kg/m2 took part in this study. Participants completed a questionnaire of parental influence regarding physical activity, a questionnaire of physical self-perception and several fitness tests (cardiorespiratory fitness, lower limbs muscular strength and flexibility) using the ALPHA-fitness battery. The results showed that relationship between perceived parental support and physical activity enjoyment is mediated by the overweight and obese adolescents’ perceived cardiorespiratory fitness and flexibility. We suggest to create educational guidelines for parents to increase the support and improve overweight and obese students’ positive perceived physical competence, in order to achieve a greater adherence to physical activity and greater physical activity enjoyment.

El objetivo de esta revisión fue analizar los estudios que evalúan el efecto de la práctica de actividad física integrada en los descansos escolares, sobre la atención en niños y adolescentes. Para ello se hizo una búsqueda bibliográfica en tres bases de datos (búsqueda inicial n = 502: PubMed n = 121, SportDiscus n = 114, Web of Science n = 268), desde enero de 2000 hasta marzo de 2017. Un total de nueve estudios con intervención cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Todos los estudios emplearon ejercicio físico a intensidad moderada-vigorosa de una duración entre 5-30 min. En siete estudios obtuvieron mejoras y en dos no obtuvieron cambios. Se encontraron diferencias atendiendo al sexo. Finalmente, se observó la influencia de la duración e intensidad de la intervención habiendo controversia entre los diferentes estudios. Motivo por el que consideramos que son necesarias más investigaciones para aclarar la influencia de los factores de confusión, tipo, duración e intensidad del ejercicio.