Exercise and physical activity for health Research Papers (original) (raw)

Background: Sufferers from bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED) underestimate the severity risk of their illness and, therefore, postpone seeking professional help for years. Moreover, less than one in five actually seek professional help and only 50% respond to current treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The impetus for the present trial is to explore a novel combination treatment approach adapted from physical exercise-and dietary therapy (PED-t). The therapeutic underpinnings of these separate treatment components are well-known, but their combination to treat BN and BED have never been previously tested. The purpose of this paper is to provide the rationale for this new treatment approach and to outline the specific methods and procedures.

- by and +2
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- Nutrition and Dietetics, Binge-eating Disorders, Bulimia Nervosa, Exercise and physical activity for health

During the late 1960s and into the 1970s game-based approaches to sport teaching and coaching emerged in scholarly literature on sport and physical education teaching. Game based pedagogical approaches for games and sport teaching have been distinguished by some authors through the more prominent emphasis on guided discovery teaching and student/athlete reflective thinking than what occurs in the more historically common sport-as-sport techniques approach typified by a demonstration-replication, or 'transmission', method of instruction. However, guided discovery is also associated with another teaching approach that emerged in the 1960s, Style F of Mosston's Spectrum of Teaching Styles. In this paper we posit that rather than be seen as competing approaches, game-based approaches and The Spectrum of Teaching Styles should be seen as complementary as both are governed by a fundamental proposition – pedagogical decision making. In particular, due to the Spectrum of Teachin...

- by Ken D Edwards
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- Teaching and Learning, Education, Learning and Teaching, Physical Activity

Research has demonstrated that adolescents who actively commute have higher levels of physical activity (PA), which have declined precipitously over the past 30 years. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of active commuting to school; and to identify barriers associated with active commuting. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1672 students (46.8% boys and 53.2% girls) from 11 to 17 years of age in Caxias do Sul/RS, Brazil. The students were asked to answer questionnaires about active transport, PA, and sedentary behaviors. They also completed a cardiovascular fitness test and body composition measurements. The study used a multivariate Poisson regression analysis. A total of 62.5% of students were observed to actively commute and the prevalence ratio (PR) of not actively commuting was associated with the type of school (Private: 2.41; 1.47, 3.95) and the time spent on commuting (>20 min: 1.93; 1.23, 3.03). The associated barriers to passive commuting...

- by Daniel G Vasques
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- Anthropometry, Brazil, Transportation, Adolescent

Despite the recommendation that physical exercise is an important way to maintain health, few people maintain fitness levels throughout their lifetime and realize their full fitness potential. In a recent Commonwealth of Australia census, it "~>vas found that 34.8% of men aged 65- 74 years
did not exercise, 26.6% did only low levels of exercise, 17.5% did medium levels of exercise, and 21 .1% did high levels of exercise, compared with 15.5% who did high levels of exercise in the 55- 64 year age group.'
The statistics for men aged 45- 54 years were even more alarming, with only 12.9% doing regular high levels of exercise.

- by Amanda Ruler
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- Health Sciences, Men's Health, Aging, Health

The purpose of this study was to examine physical activity (PA) levels and body mass index (BMI) of
secondary education students in central Greece and more specifically to determine the percentage of students
that meet the criterion for participation in moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) for 60 minutes per day,
body mass index (BMI) of participants and possible differences in PA and BMI due to sex and age. The sample
consisted of 19 students and 21 female students (n=40) of a private school in Thessaly, aged 12-16 years
(M age: 13.20 ± 1.24 years), who participated voluntarily and wore an accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X plus;
Actigraph, Pensacola, FL) on their waist for at least three days of eight hours each day. Results showed that
students had on average 87.19 ± 28.89 minutes / day in MVPA, 15.968, 42 ± 4.312,90 steps/ day and spent
492.24 ± 71.19 minutes / day in sedentary time activities. The 17.5% of participants did not meet the criterion
of 60 minutes per day in MVPA, while 82.5% of students participated in MVPA for more than 60 minutes per
day. Boys and younger age students (12-13 years) had higher levels of PA compared with girls and older age
students (14-16 years), respectively. Also, 77.5% of participants had normal BMI and 22.5% of participants
were overweight or obese. Finally, there were no significant differences in BMI z scores between sex and age.
These results set a benchmark for further evaluation of students' PA and BMI in secondary education.

Physical activity plays a vital role in the prevention and treatment of Type2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) (Hayes and Kriska, 2008). During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity is shown to be imperative in helping support a strong immune system (Chastin et al., 2021) and patients with COVID-19 who have been consistently physically inactive have a significantly higher risk of severe outcomes than patients who were doing some activity (Sallis et al., 2021). Therefore, the objective of this qualitative study was to evaluate the sufferer's perception of physical inactivity and its social determinants among people with diabetes. Interviews were conducted with 14 participants with diabetes aged 40-60 years old living in the UAE in June-July 2021. The barriers of physical activity were explored through in-depth, semistructured, audio-taped interviews. Barriers for physical inactivity were grouped around five themes: (1)Life-altering COVID-19: the pandemic that changed the world (2)Social and cultural norms: Islamic faith and family are the two most important influences among Arabs (3)Fatigue: prolonged sitting (due to long commute and sedentary jobs) and in some participants post-viral fatigue syndrome due to COVID-19 infection (4)Fear of illness: due to hyperthermia and comorbidities (5)Impact of lockdown. The prevalence of physical inactivity is high among Arabs. Weather restrictions and cultural obligations may lead to reduction in physical activity levels. Therefore, meeting physical activity guidelines can reduce the risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes among infected adults and is likely to prevent increases in diabetes incidence in this population.

Physical education (PE) classes provide opportunities for children to be active. This study examined the associations between specific environmental characteristics (teacher characteristics; class size, duration and location; and lesson context) and elementary school-aged children's moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA) during PE. Environmental characteristics and student activity levels were measured in 211 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade PE classes in 74 Texas public schools using SOFIT direct observation. Students engaged in less than half their PE class time in MVPA (38%), while approximately 25% of class time was spent in classroom management. Percent time in MVPA was significantly higher in outdoor classes compared with indoors (41.4% vs. 36.1%, P = .037). Larger (P = .044) and longer (P = .001) classes were negatively associated with percentage of MVPA and positively correlated with time spent in management (P < .001). Findings suggest that children's activity may ...

- by Andrew Springer
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- Health Promotion, Health Behavior, Social Marketing, Public Health

Background. In Poland, marathons are gaining in popularity among enthusiasts of running and healthy lifestyle in general. Universal participation of people in this extreme effort raises a number of questions about its effect on health, and consequently about the legitimacy to promote such events to the general public (to large sectors of society). The aim of this study was to identify the runners’ opinions based on their subjective feelings about the health aspects of participation in marathon races. Material and methods. This study included a group of 869 Polish amateur runners who declared at least one-year participation in running training. The research method was a diagnostic survey: a questionnaire developed by authors and implicit participant observation. Results and conclusions. Most of the runners claim that competing in marathon – and even longer distance runs – is a healthy way of spending leisure time, but skepticism is growing with the length of the training experience. Despite many injuries – arising from overload caused by exhausting trainings or competitions – the vast majority of runners believe that this form of activity is healthy. There is a need to inform about the negative health consequences of irrational training and participation in street runs.

Maintenance works upon aircraft is complicated and involve the use of myriad body parts of the personnel that actuate maintenance. It’s imperative for workers to be physically fit as this affects the output of the work and safety. This paper proposed a physical exercises framework that could be used by Aircraft Maintenance Students where this framework could be used by the Territorial Army to train the students that are involved in the Territorial Army.

- by Mohd Harridon
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- Aviation, Physical Education, Military, Exercise and physical activity for health

Regular physical activity (PA) is associated with a reduced risk for chronic health conditions and improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Efforts to increase PA have included workplace health promotion. Currently, little is known about the effect of these programs on overall HRQoL. To evaluate whether participation in a pedometer-based PA program in the workplace was associated with changes in HRQoL. 487 voluntary employees enrolled in a health program completed the SF-12 Health Survey at baseline and 4 months. Change in Physical and Mental component summary scores (PCS; MCS) was assessed with multivariable regression analysis, adjusting for covariates. Participation in the program was associated with an increase of 1.5 MCS units (95% CI: 0.76, -2.09). Greater improvements in MCS were observed in those reporting an increased level of PA during the program [1.9 (CI: 0.78, 2.92) versus 0.9 (CI: -0.12, 2.03)] and a lower baseline MCS score [6.3 (CI: 4.80, 7.62) versus -1.5 (C...

- by Rosanne Freak-Poli
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- Health Promotion, Mental Health, Quality of life, Physical Activity
- by Betty Méndez and +1
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- Exercise and physical activity for health, Human Kinetics, Curriculum and Pedagogy
- by Jim Sallis
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- Psychometrics, Global Health, Humans, Exercise and physical activity for health

В статье рассмотрен уровень двигательной активности детей и взрослых, проживающих в Львовской
области (Украина). На протяжении обучения в 7–10-х классах растет количество детей, которые в течение дли-
тельного периода времени задействованы в выполнении малоподвижной работы, а та их часть, которая никогда
не занимается физическими упражнениями, не меняется. Основная часть суммарной двигательной активности
взрослых респондентов приходится на физическую активность, выполненную на работе. Уровень физической
активности 20,3 % пожилых людей определили как высокий, 56,3 % – как средний.
Ключевые слова: физическая активность, взрослые, дети, пожилые люди

Mielenterveyttä voi edistää kuten kuntoa. Se tapahtuu pitämällä yhteyttä muihin, liikkumalla aktiivisesti, haastamalla itseään oppimaan uutta, säilyttämällä uteliaisuuttaan ja tekemällä hyvää. Väestön mielenterveyttä voidaan edistää myös... more

- by Sami Liukkonen and +2
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- Mental Health, Well-Being, Exercise and physical activity for health, Public mental health
- by Valeria Varea
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- Teacher Education, Digital Technology, Digital Culture, Surveillance Studies

This research is a descriptive study that aims to examine coach communication skills perceived by athletes according to branches. A total of 767 active athletes (517 male, 250 female) in Gaziantep were chosen as the study group on a volunteer basis. Quantitative data were collected using “Coach Communication Scale in Football” developed by Abakay and Kuru (2009) (in order to obtain research data). Data collected from the study group were analyzed and reported according to the athletes’ demographics and other variables discussed in the research. The data obtained from the scale were first transferred to the electronic environment and then calculated using SPSS 22.0 package program. Arithmetic mean, One-Way ANOVA, Spearman’s rho (rs) correlation test and t-test were used for analyzing the data, for comparing the mean scores in the unrelated measures, for examining the relationship between the variables, and for Independent samples, respectively. In conclusion, in this study we conducted to determine the coach communication skills perceived by the team – and individual athletes and to reveal the differences in terms of various variables, it was found that this ratio differed significantly between individual athletes while the coach communication skills perceived by two athlete groups were high. Our findings showed that the perceived coach communication skills tended to decline in situations where the sporting history of individual athletes increased. It has been established that their communication skills improved in the situations where educational background enhanced although there was also no gender difference in both sports groups. It has been concluded that the perceived coach communication skills also improved in the situations where it would tend to increase in some variables such as athlete’s age, coach’s age and duration of training with the same coach.

This study examined the impact of collegiate recreation participation on academic success as measured by grade point average, course credit completion, and persistence or graduation. Logistic and multiple regressions were run to explore the relationship between total recreation contact hours and outcome variables. Results indicated a positive and significant relationship between contact hours and all outcome variables, even when controlling for demographic and precollege characteristics.

- by Heather Sanderson and +2
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- Mental Health, Sport And Exercise Psychology, College student development, Exercise Science

Background Although higher psychological well-being has been linked with a range of positive biological processes and health outcomes, the prospective association between psychological well-being and physical activity among older adults has been understudied. Purpose We tested whether higher baseline psychological well-being predicted higher levels of physical activity over time. Methods Prospective data were from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, a nationally representative sample of English adults over the age of 50. Our sample included 9986 adults who were assessed up to six times across an average of 11 years. Results After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, each standard deviation increase in baseline psychological well-being was associated with higher median physical activity in linear regression models that examined physical activity across all six waves (β = 0.20; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.18–0.21) and in linear mixed effect models that examined repeated measures of physical activity over the entire follow-up period (β = 0.20; 95% CI 0.19–0.21). Further, higher baseline psychological well-being was associated with a slower rate of decline in physical activity among people who were active at baseline (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.79, 95% CI 0.76–0.82) and increasing physical activity among people who were inactive at baseline (HR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.22–1.35). Findings were maintained after adjusting for baseline health status and depression. Conclusions Psychological well-being was independently associated with attaining and maintaining higher physical activity levels over 11 years, suggesting that it may be a valuable target for interventions aimed at helping older adults acquire more physical activity.

- by Eric S . Kim (UBC)
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- Psychology, Positive Psychology, Health Psychology, Psychiatry
- by Daniel Tardona and +1
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- Health Promotion, Social Marketing, Life Style, Qualitative Research

The Ciclovía-Recreativa is a free, community-based program in which streets are closed temporarily to motorized transport, allowing access to walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and cyclists only. We assessed existing information about the Ciclovía as a public health strategy and proposed next steps for research and public health practice. We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed and other literature, which was complemented by expert interviews and consultation. We reviewed 38 Ciclovías from 11 countries. Most programs (84.2%) take place in urban settings. The programs range from 18-64 events per year (54 + or - 24.6; 52 [mean + or - standard deviation; median]) with events lasting from 2-12 hours (6 + or - 2.4; 6). The length of the streets ranges from 1-121 km (14.6 + or - 22.1; 7), and the estimated number of participants per event ranges from 60-1,000,000 persons (61,203 + or - 186,668; 3810). Seventy-one percent of the programs include physical activity classes and in 89%...

- by Enrique Jacoby
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- Health Promotion, Quality of life, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Humans

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between resting blood pressure (BP), smoking, physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI) in Greek young adults. Materials and Methodology: A standardised questionnaire and the Greek version of IPAQ-short were given to 1500 randomly selected health science students, in order to record smoking behaviour, PA status, BMI and resting BP. All healthy young adults aged 19-30 years old were eligible. The final size of the study cohort was 1249 students (522 men). Results: Males’ BP was 129.2/77.0 mmHg, significantly higher than the females’ values of 119.9/73.4 mmHg. Approximately 17% of the total population were classified as overweight and 3% as obese. In the overall population, smoking prevalence was 35.2%, with 15.3% being heavy smokers (≥21 cigs/d). Smoking prevalence did not differ significantly between sexes. The prevalence of health-enhancing PA (high PAclass) was only 14.0%, while 42.8% of the study popul...

- by Nancy Humpel
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- Education, Health Behavior, Physical Activity, Public Health
- by Francisco Carreiro da Costa and +1
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- Health Promotion, Adolescent, Social Class, Schools

To better measure physical activity (PA) in outdoor environments, McKenzie and colleagues developed the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC). However, previous SOPARC research has focused on adults, seniors, teens and children. One avenue for extending this work is to expand the child age group code to capture important nuances that can influence children's PA and their environments. This study reports on the reliability of a measure designed to account for PA in parks among children in different childhood age groups. Three groups were developed: 0 to 5-years-old (Young Children); 6 to 12 (Middle Childhood) and 13 to 18 (Older Children) based on Erikson's stages of child development. Data were obtained by direct observation in 3 neighborhood parks in Raleigh, NC and 20 neighborhood parks in Durham, NC. Kappa coefficients showed high agreement for all age group, gender, and PA codes. For the 3 assessments, the results show that the 3 age group cate...

- by Myron Floyd and +2
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- Child Development, Adolescent Development, Adolescent, Observation

Research has demonstrated that exercise provides several physical and psychological benefits for haemodialysis patients, which include their increasing quality of life. However, implementing intra-dialytic exercise into the patients’ care schemes often proves to be a difficult task for dialysis providers, and they often run into barriers. Some of the environmental barriers that are often experienced are discussed herein, in order to raise awareness and provide recommendations which may result in the process of exercise integration running more effectively.

- by David Veale
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- Exercise and physical activity for health

The Transtheoretical Model is an integrative model of behavior change developed in response to increasing theoretical diversity within psychotherapy. Since its conception, the model has been applied to a variety of behavior change contexts such as substance abuse, diet, and exercise. PURPOSE: to review and summarize the literature relative to applications of the Transtheoretical Model in exercise interventions, and to provide considerations for health professionals while using the Transtheoretical Model in their practice. METHODS: The components of the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change are parsed and analyzed to review their function and role in the model. In addition, the model is reviewed to determine the effectiveness of applying the Transtheoretical Model in conjunction to interventions aimed at increasing physical activity behavior. RESULTS: In general, results support the application of Transtheoretical Model for physical activity behavioral change, but not unconditionally. Beyond highlighting results of studies applying the Transtheoretical Model, implications and considerations for interventions using the models are also detailed. CONCLUSION: When acknowledging the multidimensional nature of the model, it is important to demonstrate a good understanding of how the various dimensions relate to one another and recognize how these relationships will influence intervention development.

- by Aarti Sahasranaman and +2
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- Exercise and physical activity for health

Background: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a serious global health problem that has negatively impacted the mental health of students.Methods: We conducted an online descriptive cross-sectional study among 273 undergraduate pharmacy students at the University of Zambia from August to September 2020. A partial proportional odds regression model was used to determine the predictors of anxiety. All statistical tests were set at 95% confidence level (p<0.05).Results: A response rate of 70% was obtained with the majority of the students being female 51.6%. Of the 273 respondents, 23.8% did not experience anxiety, 34.4% experienced mild anxiety, 24.9% experienced moderate anxiety while 16.9% experienced severe anxiety about COVID-19. It was also found that 61.2% of students reported that their attention to mental health increased during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas 44.3% reported an increased resting time with a significant reduction in relaxation 51.3% and physical activ...

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has a documented association with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, there is no consensus on which CVD risk factors are the most relevant, nor are there currently guidelines for the most effective methods for CVD prevention in BPD. Little data is available on smoking and no studies have examined the therapeutic effects of physical activity in BPD.
Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and their impact on the quality of life and prognosis of patients suffering from BPD.
Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted on 118 patients with a primary diagnosis of BPD from 5 psychiatric health centres in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. All subjects were administered the PASSI survey and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Clinical parameters including BMI and blood pressure were obtained, along with blood tests where available. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was determined and its distribution across age-groups was analysed. The data was then assessed for associations between cardiovascular risk factors and quality-of-life scores.
Results: The prevalence of active smokers was found to be 71%, with an average of 13 cigarettes per day. According to the WHO guidelines on physical activity (PA), 16% of the under-30 cohort and 30% of the over-30 cohort was sedentary. This trend is statistically significant (p=0.026). PA was associated with improved social relationships (p=0.021), improved perception of quality of life (p=0.013) and improved perception of health (p=0.001).
Conclusion: Smoking has a remarkably high prevalence in BPD, making it an important target for risk prevention. PA diminishes with age and increased levels of PA are associated with improved quality of life and social relationships.

- by Dzaki Kamal
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- Food Science, Nutrition, Food and Nutrition, Exercise Science

The use of kinesthetic movement in the classroom toward improving health and educational outcomes among youth has been a topic of discourse in recent years. School initiatives that have infused movement as part of the curriculum have shown to increase efficiency in learning, while decreasing stress and contributing to a positive classroom climate. One question that is worthy of exploration pertains to how future professionals in the fields of physical education and health can promote kinesthetic movement in schools and communities. This article discusses how a university kinesthetic classroom prepares future professionals to be advocates for school health using active learning strategies.

- by Brian Culp and +1
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- Health Sciences, Teaching and Learning, Teacher Education, Child Development

Background: Exercise referral schemes are recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) for physical activity promotion among inactive patients with health conditions or risk factors. Whilst there is evidence for the initial effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such schemes for increasing physical activity, evidence of long-term effects is limited. Techniques such as goal setting, self-monitoring and personalised feedback may support motivation for physical activity. Technologies such as activity monitoring devices provide an opportunity to enhance delivery of motivational techniques. This paper describes the PACERS study protocol, which aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of implementing an activity monitor within the existing Welsh National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERS) and proposed evaluation methodology for a full-scale randomised controlled trial.

- by Simone Fullagar
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- Sociology of Families, Health Promotion, Family studies, Governmentality

Physical activity has emerged as a distinct area of public health practice. As this field evolved, the need for a professional organization for physical activity practitioners in public health became evident. A collaboration of several existing public health professional organizations formed to address this new area of public health practice. The collaboration laid the foundation to establish a professional organization. National Association of Physical Activity Practitioners in Public Health (NSPAPPH) was launched in April 2006. NSPAPPH accomplishments to date include convening a national meeting of physical activity practitioners, conducting strategic planning, adopting bylaws and core competencies for professional practice, developing a website and electronic newsletter, and establishing training opportunities for practitioners. Future plans for NSPAPPH include development of a professional certification for physical activity practitioners in public health; enhancement of trainin...

- by Jacqueline Epping and +2
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- Health Promotion, Benchmarking, Humans, Exercise and physical activity for health
- by Danielle Cruz
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- Program Evaluation, Health Promotion, Quality of life, Brazil
- by jhon rom
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- Sport, Exercise and physical activity for health

Physical activity afterschool programs for youth can develop and extend physical and mental skills necessary for lifelong healthy movement. The primary purpose of the two studies presented was to evaluate an indoor afterschool rowing program designed to improve participant rowing times and self-concept. Participants were 85 fourth and fifth graders who completed a six-week, twice weekly rowing program across five
urban and suburban schools. Two schools completed the program in the fall (Study 1) and these results allowed for programmatic modifications for the three spring semester groups (Study 2). All participants completed a pre, post, and post-post assessment of rowing time to 500m and four subscales of the Self-Description Questionnaire-I (SDQI) at pre and post program. Participants in both the fall and spring groups significantly improved their rowing times from the post to the post-post evaluation, but not between the pre and post evaluations. SDQI scores did not significantly improve for fall participants, but spring participants scored significantly higher on Physical Appearance, Peer Relations, and General Self-Concept. An afterschool rowing program can elicit improved physical and psychological outcomes, but can be greatly moderated by variables such as group size, programming content, and psychological influences such as an audience effect.

Introduction: The pandemic caused by the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) has become one of the great torments of the 21st century. Social distancing was adopted as a measure to prevent the spread of the vi-rus. Although necessary, this confinement can trigger emotional disorders. Physical activity has positive effects on physical well-being and mental health, including the possibility of reducing psychological suf-fering. Objective: To describe the impact of physical activity on anxiety levels during social isolation due to COVID-19, among young people and adults. Methods: An integrative review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. Searches were performed between May and July 2021 in the APA PsycINFO, Medline (via PubMed), and Li-lacs (via VHL) electronic databases. Results: Of the 95 scientific articles found, 12 were considered eligible. The analyzed studies showed that, during confinement, women became less physically active, while men performed more physical activities and had lower levels of anxiety. Additionally, the higher the scores for physical activity, the lower the anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: Individuals who remained physically active or increased the amount of daily physical activities with moderate and/or vigorous intensities had lower levels of psychological disorders during the social distancing imposed by COVID-19.

Exer-games and virtual reality offer alternative opportunities to provide neuro-rehabilitation and exercise that are fun. Our goal was to determine how effective they are in achieving motor learning goals and fitness benefits as players gain experience. We employed a repeated measures design to determine changes in physical exertion and engagement with training. Fourteen healthy adults trained on the XBOX Kinect video game Dance Central using a skill-based protocol to examine changes in energy expenditure (EE), heart rate (HR), METs, limb movement, game proficiency, and player engagement in initial, post-training, and transfer-testing of a full-body dance exer-game. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance, p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;0.05. Both EE, HR, and METs increased from initial (EE 4.89±1.35, HR 103±18, METs 4.25±0.72) to post-training (EE 5.92±1.25, HR 110±15, METs 5.05±0.75) and were greatest during transfer-testing (EE 6.34±1.35, HR 115±17, METs 5.42±0.88, p≤0.001). Proficiency, measured by game scores, also increased from initial to post-training and transfer-testing (p≤0.002). Limb movement and player engagement remained unchanged. It is important to understand whether player physiological and psychophysiological responses change with continued game-play. Although Dance Central involves whole-body movement, physical exertion remained at moderate levels after training. As exer-game and virtual reality systems move from their initial novelty, research about how players react to continued involvement with a game can guide game developers to maintain a freshness through game progression that preserves the participant&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s attentional focus, minimizes attrition and maintains a prescribed level of energy exertion.

- by Shaw Bronner
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- Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics, Dancing, Adolescent

Our research work has fixed as objective, to apprehend the report of mental preparation for athletic performance from a study of a population of Algerian athletes. Sports performance defined by Platonov, V.N (1984.) as being " the maximum possibilities of an individual in a discipline at a given moment in its development" involves several other determinants. And this definition has the interest to introduce "the concept of threshold or level of performance", which are quantifiable, as defined by time, distance, power. In contrast, the physical appearance which is much easier to quantify and evaluate, it seemed more that random to define this 'process' that unites a sports result in the specific field of the individual mind. And for this, we are interested in our study, this pane, in the matter of the psychological variables that differentiate individuals between them and to, "everything that distinguishes the champions of other normal individuals: differential psychology.'' Durand, M. (1987). And we asked why mental preparation is so important in the realization of the sports performance? What are its methods, how to determine its effectiveness? The intervention of the psychologist through a descriptive language full observation taken upstream, and has designed to try to understand that which is expressed, by his actions, emotions and attitudes in a stressful environment and in its "moments of great solitude." In other words, we are trying to assign to this mental factor 'discriminating quality' so coveted by the athlete and his coach.