No abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and clustering of health-related behaviors in Spanish adolescents and to examine their association with sex, body mass index (BMI), different types of sedentary screen time, and adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines. A final sample of 173 students (M = 12.99 ± 0.51) participated in this study. Cluster analysis was conducted based on five health-related behaviors: PA and sedentary time derived from accelerometers, as well as healthy diet, sedentary screen time, and sleep duration derived from self-reported scales. Recommendations for 24-hour movement guidelines (i.e., physical activity (PA), screen time, and sleep duration) were analyzed both independently and combined. A total of 8.9% of the sample did not meet any of the guidelines, whereas 72.3%, 17.3%, and 1.7% of the sample met 1, 2, or all 3 guidelines, respectively. Six distinct profiles were identified, most of them showing the co-occurrence of healthy- and unhealthy-related behaviors. Given that most of the adolescents failed to meet the combination of PA, screen time, and sleep duration guidelines, these findings suggest the necessity to implement school-based interventions that target multiple health behaviors, especially because (un)healthy behaviors do not always cluster in the same direction.

Adolescents' objectively assessed physical activity (PA) patterns during specific segments of the day remain unclear. In order to develop a clearer understanding this study examined country and gender differences in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels during specific segments of weekdays and weekend days, and explored the contribution of each segment to PA guidelines. Morpho-demographic, socio-economic and PA data were collected from a sample of 829 French and Spanish adolescents (45.0% Spanish; 55.2% females; 14.33±.73 years). Actigraph GT3X accelerometers were worn for seven days to assess adolescents' MVPA for three segments of weekdays (school-travel-time, school-time, and non-school-time), and weekend days (morning-time, afternoon-time and night-time). Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. The most active segments were non-school-time (29.2±17.5 min) and school-time (25.8±14.2 min) during weekdays, and morning-time (28.2±25.8 min) on weekend days. Except for school-time, Spanish adolescents were more significantly active than French adolescents during all segments. Significant gender differences were found in all segments. Country differences highlight the need to recognise cultural contexts that influence adolescents' PA. Common European-wide strategies may be insufficient to increase MVPA levels if cultural variability is not considered. Spanish and French PA intervention programmes should target girls and low-active boys during non-school-time and weekends.

The aim was to examine the effects of a multicomponent school-based intervention on psychological correlates of physical activity (PA) in physical education (PE) and leisure-time PA settings. Two hundred and ten students (M=13.06±0.61) were assigned either to a control or an experimental school. Curricular and extracurricular PA actions were developed during one academic year to empower adolescents to be active by themselves. Experimental school students reported significant improvements in almost all psychological determinants and correlates of PA in PE and leisure-time PA settings, when compared to both control school students and their own baseline values. Results highlight the importance of developing multicomponent school-based interventions that involve the school community to improve students' motivational outcomes in PE and leisure-time PA contexts.

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Achievement Goal Theory, the objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an intervention programme on a series of motivational variables in a corporal expression teaching unit. An analysis was also conducted in terms of whether the impact of the intervention would be effective in boys and girls, given the social stereotypes inherent to this type of expression activity. A sample of 224 students, with ages varying from 12 to 14 years old (105 boys, 119 girls) participated in 10 sessions. A quasi-experimental design was carried out, dividing the total sample into two groups: control ( n = 115) and experimental ( n = 109). The intervention programme was applied in the experimental group via specific strategies based on the TARGET areas. In the experimental group, the results showed significantly higher values in perceived task-oriented climate, autonomy, competence, intrinsic motivation, identified regulation and enjoyment, as well as significantly lower values in ego-oriented climate. The intervention programme proved to be effective in boys and girls and the results were even better in boys. The importance of developing and applying specific motivational strategies in corporal expression activities should be stressed in order for this to have an impact on variables such as motivation and enjoyment in boys and girls, thus achieving more positive experiences.