In this study, the effect of rapid and slow biological maturation on the development of obesity was investigated in boys (n = 79) and girls (n = 98), initially aged a mean of 13 y, and measured six times between 1977 and 1991. Obesity was determined by measuring body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) and by summing four skinfold thicknesses. Biological maturation was operationalized by skeletal age, the age of peak height velocity (PHVage) for boys, and the age of menarche for girls. Multiple analyses of variance for repeated measurements showed that based on either skeletal age or PHVage, BMI for rapidly maturing boys was significantly higher than for slowly maturing boys between 13 and 27 y of age. Based on skeletal age, rapid maturers also showed higher mean sums of skinfold thicknesses over this period. For girls, BMI and sums of skinfold thicknesses for the rapidly maturing girls, based on either skeletal age or age at menarche, were also higher than for the slowly maturing girls over the entire period of study. In conclusion, individuals who matured rapidly in adolescence were, in general, more obese than slowly maturing adolescents between 13 and 27 y of age. Rapid maturation seems to have long-term consequences for obesity and should therefore be considered a risk indicator for the development of obesity.

RESuMoExercícios com impacto como caminhada, saltos, corridas e exercícios resistidos são muito utilizados para prevenção da perda óssea em idosas. No entanto, poucos são os estudos que relatam os efeitos da natação na manutenção da massa óssea em mulheres idosas. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo foi comparar os efeitos da natação com o treinamento resistido na densidade mineral óssea (DMO) de mulheres idosas. Vinte e três mulheres com idade média de 63,9 ± 6,49 anos foram divididas em dois grupos: 1) grupo natação (NAT, n = 13, que) treinou em intensidade entre 60 e 90% da freqüência cardíaca de reserva; 2) grupo treinamento resistido (TR, n = 10), que treinou os principais grupamentos musculares com três séries a 80% de 1RM. Os dois grupos praticaram três vezes por semana com uma hora de duração para cada sessão, durante seis meses. A DMO do colo do fêmur e da coluna lombar (L2-L3-L4) foi mensurada através de DXA antes (T0) e após seis meses de treino (T6). Os resultados mostraram que as médias para a DMO lombar em T0 (0,9250 ± 0,1506g/cm aBStRaCtImpact exercises like walking, jumping, running and resistance exercises are largely used to prevent bone loss in older women; however, few studies report the benefits of swimming to bone tissue. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of swimming with resistance training on bone mineral density (BMD) of older women. Twenty-three women with mean age of 63.9 ± 6.49 years were divided in two groups: 1) Swimming group (SWM, n = 13) trained at intensity between 60 and 90% of heart hate reserve; 2) Resistance training group (RT, n = 10) trained the main muscular groups with three sets at 80% of 1RM. Both groups trained 3 days/week, one hour per session, during six months. Femoral neck and lumbar spine (L2-L3-L4) BMD were assessed by DXA before (T0) and after six months (T6) of training. Results showed that mean BMD at lumbar spine at T0 (0.9250 ± 0.1506g/cm 2 ) and T6 (0.9303 ± 0.1269g/cm 2 ) for SWM, and at T0 (0.9739 ± 0.1249g/cm 2 ) and T6 (0.9737 ± 0.1317g/cm 2 ) for RT were not different when inter and intracompared. Similarly, there were no differences in femoral neck BMD at T0 (0.7784 ± 0.1523g/cm 2 ) and T6 (0.7905±0.1610g/cm intRoduÇÃo O avanço da idade está associado a desequilíbrio entre a reabsorção e formação óssea, levando a progressivo declínio na densidade mineral óssea (DMO). Em conjunto com a deterioração das trabéculas dos ossos, esse processo tem como conseqüência fragilidade óssea e aumento do risco de fraturas em pessoas idosas (1) . As pessoas mais acometidas são as mulheres, pois na condição de menopausa ou pós-menopausa esse declínio é mais acelerado e uma das formas para prevenção, manutenção e aquisição de massa óssea é o exercício físico (2) . O exercício físico tem importante papel na prevenção dessas alterações, evidenciando que maiores valores de DMO estão relacionados com estilos de vida mais ativos fisicamente (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) e menor incidência de fraturas, diminuindo assim a mortalidade e morbidade (1,9) . A ca...

nnnn The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the research devoted to the relations of physical activity in children and exercise. The results of experimental studies on the benefits of extra, more intensive physical activity or with different styles of teaching are summarized. Most valid studies using the school environment do not reveal significant and beneficial effects.Longitudinal studies contrasting physically active and inactive children always show higher physiological characteristics in the highly active groups; however, these results are not conclusive because self-selection may have caused the differences. Training studies on aerobic power and on muscle strength show always significant improvements in both sexes, regardless of their level of biologic maturation. The general lack of physical activity in youths nowadays needs strategies to promote physical activity.Motivationally oriented programs with emphasis on the determinants of physical activity behavior of children are supposed to be the most effective and also to be long lasting.n Key words: Pediatric exercise, physical education, sports training, health promotion. Publications of Pediatric Exercise ResearchResearch in pediatric exercise has increased enormously during the past 30 years around the world, and publications appeared about the development of physical performance capacity in childhood and adolescence. This research is published in well-established international journals, such as J Appl Physiol, Eur J Appl Physiol, Eur J Pediatr, Am J Hum Biol, Ann Hum Biol, Int J Psychophysiol and Med Sci Sports Exerc. Also new specialized journals appeared, such as Pediatr Exerc Sci, J Adolesc and Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. Other new journals, such as lnt J Sports Nutr, Sport Psychol, J Sport Sci also pay more attention to research in children and adolescents. New textbooks appeared about Work Physiology by strand and Rodahl [1]. These authors were the first who included a chapter (ch. 11) on body dimension and muscular work, in which aspects of pediatric exercise were explained. After that, publications appeared about physical activity and growth [30], pediatric sports medicine by Bar-Or [4], exercise and children©s health [25], and a series of books called Advances in Pediatric Sport Sciences published by Human Kinetics between 1984 and 1989. More recently, Malina and Bouchard wrote a textbook entitled Growth, Maturation and Physical Activity [18]. Willmore and Costill included in their Physiology of Sport and Exercise [36] a chapter devoted to growth, development and the young athlete. The latest publication deals with pediatric anaerobic performance [23]. What is the impact of all this literature? Is this

Objetivo. Verificar o nível de equilíbrio em indivíduos portadores da Doença de Parkinson, integrantes da Associação Missioneira de Parkinson de Santo Ângelo-RS (AMPark). Método. Foi realizada uma pesquisa quase-experimental com delineamento pós facto, com 14 indivíduos divididos em dois grupos, sendo o primeiro composto por indivíduos portadores da Doença de Parkinson (GParkinson N=7) e o segundo pelos seus Cuidadores (GCuidador N=7). Os sujeitos foram submetidos ao Teste de Equilíbrio de Berg composto por 14 tarefas que envolvem equilíbrio estático e dinâmico. Resultados. Sujeitos integrantes do GParkinson obtiveram 42,12 pontos e GCuidador 54,43 pontos (p <0,05) que, de acordo com a classificação apresentada por Shumway-Cook & Woollacott, representam valores significantes 73% e 7,14%, respectivamente. Conclusão. Este estudo mostrou que há um comprometimento do equilíbrio em portadores da Doença de Parkinson integrantes da AMPark Santo Ângelo-RS. >

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