BackgroundA large proportion of European children, adults and older adults do not engage in sufficient physical activity (PA). Understanding individual and contextual factors associated with PA behaviours is essential for the identification and implementation of effective preventative environments, policies, and programmes that can promote an active lifestyle across life course and can potentially improve health. The current paper intends to provide 1) a multi-disciplinary, Pan-European and life course view of key determinants of PA behaviours and 2) a proposal of how these factors may cluster.MethodsAfter gathering a list of 183 potential PA behaviours-associated factors and a consensus meeting to unify/consolidate terminology, a concept mapping software was used to collate European experts’ views of 106 identified factors for youth (<19 years), adults (19–64 years), and older adults (≥65 years). The analysis evaluated common trends in the clustering of factors and the ratings of the distinct factors’ expected modifiability and population-level impact on PA behaviours across the life course. Priority for research was also assessed for each cluster.ResultsThe concept mapping resulted in six distinct clusters, broadly merged in two themes: 1) the ‘Person’, which included clusters ‘Intra-Personal Context and Wellbeing’ and ‘Family and Social Economic Status’ (42 % of all factors) and 2) the ‘Society’, which included the remaining four clusters ‘Policy and Provision’, ‘Cultural Context and Media’, ‘Social Support and Modelling’, and ‘Supportive Environment’ (58 % of all factors). Overall, 25 factors were rated as the most impactful on PA behaviours across the life course and being the most modifiable. They were mostly situated in the ‘Intra-Personal Context and Wellbeing’ cluster. Furthermore, 16 of them were rated as top priority for research.ConclusionsThe current framework provides a preliminary overview of factors which may account for PA behaviour across the life course and are most relevant to the European community. These insights could potentially be a foundation for future Pan-European research on how these factors might interact with each other, and assist policy makers to identify appropriate interventions to maximize PA behaviours and thus the health of European citizens.

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The aim of this study was to analyze the performance of medallists' taekwondo athletes in University level Championship. Kicking actions were grouped into three categories; circular, linear and with a previous spin kicks. Performance was evaluated based on 1) the type and height of the kicks employed, 2) the attacking and counterattacking nature of the kicking actions and 3) the scoring profiles of these. Forty-five matches from the four Olympic weight categories were notationally analyzed in male and female populations. Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed that the reading scores in the four weight categories differed significantly in males for linear kicks, and in circular kicks to the chest, attacking kicks and total actions (p < 0.05) for females. A greater number of circular kicks was recorded in male and female taekwondo athletes; this was followed by linear kicks and those with a previous spin. Kicks to the chest were also more common than kicks to the head as well as attacking kicks were used more frequently than counterattacking kicks. Given the new competition rules, coaches are encouraged to induce athletes to increase the frequency of kicks to the head and with a previous spin to maximise the point scoring rate per kicks delivered.

Longitudinal designs enhance our understanding of children's development and its influence on movement behaviors and health. This three‐year follow‐up study aimed to develop profiles according to perceived and actual motor competence (MC) (locomotion, object control, and overall) and physical fitness in boys and girls longitudinally including children's temporal migrations among clusters in terms of profiling trends. A secondary aim was to compare physical activity participation and weight status at each time point according to these profiles. One hundred and four typically developing Spanish children (45.8% girls) between 4 and 9 years old at baseline participated in this study. Data were collected at three time points one year apart, between January 2016 and May 2018. A self‐organizing map and K‐means cluster analysis were used to classify and visualize the values and temporal trajectories longitudinally. The study of the profiles in three consecutive years revealed five profiles, three for boys [ie, profile 1 (aligned—high), profile 2 (aligned‐partially—low perception‐medium actual MC and fitness), and profile 3 (non‐aligned—medium perception‐low actual MC and fitness)]; and two for girls [ie, profile 4 (aligned—high) and profile 5 (aligned—low)]. For highly perceived and capable children, boys (profile 1) and girls (profile 4), there was a tendency for higher physical activity participation and lower body mass index and waist circumference over time compared to their counterparts who had medium and/or low levels in perception and actual MC and fitness (P < .05). As children age, those with low values in perceived and actual MC and fitness in object control skills will present a higher probability of maintaining unhealthy lifestyles. So, prior intervention, children's profiles identification should be analyzed according to the type of MC.