: Understanding parental barriers is crucial to promote active commuting to school since the parental perceptions influence how young people commute. This study examined parental barriers to active commuting to school among Spanish children and adolescents, and their association with their gender and the usual mode of commuting. Parents of children ( n = 628) and parents of adolescents ( n = 151) from Granada (Spain) completed a paper-based questionnaire about perceived parental barriers to active commuting to school and mode of commuting. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test. Among Spanish parents, the most common barriers reported by parents of children were traffic volume and dangerous intersections, whereas the most frequent barriers reported by parents of adolescents were distance to school and dangerous intersections. Compared to parents of children, a greater proportion of parents of adolescents reported distance to school and crime and smaller proportion reported traffic volume as barriers to active commuting to school. Among parents of children, crime was a more commonly reported as a barrier by parents of girls. Although some barriers reported by parents of passive commuters were similar for children and adolescents (such as distance to school and absence of a policeman at crosswalks), other barriers were specific to parents of children. The main parental barriers to active commuting in children were traffic volume and dangerous intersections whereas for adolescents were distance and dangerous intersections. Among Spanish parents, parental barriers to active commuting are influenced by children's age, gender and mode of commuting to school.

User engagement in digital (serious) games may be important to increase their effectiveness. Insights into how to create engaging games for healthy lifestyle promotion are needed, as despite their potential, not all digital (serious) games are highly engaging. This study systematically reviewed game features that were associated with higher user engagement among youth. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and PsycARTICLES databases. Qualitative and quantitative studies were included, if they documented game features associated with youth engagement. Coding of game features was performed using the mechanics-dynamics-aesthetics (MDA) framework. A total of 60 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the registered systematic review (No. CRD42018099487). Results showed that various game features were associated with user engagement in digital (serious) games: an attractive storyline, adaptable to gender and age, including diverse (antagonist) characters the user may identify with, high-end realistic graphics, well-defined instructions, which can be skipped, in combination with clear feedback and a balance of educational and fun content. This review underpinned the relevance of investigating engaging game features specifically for youth, as deviations were found with characteristics that are engaging for other populations.

ObjectivesTo determine if subpopulations of students benefit equally from school-based physical activity interventions in terms of cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity. To examine if physical activity intensity mediates improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness.DesignPooled analysis of individual participant data from controlled trials that assessed the impact of school-based physical activity interventions on cardiorespiratory fitness and device-measured physical activity.ParticipantsData for 6621 children and adolescents aged 4–18 years from 20 trials were included.Main outcome measuresPeak oxygen consumption (VO2Peak mL/kg/min) and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity.ResultsInterventions modestly improved students’ cardiorespiratory fitness by 0.47 mL/kg/min (95% CI 0.33 to 0.61), but the effects were not distributed equally across subpopulations. Girls and older students benefited less than boys and younger students, respectively. Students with lower levels of initial fitness, and those with higher levels of baseline physical activity benefitted more than those who were initially fitter and less active, respectively. Interventions had a modest positive effect on physical activity with approximately one additional minute per day of both moderate and vigorous physical activity. Changes in vigorous, but not moderate intensity, physical activity explained a small amount (~5%) of the intervention effect on cardiorespiratory fitness.ConclusionsFuture interventions should include targeted strategies to address the needs of girls and older students. Interventions may also be improved by promoting more vigorous intensity physical activity. Interventions could mitigate declining youth cardiorespiratory fitness, increase physical activity and promote cardiovascular health if they can be delivered equitably and their effects sustained at the population level.

Active commuting to school was inversely associated with academic achievement in primary school students but not those at secondary school. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to further understand our findings.

BackgroundThe lack of physical activity and increasing time spent in sedentary behaviours during childhood place importance on developing low cost, easy-toimplement school-based interventions to increase physical activity among children. The PREVIENE Project will evaluate the effectiveness of five innovative, simple, and feasible interventions (active commuting to/from school, active Physical Education lessons, active school recess, sleep health promotion, and an integrated program incorporating all 4 interventions) to improve physical activity, fitness, anthropometry, sleep health, academic achievement, and health-related quality of life in primary school children.MethodsA total of 300 children (grade 3; 8-9 years of age) from six schools in Granada (Spain) will be enrolled in one of the 8-week interventions (one intervention per school; 50 children per school) or a control group (no intervention school; 50 children). Outcomes will include physical activity (measured by accelerometry), physical fitness (assessed using the ALPHA fitness battery), and anthropometry (height, weight and waist circumference). Furthermore, they will include sleep health (measured by accelerometers, a sleep diary, and sleep health questionnaires), academic achievement (grades from the official school’s records), and health-related quality of life (child and parental questionnaires). To assess the effectiveness of the different interventions on objectively measured PA and the other outcomes, the generalized linear model will be used.DiscussionThe PREVIENE Project will provide the information about the effectiveness and implementation of different school-based interventions for physical activity promotion in primary school children.

Physical activity (PA) and sleep contribute to better children’s health. Nonetheless, the bidirectional relationship between both of these health-related factors is unclear when using objective measures. The aims of this study were (1) to describe the PA (light PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sleep (duration, latency, and efficiency) patterns of children and compare them with recommendations, and (2) to analyze the bidirectional association between PA levels and sleep patterns in 470 Spanish children according to sex (average age of 8.4 (0.4) years, 51.9% boys). A tri-axial accelerometer and sleep logs were used to measure PA (light PA and MVPA) and sleep patterns (duration, latency, and efficiency) in the children for seven consecutive days. Linear mixed models were conducted to analyze the bidirectional association (PA → sleep and sleep → PA) adjusted for the child, the sex, the school, and the day of observation. The results showed that, overall, the children did not meet the sleep duration recommendations per day. Regarding the bidirectional association, increased light PA and MVPA during the day was related to decreased sleep duration but an improvement in sleep efficiency that night. However, sleep duration and sleep efficiency were only related negatively and positively to light PA the following day, respectively. Regarding sex, light PA was associated with decreased sleep duration in both sexes, although the average value was lower in boys. In addition, light PA was also related only to an improvement in sleep efficiency the same night in both sexes, with girls generally having more efficient sleep. More studies in a representative sample of children that use objective measures to corroborate these results are needed.

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