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.
BackgroundThe literature shows how gender mandates contribute to differences in exposure and vulnerability to certain health risk factors. This paper presents the results of a study developed in the south of Spain, where research aimed at understanding men from a gender perspective is still limited.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to explore the lay perceptions and meanings ascribed to the idea of masculinity, identifying ways in which gender displays are related to health.DesignThe study is based on a mixed-methods data collection strategy typical of qualitative research. We performed a qualitative content analysis focused on manifest and latent content.ResultsOur analysis showed that the relationship between masculinity and health was mainly defined with regard to behavioural explanations with an evident performative meaning. With regard to issues such as driving, the use of recreational drugs, aggressive behaviour, sexuality, and body image, important connections were established between manhood acts and health outcomes. Different ways of understanding and performing the male identity also emerged from the results. The findings revealed the implications of these aspects in the processes of change in the identity codes of men and women.ConclusionsThe study provides insights into how the category ‘man’ is highly dependent on collective practices and performative acts. Consideration of how males perform manhood acts might be required in guidance on the development of programmes and policies aimed at addressing gender inequalities in health in a particular local context.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.