The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the COVID-19-related confinement and social restrictions affected the levels of physical fitness and academic achievement in primary school French children. A total of 206 primary school children (106 before confinements and 100 after restrictions) completed a test battery evaluating their anthropometric characteristics, body compositions, activity preferences, cognitive performances and physical fitness. The performance of the Standing Long Jump was better at T0 (169.9 ± 142.5 cm) compared to T1 (135.2 ± 31.4 cm) (p = 0.0367), and the Medicine Ball Throw performance declined from T0 to T1 (297.3 ± 81.1 cm vs. 249 ± 52 cm; p < 0.0001). Motor skills (26.9 ± 6.2 s vs. 30.9 ± 5.4 s; p < 0.0001), the shuttle-run test (stages completed), Maximal Aerobic Speed, and the estimated VO2max were lower at T1 compared to T0 (p < 0.0001). Executive functioning was found to be greater at T0 compared to T1 (p < 0.0001). Explicit liking or wanting for sedentary or physical activities did not change between T0 and T1. Both overall physical fitness and cognitive performance drastically declined among primary school French children with the COVID-19-related public health restrictions, which reinforces the need to urgently develop preventive strategies in anticipation of further mitigation measures.

The first emergency was to receive and treat COVID-19 patients in their acute phase; today, there is a clear need to propose appropriate post-acute rehabilitation programs. The aim of this research was to systematically review the effects of physical activity programs in the recovery of post-COVID-19 patients. The literature search followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42022289219), and was conducted between August and December 2021. A total of 35 studies out of the 1528 initially identified were finally included in the analysis. The systematic review clearly showed the health benefits of rehabilitation including physical activity in post-COVID-19 recovery, regardless of exercise modalities. These positive results were even observed using minor muscle re-mobilization for severe cases (i.e., postural changes, few steps—2 times/day) or using low volumes of exercise for mild-to-moderate cases (i.e., 120 min/week). A total of 97% of the 29 studies that performed statistical analyses demonstrated a significant increase in at least one parameter of functional capacity, and 96% of the 26 studies that statistically investigated the effects on the quality of life, mental health, and general state reported improvements. Yet, most of the studies were retrospective, uncontrolled, and enrolled aged people with comorbidities presented in severe forms of COVID-19. Physical activity programs, in addition to their high heterogeneity, remained poorly described in 83% of the studies and were part of a multidisciplinary program for 89% of the studies. Despite promising results, there is today a real need for prospective well-designed studies specifically assessing the effects of physical activity. In addition, it might appear relevant to propose standardized programs further considering the main characteristics of patients such as age, comorbidities, or the severity of COVID-19.

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Constitutional thinness (CT) is a non-pathological state of underweight. The present study aimed to explore skeletal muscle energy storage in individuals with constitutional thinness and to further characterize muscle phenotype at baseline and in response to overfeeding. Thirty subjects with CT (15 females, 15 males) and 31 normal-weight control subjects (16 females, 15 males) participated in the study. Histological and enzymological analyses were performed on muscle biopsies before and after overfeeding. In skeletal muscle of CT participants compared to controls, it was observed a lower content in intramuscular triglycerides for type I (p<0.01, -17%) and type IIA (p<0.05, -14%) muscle fibers, a lower glycogen content for type I fibers (p<0.01, -6%) and type IIA fibers (p<0.05, -5%), a specific fiber type distribution, a marked muscle hypotrophy (p<0.001, -20%), a low capillary-to-fiber ratio (p<0.001, -19%), and a low citrate synthase activity (p<0.05, -18%). In response to overfeeding, CT participants increased their intramuscular triglycerides content in type I (p<0.01, +10%) and type IIA (p<0.01, +9%) muscle fibers. CT individuals seem to present an unusual muscle phenotype and different adaptations to overfeeding compared to normal-weight participants, suggesting a specific energy metabolism and muscle adaptations. NCT02004821 Novelty ●Low intramuscular triglycerides and glycogen content in skeletal muscle of constitutionally thin individuals ●Low oxidative capacity, low capillary supply, and fiber hypotrophy in skeletal muscle of constitutionally thin participants ●Increase in intramuscular triglycerides in constitutional thinness in response to overfeeding

The existing literature about the definition and diagnostic criteria of constitutional thinness (CT) appears equivocal. The present work systematically reviewed the criteria used in the diagnosis of adult individuals with CT (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019138236). Five electronic bibliographic databases were searched between December 2018 and November 2019: MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL (Cochrane Library), Google Scholar and Clinical Trials. Search terms were combined with Medical Subject Headings terms. The search strategy included any clinical trials that enrolled adults with CT. Studies were systematically excluded if the state of thinness was not due to a well-identified constitutional origin. From the 689 references after duplicate removal, 199 studies were excluded based on title and 164 based on abstract. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 291 other studies were removed. Finally, thirty-five studies remained at the end of the process. The analysis of these studies showed high heterogeneity in the diagnostic criteria of CT. A real need emerged to adopt a common terminology and to systematically exclude potential non-constitutional origins of thinness such as eating disorders, associated pathology or over-exercising, with validated tools. Weight history, physiological menses and weight gain resistance are also important criteria to consider. The present systematic review revealed that our medical and scientific approaches of CT need to be harmonised in terms of terminology and diagnostic criteria. Although further studies are needed, we finally proposed recommendations and a decision tree to help in the recognition and diagnosis of CT.

No abstract

HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

While few studies pointed out low bone mineral densities in constitutionally thin women, little is known about potential explanations. The objective was to further explore bone architecture in both women and men with constitutional thinness to investigate their mechanical muscle-bone coupling (or uncoupling). Thirty constitutionally thin people and 31 normal weight controls participated in the study. Body composition, hip structural analysis, and trabecular bone score were assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, bone architecture using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography, and muscle explorations through histological staining on muscle biopsies. Thirty-two out of the 48 indexes relative to density, geometry, texture, and architecture of bones were found significantly lower (p &lt; 0.05) in constitutionally thin individuals compared with controls. This observation was particularly pronounced in constitutionally thin men. Bone microarchitecture was more altered in weight-supporting bone (tibia) than in non-weight-supporting (radius) bone, which might refer to a normal physiological adaptation (Frost’s mechanostat theory). Yet, the heat-maps of correlations analyses showed many alterations of body weight or muscle associations with bone parameters in constitutionally thin individuals contrary to controls. Present results might support the idea of intrinsic disturbances of bone cells independently to the small muscle structure, particularly in men.