Objective: To review information regarding the association of physical activity (PA) with quality of life (QoL) in the elderly and to identify the study designs and measurement instruments most commonly used in its assessment, in the period 2000-2012. Methods: Relevant articles were identified by a search of four electronic databases and crossreference lists and by contact with the authors of the included manuscripts. Original studies on the association between PA and QoL in individuals aged 60 years or older were examined. The quality of studies as well as the direction and the consistency of the association between PA and QoL were evaluated. Results: A total of 10,019 articles were identified as potentially relevant, but only 42 (0.42%) met the inclusion criteria and were retrieved and examined. Most studies demonstrated a positive association between PA and QoL in the elderly. PA had a consistent association with the following QoL domains: functional capacity; general QoL; autonomy; past, present and future activities; death and dying; intimacy; mental health; vitality; and psychological. Conclusion: PA was positively and consistently associated with some QoL domains among older individuals, supporting the notion that promoting PA in the elderly may have an impact beyond physical health. However, the associations between PA and other QoL domains were moderate to inconsistent and require further investigation.

This study sought to analyze which aspects of quality of life (QoL; Physical, Psychological, Social Relationships and Environmental) are associated with the perception of health among elderly women from low-income neighborhoods in Curitiba in the state of Paraná. The sample comprised 450 elderly participants of the Elderly in Motion Program of the Boqueirão, Pinheirinho and Bairro Novo neighborhoods. The question "How do you rate your general health?" was used to assess the perceived health in the elderly, and the Whoqol-Bref questionnaire was used to identify the aspects of QoL. Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman's correlation test and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. All aspects were significantly associated with perceived health (p < 0.05). However, after adjusting for confounding variables, only the Physical and Environmental aspects revealed significant associations. In other words, elderly women with a negative perception of these aspects were twice as likely to have a negative perception of health. The conclusion reached is that programs aimed at promoting health and QoL in low-income elderly women ought to concentrate their actions on the physical and environmental aspects of QoL.

The aim of this study was to examine the decision-making performance of experienced and inexperienced soccer players at four exercise intensities (rest, 40%, 60%, and 80% maximal aerobic power). The decision-making performance of inexperienced players was expected to demonstrate an inverted-U shape with increasing levels of exercise. For the experienced players, decision making was predicted to show no change in performance with increased exercise intensity. Thirty-two adult soccer players (16 experienced, 16 inexperienced) were asked to answer seven decision-making questions as quickly and accurately as possible for each exercise intensity. Results indicated that exercise does not affect the accuracy of decision making; however, the speed of decision making for experienced and inexperienced players improved with increased exercise intensity. These results suggest that physiologically induced arousal only affects speed of decision making.

This study examined whether the weekly volume and frequency of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and light walking (LW) were associated with quality of life (QOL) domains of 1,806 older women from Brazil. The WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD instruments were used to measure QOL, while the weekly volume and frequency of MVPA and LW were assessed by IPAQ. An ordinal logistic regression was used as a measure of association. The weekly volumes of MVPA and LW were associated with several domains of QOL. Higher frequency of MVPA was associated with better scores in 10 QOL domains. The weekly frequency of LW, in turn, was associated with all QOL domains. In conclusion, promoting active transport and encouraging physical activity in older adults, for at least 150 min and distributed several days per week, help to increase QOL.

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Anti-fat bias by professors in physical education departments may interfere with the training provided to pre-service teachers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of professors in physical education departments toward obese individuals. Professors from randomly selected institutions across all four US regions participated in the study ( N = 94). Participants took the Implicit Association Test and answered the Anti-Fat Attitude Scale and two questions specifically designed to measure their attitudes toward physical education teachers and majors who are obese. The participants exhibited implicit good–bad ( p < .001) and lazy–motivated ( p < .001) anti-fat biases. Professors favored accepting majors who are obese ( p < .001), but they strongly disapproved of obese physical education teachers as role models to their students ( p < .001). Explicit anti-fat bias was associated with a stronger disapproval of physical education teachers who are obese as role models to students ( p < .001) and accepting majors who are obese ( p < .001). Implicit good–bad anti-fat bias was associated with a stronger disapproval of obese physical education teachers as role models to students ( p = .047). The anti-fat bias demonstrated by the professors may negatively affect the training of pre-service physical education teachers to work with students of all body sizes. Awareness programs may be necessary to diminish anti-fat bias among professors in physical education teacher education programs.

Motor learning textbooks provide specific recommendations for the use of whole and part practice during motor skill acquisition. Magill recommended basing decisions on Naylor and Briggs' hypothesis of task complexity and organization, while Schmidt and Wrisberg recommended basing decisions on skill classification. To evaluate the accuracy of these recommendations, a meta-analysis was conducted. Through a literature search, 44 articles were located, and 20 provided sufficient information to calculate effect sizes. Effect sizes were calculated using means for whole and part practice for acquisition and retention. Although several analyses were compromised by insufficient studies investigating whole and part practice, mean effect sizes generally supported motor learning textbooks. To better verify the empirical validity of recommendations for the use of whole and part practice, more studies are necessary.

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