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Objetivo: A presente investigação tem como principal objetivo verificar os efeitos da atividade física na composição corporal (índice de massa corporal e perímetro da cintura), nos valores espirométricos e relacionar esses indicadores com a função respiratória. Material e Métodos: A amostra, constituída por 86 indivíduos, alunos do ensino superior, com média de idade de 21,3 ± 2,4 anos, foi dividida em dois grupos: grupo de controlo constituído por 28 sujeitos sedentários (20,9 ± 1,3 anos), e grupo experimental constituído por 58 sujeitos (21,5 ± 2,8 anos) praticantes de exercício supervisionado. Para caraterizar a amostra quanto ao tipo de atividade física, aplicámos uma adaptação do questionário de Telama et al. Avaliaram-se os valores de espirometria (DEMI, VEF1 e CVF) com o espirómetro Microquark da Cosmed e os valores de índice de massa corporal e perímetro da cintura. Os dados obtidos foram tratados no S.P.S.S. 19.0, através do t-test, do teste de Levene, do teste Mann-Whitney e do teste de correlação de Spearman, adotando-se um nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: O grupo experimental obteve resultados significativamente melhores (p ≤ 0,05) nos valores de índice de massa corporal, do perímetro da cintura e em todos os valores avaliados pela espirometria (DEMI, VEF1 e CVF), comparativamente ao grupo de controlo. Verificámos também que há uma tendência para correlação negativa entre os valores da composição corporal e os valores espirométricos, apenas observável em algumas variáveis (DEMI, VEF1), ou seja, quanto maiores os valores da composição corporal, menores os valores espirométricos. Conclusão: Os alunos com prática de exercício supervisionado, apresentaram melhores índices de composição corporal e de função respiratória. Valores de índice de massa corporal e de perímetro da cintura desajustados poderão provocar disfunção respiratória, ao nível da ventilação e respetivos volumes pulmonares, limitando a prática de atividade física e aumentando a apetência para patologias respiratórias.

Objetivo: verificar os efeitos da atividade física (AF) nos parâmetros fisiológicos, em associação com a composição corporal, de sujeitos sedentários e com prática diferenciada de AF. Métodos: estudo transversal com 104 adultos, de ambos os sexos, divididos em 3 grupos: GESC+EXERC - 49 alunos com atividades curriculares e extracurriculares; GESCOLA - 34 alunos com atividades curriculares; GSEDENTÁRIOS - 21 alunos sedentários. Aplicação de questionário, avaliação de parâmetros fisiológicos e composição corporal. Utilizou-se o teste Mann-Whitney, a análise de variância e o teste de Spearman, com p ≥ .05 Resultados: GESC+EXERC obteve resultados estatisticamente diferentes na Pressão Arterial sistólica e diastólica, nos Triglicerídeos e no IMC, comparativamente ao GSEDENTÁRIOS. Verificou-se correlação positiva entre o IMC e perímetro da cintura, e entre algumas variáveis avaliadas. Conclusões: A prática de exercício supervisionado e periodizado parece contribuir para a melhoria de alguns parâmetros fisiológicos avaliados, promovendo maior funcionalidade e diminuindo a apetência para patologias metabólicas e cardiovasculares.

Introduction: The practice of Physical Activities is a cultural habit and as such it must be acquired in childhood so that there is a greater probability of being continued throughout life. Physical Activities on a regular and duly regulated basis, even if they are at ages where this component is absolutely fundamental, not only for their motor development but for their socialization and creation of healthy lifestyles. Objective: The study aims to evaluate the levels of Physical Fitness of middle-school students, between students who practice Physical Education and those who, in addition to this, performed a training programme. Methods: Participated 32 students of both genders aged between 10 and 11 years old divided into two groups with the same number of students (16): the Training Group which, in addition to attending Physical Education classes, benefited from a training programme and the other group that only attended the physical education classes. The Fitnessgram battery tests was applied for flexibility, strength and aerobic capacity. Results: Through this study, it was presented that the use of a physical training programme, eight weeks before the final moment, allowed the training group to obtain significant differences, in the tests results, from the initial moment to the final moment in terms of physical fitness when compared with the group that only attended physical education classes. Conclusions: This study allows us to understand that the fact that the Training Group benefited from a Physical Skills Training, improved the performance levels of the students in this group at the final moment.

Introduction: During childhood and adolescence, obesity is an important predictor of adulthood obesity. Therefore, there should be given an important care to young population to improve the future of our society. To compare the effects of ten-week multicomponent exercise training with different exercise frequencies on body composition (BC) and physical fitness (PF) in overweight and obese young children. Material and Methods: 40 children, aged 12-15 (14.77 ± 1.49), were randomly selected and assigned to two experimental groups to train 3 times per week (EG1) or twice a week (EG2) for 10 weeks: EG1 (n=10), EG2 (n= 10) groups and a CG group (n= 20; no training program). Results: It was shown that experimental groups (EG1 and EG2) increased aerobic capacity, muscular strength and flexibility from pre- to post-training. The highest gains on muscular strength were observed in experimental group that performed twice a week; but better improvements on flexibility, body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BFP) were observed in experimental group that performed 3 times per week. Conclusions: This type of exercise suggests that performing physical activities 2 or 3 times per week appears to be effective for physical fitness improvement, independently of the exercise frequency. However, to improve BMI and decrease BFP (body fat percentage) exercise frequency will be important in overweight and obese children. This could be a reliable choice to optimize physical fitness and improve well-being in overweight and obese children.

The motivation in Physical Education classes declines as students continue their studies, so its important programs that motivate and arouse interest in learning these themes, adding several and different approaches in these classes. Objective: The objective of the present study was to verify if the application of a strength circuit in high-school students could cause improvements in the strength of the upper and lower limbs. Methods: We evaluated 44 students (M = 24 / F = 20) of the 12th year in high school (EG = 22 students and CG = 22 students). Results: Significant differences in the post-test were observed in the horizontal jump, with a higher mean in the experimental group compared to the control group. In the 1kg medical ball throwing the differences were significant in both moments (pre and post-test), when comparing the groups, with a superior mean in the experimental group. In the 3 kg medicinal ball throwing, significant differences were also observed in both moments, comparing the performance of both groups. The push-up tests did not present significant differences in the pre-test, but showed significant differences in the post-test, with higher means in the experimental group. Conclusions: Through the applied training program, with a duration of 15 minutes, it was possible to verify that the experimental group obtained higher gains, when compared to the control group, for all the variables under study.

Obesity is the most common childhood illness in developed countries and its prevalence continues to increase. The objective was to analyze the influence of obesity on the motor coordination of children between 6 and 9 years old. Equipment and Methods: A number of 52 pupils of both genders participated for evaluation of the prevalence of obesity using the measurement of the abdominal perimeter and the Body Mass Index (BMI) categorized as Normal-Weighted, Excess Weight and Obesity. The assessment of motor coordination was performed by the KTK test. SPSS (version 19.0) was used for statistical purposes. Results: Girls had lower levels of performance rather than boys, and the pupils presented worse levels of motor performance as the age progressed. Regarding the prevalence of obesity, the two-gender obtained high mean values for the Normal-weighted category, whereas 25% is overweight. Regarding the level of motor coordination, 57.7% of the pupils had Normal Coordination and 40.4% had coordinative difficulties. Pupils with higher values of BMI and abdominal perimeter obtains lower results of motor coordination.

Abstract. The mobility dependence appears to be associated with less autonomy in children who spend less time playing alone or being with friends in playful situations. Our intention is to study the dependence of mobility of children in the 1st cycle of education in an urban environment with ages between 6 and 12 years old. The sample consisted of 186 children of both genders of which 95 were female and 91 were male. A multiple response questionnaire was used, and the statistical analysis used was descriptive frequency, crosstabs and inferential analysis. Children who practiced more physical activity are those in the 2nd grade: 70.8% (34), below these are the 3rd grade: 67.9% (36), with the 4th grade having 64.8% (35) and finally the 1st grade with 58.1% (18). In total 66.1% (123) engaged in physical activity and 33.9% (63) did not exercise in any sports club or municipal facilities. We have come to some conclusions, with regards to school transportation, almost all students are moving with motorized transportation where the majority cannot go out without family going with them to any activity, and we have also concluded that the female gender is more active than the males.

Introdução: O presente trabalho visa compreender quais as situações que melhor se enquadram os fundamentos técnico-táticos para um bom desenvolvimento do jogo, neste caso no Hóquei em Patins, onde através da comparação entre duas situações de jogo sendo elas: jogo formal e jogo em campo reduzido (Mini-Hóquei) nos escalões Benjamins e Escolares. Objetivo: Verificar se a diminuição das dimensões do campo nestes escalões de formação, promove uma maior ação em termos técnico-táticos por parte dos jogadores, com vista à formação e compreensão do jogo. Métodos: foi utilizada a gravação em vídeo de 10 jogos de Hóquei, 5 jogos regulamentares e 5 de Mini-hóquei, e foram registados os dados referentes aos passes efetuados, remates e número de golos. Foi utilizado para o tratamento estatístico o programa SPSS versão 20.0 onde efetuámos a estatística descritiva, médias e desvios padrões e ainda testes não paramétricos de Wilcoxon e Prova U de Mann-Whitney. O valor de significância foi colocado a p ≤ 0,05 que permitiu verificar que existe significância nas hipóteses testadas. Resultados: os resultados corroboram o nosso objetivo, uma vez que a maioria das hipóteses não foram rejeitadas, nos 5 jogos regulamentares foram registados um total 1214 passes, 229 remates e 54 golos. Nos resultados dos jogos de Mini-hóquei foram registados um total de total de 578 passes, 286 remates e 84 golos. Conclusões: Os resultados obtidos permitem-nos subentender que o Mini-hóquei promove uma maior ação técnico-táctica nestes escalões, com maior interação com bola, tornando-se assim numa excelente etapa de ensino-aprendizagem para o jogo formal 5x5 em campo de dimensões oficiais.

The mobility dependence appears to be associated with less autonomy in children who spend less time playing alone or being with friends in playful situations. Our intention is to study the dependence of mobility of children in the 1st cycle of education in an urban environment with ages between 6 and 12 years old. The sample consisted of 186 children of both genders of which 95 were female and 91 were male. A multiple response questionnaire was used, and the statistical analysis used was descriptive frequency, crosstabs and inferential analysis. Children who practiced more physical activity are those in the 2nd grade: 70.8% (34), below these are the 3rd grade: 67.9% (36), with the 4th grade having 64.8% (35) and finally the 1st grade with 58.1% (18). In total 66.1% (123) engaged in physical activity and 33.9% (63) did not exercise in any sports club or municipal facilities. We have come to some conclusions, with regards to school transportation, almost all students are moving with motorized transportation where the majority cannot go out without family going with them to any activity, and we have also concluded that the female gender is more active than the males.

Introduction: The leader, in the coach role, must be able to relate and establish connections with his athletes, and contribute to the construction of an environment conducted by fair and clear norms that do not oppose the organizational culture of the club (Lopes, 2008; Mendo & Ortiz, 2003). Objective: The objective of this research was to identify the leadership behaviours of two coaches from different levels (Under 17 and Seniors), as well as the perception of leadership behaviours of their players. Methodology: The sample consisted of two coaches and 26 players, 12 of them in the “Under 17” level aged between 15 and 17 years, and 14 senior players, aged between 18 and 33 years. We used the Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS) / Leadership Scale in Sport, by Chelladurai & Saleh (1978). In this descriptive and inferential study, the Kolmogrov-Smirnov test was performed for the normality assumptions by choosing the parametric statistic and to analyse the differences between the variables, a Student-T test was performed. Five dimensions were analysed: Training Instruction, Social Support, Reinforcement, Democratic Behaviour and Autocratic Behaviour. The results obtained showed significant differences between the coach's self-perception and the players' perception, as well as their preferences and their comparison between levels. According to coaches, the dimension of training instruction and reinforcement, are the styles of leadership with more emphasis and the smaller is the autocratic.

O presente trabalho visa compreender quais as situações que melhor se enquadram os fundamentos técnico-táticos para um bom desenvolvimento do jogo, neste caso no Hóquei em Patins, onde através da comparação entre duas situações de jogo sendo elas: jogo formal e jogo em campo reduzido (Mini-Hóquei) nos escalões Benjamins e Escolares. Apresentamos como objetivo verificar se a diminuição das dimensões do campo nestes escalões de formação, promove uma maior ação em termos técnico-táticos por parte dos jogadores, com vista à formação e compreensão do jogo. O método utilizado foi a gravação em vídeo de nove jogos de Hóquei, cinco jogos regulamentares e quatro de Mini-hóquei, e foram registados os dados referentes aos passes efetuados, remates e número de golos. Foi utilizado para o tratamento estatístico o programa SPSS versão 20.0 onde efetuámos a estatística descritiva, médias e desvios padrões e ainda testes não paramétricos de Wilcoxon e Prova U de Mann-Whitney. O valor de significância foi colocado a p ≤ 0.05 que permitiu verificar que existe significância entre as variáveis analisadas. Nos cinco jogos regulamentares foram registados um total 1214 passes, 229 remates e 54 golos. Nos resultados dos jogos de Mini-hóquei foram registados um total de total de 578 passes, 286 remates e 84 golos. Com estes resultados obtidos concluímos que o Mini-hóquei promove uma maior ação técnico-táctica nestes escalões, com maior interação com bola, tornando-se assim numa excelente etapa de ensino-aprendizagem para o jogo formal 5x5 em campo de dimensões oficiais.

Introduction: The main purpose of this study was to have a comparison of the physical fitness levels and body mass index of students with urban and rural residence from an elementary school in Portugal. Methods: The sample covered 270 students, 142 male and 128 female, aged between 9 and 16, from the 5th to the 9th grade. The Fitnessgram test battery (NES, 2002) measured the physical fitness, the body mass index was based on the reference values from the World Health Organization (1995) and the students' characterization was assessed through the biographical archives given by the school. Results: The test results only demonstrated significant differences (p <0.05) amongst these students: Females in the 5th and 6th grade in the following tests, trunk extension with better results in students with rural residence and middle strenght with better results in students with urban residence; Males in the 5th and 6th grade in the following tests: the shuttle run with better results in students with rural residence; Females between 7th and 9th grade in the following tests: trunk extension with better results in students with urban residence. Conclusions: Significant differences were not observed between the levels of physical fitness and BMI related to the place of residence (rural and urban).

Several studies claim that the physical effort of students during the Physical Education classes (PE) is low. There is a lack of desirable intensity to cause adaptations and improvement of physical fitness. Purpose: In this study, we intend to analyse the average values of heart rate (HR) during different phases of the PE class, trying to identify possible differences between collective and individual sports (basketball and apparatus gymnastics). The sample consisted of a group of 15 students, 5 female and 10 male (15.2 ± 12:56 years) and the study was conducted over 10 sessions (5 of each type), registering values of HR (bpm) using HR monitors (Polar Electronic, FT1 model). Results: After exploratory data analysis there were significant differences in the transition phase (basketball: 146 ± 27.2 bpm, p = 0.001; apparatus gymnastics: 138.4 ± 25.8 bpm, p = 0.001) and the drilling stage (basketball: 151.2 ± 26.1 bpm, p = 0.000; gymnastics apparatus: 143.0 ± 27.0 bpm, p = 0.000). In the process of organizing, the differences were not significant (basketball: 136.8 ± 26.2 bpm, p = 0526; apparatus gymnastics: 132.3 ± 23.9 bpm, p = 0526). Conclusions: Having these results, we believe that PE teachers should plan sessions that provide increased uptime and higher levels of intensity for students, especially in periods of drilling, regardless of the class.

Introduction: The Pilates exercise can be an improvement in the quality of life of its practitioners, through an optimized condition of improvements in posture, developing greater mobility, balance, agility and functionality. The satisfaction with life is part of a cognitive dimension in this quality of life and it is present in most measures of well-being. Problem Statement and Approach: The main purpose of this study is to analyse and relate the effects of a supervised program of Pilates classes in a group of elderly, comparing the results of balance through the Berg scale and their ability by the Leighton scale, and relate these improvements with the satisfaction with life of these elderly in this activity. Material and Methods:The evaluation assessments of the elderly were carried out in the proper room, using a goniometer and the Berg scale for articular measurements, the Leighton scale for the balance domain and the life satisfaction scale. The study had 72 participants, 52 women and 20 men aged between 60 and 83 years (M=66.70±SD=6.84). Participants had 30-minute Pilates sessions each twice a week for a 12-month period, after which the life satisfaction questionnaire was applied. Results: Better results were achieved in balance and articular ampleness parameters in these participants, with some significant improvements and magnitudes of effect size with quite satisfactory results after the second evaluation. The values obtained for life satisfaction were considered quite satisfactory in women with a final average of 5.24, and in men with an average value of 4.9 on a scale between 1 and 7. Discussion: Other studies have showed that welfare levels tend to be higher in the male gender, making them have higher life satisfaction averages than women, not reported in our study, however with a value considered satisfactory. Conclusions: The Pilates programme implemented showed very favourable values, with gains in all the assessments analysed, where this elderly group showed a very good life satisfaction allied to the improvements found in functional ability.

BACKGROUND: Measuring the functional fitness is essential to provide a working basis for assessing and prescribing exercises. There is a special interest in developing procedures and tests able to provide reliable information and general vocabulary for researchers and practitioners. We intend with this study to analyze the functional fitness of different groups of institutionalized elderly of both genders, relating it with their nutritional status. METHODS: A sample of 46 participants, 31 males and 15 females aged between 65 to 93. For this investigation, the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was used in order to categorize the nutritional status with a Mediterranean diet that was used. For the assessment of the functional fitness, it the battery Fullerton Functional Fitness Test (FFFT) developed in 1999 by Rikli and Jones was used. RESULTS: We found that the elderly who maintained a diet divided into seven meals had more favorable values in all categories of the battery tests with significant differences. We also found that the nutritional status of the elderly and the number of meals is statistically significant in tasks measuring strength, agility and aerobic capacity. CONCLUSIONS: The elderly with normal nutritional status have better performance in the battery tasks, particularly those who choose the diet divided into seven daily meals. The Mediterranean Diet used seems to be favorable in this population, in both genders and it promotes the maintenance of their physical abilities.

The study was initiated because one of the authors had a child in the family with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The author was concerned about what could be done to improve the quality of life of this child. The hypotheses explored whether hydrotherapy could bring any relief or advantage in functional mobility to an individual with DMD and whether a water environment facilitates mobility, pleasure, and joy for a young child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Our sample had three individuals, all of them boys, 9-11 years of age. Two were the control group and didn’t practice any kind of physical activity and the other one was our two-year longitudinal case study during which he experienced hydrotherapy practice two times a week for forty-five minutes each. We applied the Egen Klassifikation (EK) scale to quantify the degree of movement limitation present at each of five measurement points over the two years. The variables analyzed were the physical activity issues and the EK scale values. The descriptive results showed that all three individuals increased their EK scale values over time, showing the inevitable progression of the disease. The individual who participated in the water activity sessions had the slower increase that we inferred, meant less deterioration in functional movement. No inferences can be drawn from these limited data, especially because only one individual experienced the water activities. This study does provide the impetus for subsequent, larger controlled studies to see if they could replicate these initial case study results.

Introduction: Ataxia affects the nervous system by decreasing balance and coordination most mostly in the trunk, arms and legs. Physical activity is used to help lowering the symptoms of this disease. Objective: The study objective aims to determine the effects of an exercise program intervention focused on quality of life of this person in terms of body composition, hemodynamic parameters and functional capacity. Methods: A Longitudinal study-case with the exercise sessions performed in a gymnasium with a specialized Personal Trainer. A 43 years old male individual with motor ataxia as participated with a pre and post-test assessments with an exercise program comprised sessions twice a week of 30 minutes each, for 6 months, focused on cardio-fitness, strength and body stabilization. The Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia was applied to evaluate Gait, Stance, Sitting, Finger Chase, Nose-finger Test, Fast alternating hand movements and Heel-chin slide, and the program SPSS (v20) to present descriptive statistics to express the participant’s improvements. Results: This study indicates that rehabilitation can improve health, well-being and life quality improvements in individuals with ataxia, however, a larger study is required to have analyse if these variables would suffer significant changes in all participants. Besides the improvements in body composition and blood pressure, benefits in all variables of SARA scale were observed, except in «Sitting» were the value remained unchanged. Conclusions: This type of exercise programme intervention can promote capacity and health-related quality of life. This study provides evidence for maintaining physical activity programs in patients with ataxia.