International Journal of Physical Education, Fitness and Sports

Excess Body Weight and Physical Education: Opportunities are at Hand

Jerry W. Loflin — 2023-07-03

Childhood overweight and obesity concerns continue to frame much of the discussion about physical activity in schools and school-based physical education. There are multiple factors impacting childhood obesity rates. Genetics, ethnicity, guardian education level, health-care access, food costs, cultural beliefs, policy, and energy-balance inequalities have all played a role in the current state of childhood overweight and obesity. Since schools are an ideal place to interact with children and adolescents of all body compositions, multiple researchers have attempted to design, implement, and evaluate school-based physical activity interventions. Many of the interventions have produced significant results. Overweight and obesity is not physical education’s problem, but it does present an opportunity for physical education to grow as an academic discipline as new interventions and curricula are developed and disseminated. This article focused on the large-scale, school-based, physical activity interventions that needs to be designed, implemented, and evaluated using rigorous standards and policymaker and educational community support.

Sport Funding Through Stamps: Finding Unlikely Revenue Streams

Gil Fried J.D — 2023-07-12

Sports can be expensive. Ice time for hockey practice to $200 tennis racquets can discourage some participants. From billion-dollar teams and venues to Olympic Games costing billions as well, where will sports get all the money they need to operate? One vehicle that has been used successfully for almost 100 years has been postage stamps. Funds were not generated just from selling Olympic themed stamps that generated some money for the postal service or maybe a government. The bulk of funds associated with sport-related stamps fundraising has been through semipostal stamps. Semipostal stamps provide for an additional charge over the face value with those funds going to a worthy cause. Worth causes over the years have included tuberculosis research/treatment, disease prevention, supporting the Red Cross, feeding the poor, or winter heating aid. Another beneficiary has been sports. Researching Scott Stamp Catalogues from the 1920s through 2015 has highlighted 60 countries who have issued 920 semipostal stamps to fund everything from Olympics to youth sports, sport venues, and even sport equipment purchases. This article examines how these stamps have been used successfully in the past and how they are still being used. Furthermore, one country, Germany, has been issuing sport-related semipostal stamps for over 50 years and has generated millions of dollars and sold over 250 million sport-related semipostal stamps.

The Physiological and Perceived Impact of Wearing a Face Mask During Maximal Exercise

Brandie C Cheshier — 2023-07-13

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the expectation of facemasks in fitness facilities during exercise. However, the physiological and perceptual responses of wearing a facemask during exercise has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of facemasks on selected physiological and subjective variables during exercise. Using a crossover design, males (n =8) and females (n=7) and were randomly assigned to (1) a surgical facemask, (2) a cloth face mask, and (3) no mask and completed Bruce Protocol maximal graded treadmill tests 48 hrs apart. Collected data included heart rate (HR), oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO₂), rating of perceived dyspnea (DYS), perceived rate of exertion (RPE) and time to exhaustion (TTE). No significant (p>0.05) differences were found for HR or SpO₂at any of the treadmill stages. DYS was higher with both masks compared to no mask, but only significant (p < 0.05) between the cloth and no mask conditions in stages 2 and 3. RPE was greater in both mask conditions compared to no masks, but only significantly greater between the cloth mask and no mask conditions in stage 3. No significant differences were found for TTE among the conditions. Wearing face masks during exercise and has little effect on HR, SpO₂, or TTE. However, facemasks may negatively influence DYS and RPE contributing to feelings of exhaustion. Participants should be made aware that the discomfort of wearing a mask during exercise will not hamper performance.

Acute Investigation of Maximal Strength, Power and Rapid Strength Production on Lower Compartment Circuit Resistance Training of International Female Wrestling Athletes

Kahraman Y — 2023-07-17

The circuit resistance training is high intense and high load repetition training method completed on different sport modalities for wrestling women. A total of 10 wrestling women age mean 17 yr, height 1.63 m, body mass 54 kg, training experience 10 yrs participated in this study. Equipment and methods: To circuit resistance training determined on 1RM maximal test, gradually increase rapid strength production and lower leg power to CMJ and SJ actualized on six resistance exercises; a) hip flexion (HP), b) ankle inversion (AI), c) squat (SQ), d) hip extension (HE), e) deadlift (DE), and f) ankle eversion (AE) for wrestling women athletes on team professional sport performance. The lower compartment circuit resistance training was provided on advanced maximal load and power performance by 85% of 1RM (6 rep) high training load and (10 repetition – 20 s interval) intensity. Compared to Pre-test and Post-test that lower compartment resistance training concluded increased maximal strength for acute training load repetition and rapid strength load lifting performance and lower leg power resulted to CMJ decreased for wrestling and SJ increased for wrestling, circuit resistance training promoted high resistance load variability and minimum short time recovery on the one session non-periodic exercises performance with strength and power development. Other, experimental results for different sport modalities may be performing on maximal strength and power performance change in short recovery training phase for minimum effort rapid strength performance.

Boosts and Setbacks of Implementing Indigenous Filipino Games: Perspectives from Curriculum’s Stakeholders

Claire Irish C. Balay-as — 2023-09-02

Filipinos had enjoyed playing indigenous games long before any other games. Little is known about traditional games and their perspectives among educational stakeholders who support their preservation in the educational system for emerging countries like the Philippines. This study aimed to explore the viewpoints of educational stakeholders regarding integrating indigenous games into the curriculum. A scoping design was used to review pertinent journal articles. Thus 14 were considered after screening and filtering the searched records in three databases. It was found that stakeholders have both positive and negative perspectives on the said implementation. They perceived that implementing indigenous Filipino games a) promotes cultural heritage, b) facilitates convenient learning, and c) strengthens the foundation values, health, and socialization. However, there are some setbacks, like a) limitations in using traditional games in the classroom and b) the endangerment of indigenous Filipino games due to the fast growth of e-games. Therefore, a call to action among curriculum implementers to revisit what areas need to be strengthened in implementing indigenous games despite the continuous advancements of technology that paved the emergence of modern games and even the prioritization of sports games. Although support from the community is needed, and more mandates from the local government to promote these games in playing, especially outside school.

Using FitnessGram to Measure the Impact of ‘Lost’ Physical Education During the COVID Years

Colin G. Pennington — 2023-09-02

Physical education can play a critical role in helping children establish a foundation for an active lifestyle. There is reason to believe the impact of COVID-19 eliminating compulsory physical education in the K-12 setting only exasperated the problem of increasingly physically unhealthy children in the United States. Much of what kinesiology and public-health scholars know about the fitness level of American youths are based on dated or retrospective data; FitnessGram has emerged as a viable option for revealing the present-day physical health of youth populations. There is clear potential for FitnessGram data to contribute to advancing knowledge about current levels of health-related fitness in youth. In this study, researchers using FitnessGram data from an independent K-12 school district in Texas, USA (ISD) investigated K-12 students’ fitness levels and patterns after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate students suffered diminished cardiovascular fitness levels during COVID years (2020-2021), but not diminished strength and endurance or range of motion. Findings from FitnessGram data advocate for quality and compulsory physical education and movement/physical activity in school settings, as well as the adoption of Comprehensive School Physical Activity Promotion (CSPAP).

Investigating Player Selection within UK Academy Soccer: The Application of Objective and Subjective Assessments in Detecting Talent

Rich J. Kite — 2023-09-13

Talent selection and development in academy soccer is highly dependent on coach intuition. Given such reliance upon subjective inputs, a greater understanding towards the utility of coach intuition may prove invaluable. The present study investigated coach agreement, the associations between subjective and objective outcomes and prominent traits highlighted within player (de)selection. Academy players (n = 45, age = 14 ± 2yrs) and coaches (n = 10, age = 31 ± 5yrs) were recruited from a professional soccer academy. Objective assessments included tactical and psychological surveys, physical assessments (linear sprints, change of direction and jumping tasks) and performance analysis (performance assessment for team sports). Coach subjective player gradings were collected using a visual analogue scale aligned to the objective assessments. Lead and assistant coaches demonstrated poor-to-moderate agreements in perceived player skills (ICC = 0.48 to 0.76) and fair to almost perfect agreement in player (de)selection (ICC= 0.23-1.00, P <.001 to .26). However, coach agreement reduced as players aged. Likewise, a maturation related bias was present whereby biologically older players were selected over their lesser mature players. Moreover, coach intuition demonstrated a strong predictive capability to select players, whilst the study was incapable of distinguishing exclusive traits related to selection outcome.

Effects of Smart Bottles on Water Consumption and Health Status of College Students

YuChun Chen — 2023-09-26

Hydration is important to a human body because it helps regulate body temperature, protect spinal cord, joints and other sensitive tissues, aid in the digestive system, remove body waste, and keep the brain function optimally. Despite the health benefits, most children and adults do not consume the recommended amount of water daily. Previous research suggested that interventions with a combination of educational/behavioral strategies and legislative/environmental prompts produced the best results to promote water intake. Existing in this technology-driven era, the invention of smart devices has changed the way we live. One type of devices, smart bottles, has been proved to be acceptable tools to monitor and promote water intake volume among kidney stone patients and senior citizens. This research aimed to examine the effects of smart bottles on college students’ water consumption and health status. Daily water intake for 35 days and urine samples were collected from two groups of students enrolled in a walking class at a regional university in southeastern United States. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t test, and binary logistic regression. Results revealed that the bottle’s smart features did not prompt or motivate the college students to drink more water and those who received the smart bottles did not show healthier results in urinalysis tests. A plausible explanation of the results can be caused by the lifestyle of typical college students who are more likely to consume beverages other than water because of personal preference and social influence.