Association between physical education classes and physical activity among 187, 386 adolescents aged 13-17 years from 50 lowand middle-income countries

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between physical education classes and PA among adolescents from 50 lowand middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: A self-reported questionnaire from the Global School-based Student Survey (GSHS) was used to collect information on participation frequency of physical education classes and being physically active over the last week, as well as other control variables (e.g., sex, age, country, sedentary behavior). Multivariable logistic regression and a pooled meta-analysis were performed to explore the association and compared country-wise differences. Results: Included adolescents aged from 13 to 17 years (n = 187,386, %boys = 51.7; mean age = 14.6 years), the prevalence of sufficient PA (meeting the PA guidelines) was 14.9%. The prevalence of 5 days or more to engage in physical education classes was 16.5%. Compared with adolescents who had 0 days for physical education classes, higher participation frequency was more likely related to sufficient PA (OR: 1 day = 1.34, 2 days = 1.66, 3 days = 1.67, 4 days = 1.79, 5 days or more = 2.46), these findings were also observed in both sexes. A moderate inconsistency on the association across the included countries was found (I2 = 53%, p < 0.01), although the pooled OR was 1.50 (95% CI: 1.36-1.65). Conclusions: Participating in more physical education classes may be an effective approach to increase physical activity levels among adolescents in LMICs. However, promoting physical activity levels among adolescents in LMICs through physical education classes should consider more country-specific factors.

Associations of frailty, physical activity, and physical fitness with incident long-term care and support needs in community-dwelling older Japanese adults / 体力科学

Prevention of functional disabilities leading to long-term care and support needs in older population is one of the most urgent social issues facing Japan today. Frailty has been recognized as a pre-stage of functional disabilities leading to long-term care and support needs, and so, it is often treated as a target in their preventive interventions. Furthermore, because reductions of daily physical activities and physical fitness are considered as part of the major causes of physical frailty, their improvements have been also explored in community-based measures to prevent long-term care and support needs. This review paper aimed to summarize present findings regarding associations of frailty, physical activity, and physical fitness with incident long-term care and support needs in community-dwelling older Japanese adults. Through the review of literature, most of the previous prospective cohort studies showed that community-dwelling older Japanese adults who are free from frailty or maintain good physical activities and physical fitness have a reduced risk for the incidence of long-term care and support needs. These findings support an expectation that prevention of frailty and/or improvements of daily physical activities and physical fitness can be effective strategies to prevent older people from undergoing long-term care and support needs. It should be, however, understood that the associations found in the previous studies are not causal. Future prospective cohort studies defining exposure variables based on multipoint observations, as well as well-designed interventional studies are needed to validate the expectation.