Correlations between Physical Fitness and Body Composition among Boys Aged 14-18-Conclusions of a Case Study to Reverse the Worsening Secular Trend in Fitness among Urban Youth Due to Sedentary Lifestyles.

A secular trend can be observed throughout the world with an increase in childhood obesity and a decrease in fitness. The research aimed to examine the results of tests measuring the conditional abilities of young boys aged 14-18 in fitness tests and their correlations with body composition indicators. That was supported by research that has been prepared in Hungary so far. This research focuses on the results of fitness tests conducted on 14- to 18-year-old boys, presented along with body composition data. The authors sought to describe the development of the fitness profiles of males at a Budapest secondary school participating in the research, based on the results of the Hungarian National Student Fitness Test (NETFIT®), and also how their physical characteristics affect the results of NETFIT® tests in the sample measured. A total of 735 male high school students at a Budapest secondary school (14-18 years old) (mean ± SD, 16.05 ± 1.18 years) participated in the survey. The data were collected in the 2018/2019 academic year, and it was compared with the national data. The correlation between the performance indicators of the NETFIT® tests and the physical characteristic indicators was analyzed using the two-block Partial Least Squares method. In the resulting groups, Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis was performed to investigate the differences in performance. In contrast, pairs of group differences were tested with the Mann-Whitney test. Boys with a short physique were at some advantage in trunk-lifts and push-ups, compared to taller boys. It was also obvious that being overweight is a hindrance regarding the PACER test or the standing broad jump. The handgrip in the left and right hand was mostly of similar strength or weakness. Tall-heavy children performed better in this test. The grip strength of tall-thin students was also strong, but not as strong as in the tall-heavy group. Reducing the percentage of body fat (PBF) and creating the optimal BMI index is important for the younger age group, as our results have clearly demonstrated that overweight is a hindrance in the PACER, VO2 max, standing broad jump, back-saver sit-and-reach, and push-up tests.

Biofuels and Their Co-Products as Livestock Feed: Global Economic and Environmental Implications.

This review studies biofuel expansion in terms of competition between conventional and advanced biofuels based on bioenergy potential. Production of advanced biofuels is generally more expensive than current biofuels because products are not yet cost competitive. What is overlooked in the discussion about biofuel is the contribution the industry makes to the global animal feed supply and land use for cultivation of feedstocks. The global ethanol industry produces 44 million metric tonnes of high-quality feed, however, the co-products of biodiesel production have a moderate impact on the feed market contributing to just 8-9 million tonnes of protein meal output a year. By economically displacing traditional feed ingredients co-products from biofuel production are an important and valuable component of the biofuels sector and the global feed market. The return of co-products to the feed market has agricultural land use (and GHG emissions) implications as well. The use of co-products generated from grains and oilseeds can reduce net land use by 11% to 40%. The proportion of global cropland used for biofuels is currently some 2% (30-35 million hectares). By adding co-products substituted for grains and oilseeds the land required for cultivation of feedstocks declines to 1.5% of the global crop area.