This study aimed to determine the influence of body composition on the muscle fitness of selected judokas. This study was conducted on a sample of 23 judokas (cadets n = 12, juniors n = 11), members of the male national team of Serbia. The assessment of body composition was performed using the InBody 720 (Biospace Co., Ltd., Seoul, Republic of Korea) and calipers. Muscle fitness was assessed using “Optojump” (Microgate, Bolzano, Italy), Fitrodine Premium (Fitronic, Bratislava, Slovakia), and a digital force instrument IMADA Z2H-1100 (Imada Inc., Northbrook, IL, USA). Regression analysis revealed a notable association between muscle mass and measures of explosive strength (countermovement jump (CMJ) p = 0.023; drop jump (DJ) p = 0.026). Moreover, this study’s results showed that back extension (p = 0.006; R2 = 0.61) and hand grip (p = 0.009; R2 = 0.52) provide a strong positive association with muscle mass. The findings suggest that tailored training and nutritional strategies that improve muscle mass might significantly enhance muscle fitness in young judokas, optimizing their performance.

This study aims to investigate the influence of muscle mass on jump height based on the stage of biological maturation. The total sample consisted of 71 male athletes with three years of minimum training experience. The athletes were divided into three groups based on biological maturation: PrePHV, MidPHV, and PostPHV. Vertical jump height was assessed using three tests: the countermovement jump (CMJ), the countermovement jump with arm swing (CMJwas), and the squat jump (SJ). The results of the interaction between muscle mass percentage (MM) and peak height velocity (PHV) indicate that the effect of MM on vertical jump variables is greater in the PrePHV and MidPHV groups compared to the PostPHV group. For the PrePHV and MidPHV groups, there was a significant increase in CMJ [b=.83, t(22)=3.77, p=.001 and b=.92, t(14)=3.70, p=.002, respectively] and SJ [b=1.11, t(22)=4.45, p< .001 and b=1.06, t(14)=3.51, p=.003, respectively] when muscle mass percentage increased by one unit, while no significant increments were apparent for the PostPHV group [b=0.71, t=1.98, p=.058 and b=0.48, t(28)=1.65, p=.111, respectively]. Additionally, when muscle mass percentage increased by one unit, the CMJwas performance significantly increased in the PrePHV [b=1.48, t(22)=4.68, p<.001], MidPHV [b=1.15, t(14)=4.59, p<.001], and PostPHV [b=.97, t(28)=2.52, p=.018] groups. This study substantiates muscle mass as an important predictor of explosive power, demonstrating a more pronounced impact in the PrePHV and MidPHV relative to the PostPHV group. The study points out the importance of considering biological maturation when understanding the relationship between muscle mass and explosive power performance in young athletes.

Background: Understanding the relationship between teachers’ physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL), which is impacted by work-related stress, could help develop guidelines for improvement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of physical activity on high school teachers’ quality of life and the differences in QoL and PA between male and female teachers. Methods: The sample consisted of 499 respondents (193 men and 306 women), all working in the educational system. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form) was used for PA assessment, and the WHOQoL questionnaire to measure QoL. Results: Physical health and Psychological health domains were areas where male teachers scored better (p < 0.01, both), while female teachers had higher scores in Social relationships domain (p < 0.05). Regression analysis showed that PA affects Physical health: Sig. = 0.056; Psychological health: Sig. = 0.000; Social relationships: Sig. = 0.001; Environment: Sig. = 0.021 in men, and Physical health (Sig. = 0.009) and Psychological health (Sig. = 0.039) in women. Conclusions: The findings of this study allow us to conclude that, whereas female teachers’ PA primarily impacts their physical and psychological domain, male teachers’ PA has an impact on their overall QoL.

The aim of this research was to determine whether there is a relationship between body composition and motor abilities. A total of 50 participants, non-athletes, school-aged, from the school "Vožd Karađorđe" from Niš, male and female, average age 12.9 years, participated in this research. The research examined whether there is a relationship between parameters of the body composition and tests of explosive power, speed and agility. Tests were used to asses explosive power: countermovement jump (CMJ), countermovement jump with free arms (CMJA), squat jump (SJ) and five jump test (5JT). To asses speed we conducted tests 5m sprint (5m), 10m sprint (10m) and 20m sprint (20m). The following tests were used to assess agility: T-test, Zig Zag and Slalom. We used Pearson's correlation analysis to determine the relationship between body composition variables and motor abilities variables. As a result, it was proven that there are statistically significant correlation between body composition and motor abilities of school-age children.

Frequent sedentary behavior caused by the increased use of new technologies has contributed to the increase in overweight and obesity in children. These lifestyle changes include insufficient physical activity (PA) or an unfavorable relationship between food energy intake and energy expenditure. Parents and the family environment play a significant role in the development of obesity in their children. This study aimed to determine parents' attitudes about the FA of children of different nutritional levels (body mass index - BMI). A total of 149 respondents, parents of students in the first to fourth grades of urban and rural elementary schools, participated in the research. For the purposes of this research, the Fels Questionnaire (FELS PAQ) was used to assess the level of PA in children. The results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference in the intensity of attitudes about PA between parents of overfed and obese children and parents of normally fed children, as well as between mothers and eyes. A statistically significant association between actual and perceived PA levels was found in parents of over-nourished and obese children. Analysis of the difference in the intensity of attitudes about PA among parents of overfed and obese children from urban and rural areas revealed that there is no difference in the attitudes of parents from urban and rural areas

Introduction After 2000, there are more obese than underweight people in the world. We face a rapid increase in average global warming of 1.5°C, reported as a syndemic problem of three interconnected epidemics: obesity, global warming, and undernutrition. We aimed to analyze the impact and association between global warming and obesity in children and differences by gender across Europe after 2000. Methods We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Embase databases. The considered population were children aged 6–14. Only cross-sectional studies that defined obesity by the IOTF cutoffs and the subjects’ place of residence, used to determine precise climate zones, were included. We assessed the prevalence of obesity and overweight using a random-effects and the Mantel–Haenszel fixed-effect method when heterogeneity was greater/lower than 50%. We did a subgroup analysis for prevalence across gender, obesity, and overweight, two decades, regions, countries, and the Köppen–Geiger climate zones. Random effects of the meta-regression were used to study the global warming impact and differences in trends across European countries by gender for both conditions separately. Results We identified 114 studies that included 985,971 children from 39 European countries. A significant difference between genders was in favor of obese girls 4.78 (95% CI: 3.85–5.93) versus boys 5.76% (95% CI: 5.11–6.48, p = 0.03), respectively, but not for overweight children. Most of the obese girls were in South Europe 7.51% (95% CI: 6.61–8.51) versus East Europe 2.86% (95% CI: 23–3.12), versus boys in South Europe 8.66% (95% CI: 7.68–9.74) and North Europe 3.49% (95% CI: 2.90–4.19), respectively. The “cold” Köppen–Geiger climate zone, with lowest temperatures, has the largest trend rise between two decades of 2.8% and 1.53% for obese girls and boys, and 5.31% and 1.81% for overweight girls and boys, respectively, followed by the smallest number of obese girls 3.28% (95% CI: 2.17–4.92) and boys 3.58% (95% CI: 2.39–5.33), versus the zone with the highest temperatures “hot” for girls 7.02% (95% CI: 6.30–7.82) and for boys 8.23% (95% CI: 7.55–8.96), respectively. The meta-regression proved global warming has a significant impact on the distribution of obesity and overweight across climate zones, R2 = 0.52 and R2 = 0.22. No significant gender differences, or significant interaction, was noted. Conclusion Our meta-analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the association between and impact of global warming on obesity. This impact increases obesity among children in Europe throughout all climate zones, and emphasizes an urgent call for further preventive methods in schools, since obesity differences continue their trend of disappearing into the future. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021282127, identifier: CRD42021282127.

Objective Published reports describing awareness and knowledge of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) among pediatricians are few and differ considerably across countries. We aimed to assess awareness and knowledge of the FH among pediatricians in Serbia. Methods A web-based cross-sectional study using a self-designed questionnaire was conducted during the annual congress of the Serbian Association of Preventive Pediatrics in 2020. Results A total of 141 pediatricians completed the questionnaire (response rate 16.1%). Overall, 91% of participants have knowledge about genetic inheritance of FH, 84.3% were aware of long-term health risks of FH, 77% were familiar with normal cholesterol values in children and 71% knew the FH prevalence in the general population. On the other hand, only 36.8% declared that they were familiar with international guidelines for FH drug treatment and only 26.2% declared to have patients with FH. Conclusion There is a substantial lack of practical clinical knowledge among Serbian pediatricians on managing children with FH. In addition, an extremely low questionnaire response rate (16.1%) suggests that most pediatricians are not aware of the clinical importance of FH in childhood.

Plyometric movement improves athletes’ muscular performance and is used in the plyometric training method as an unavoidable principle of explosive power and speed development training. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of plyometric programs on biomechanical parameters, including any differences between them. The study focused on three sports, junior age group athletes, and was based on a systematic analysis of previous results. Electronic databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, ERIC were searched for studies from 1999 to 2022. The results from 15 studies are summarized in detail. They show the positive effects of the plyometric programs on biomechanical parameters equally in the three sports. Training duration ranges from 20 to 90 min, and is directly related to the intensity of training and the number of jumps. Shorter sessions are of very high intensity with fewer jumps, while longer sessions are moderate and high intensity with fewer jumps (more than 138 to more than 2976). The most frequent training duration is 45 to 60 min, with high intensity and 600 to 900 different jumps. Greater improvements in explosive power and speed are seen in the parameters of sprint and jump tests. High intensity programs lasted from seven to 12 weeks, with a frequency of two to four times a week (СМЈ 6,2% to 16,9%, while for SJ 7,6% to 19,8%), while lower intensity programs lasted from three to six weeks (СМЈ 6,3% to 9,1%, and for SJ 6,6% to 8,9%). It is concluded that longer programs, of a moderate and high intensity and training sessions from 45 to 60 min, enable the best progress, regardless of sport.

Body mass index (BMI) and body image (BI) are constructs worth examining in the context of physical activity (PA), and they are both related to quality of life (QoL). PA, BMI, and BI should all be considered as associated parameters, and their effect on QoL should be examined and understood. This study aimed to determine the moderating role of PA in the relationship of BMI and BI with QoL. The sample of examinees consisted of 500 respondents (307 women; aged 39 ± 6 years). A physical activity self-evaluation questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) was used to estimate PA; BI was evaluated by using the Body Image Dimensional Assessment (BIDA) questionnaire, while QoL was determined with the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. The results showed that vigorous PA moderates the relationship between BMI and social relationships in adults (Sig. = 0.000). Walking and vigorous PA affect the relationship between BMI and environmental health (Sig. = 0.017 and Sig. = 0.049, respectively). Both walking (Sig. = 0.035) and moderate PA (Sig. = 0.032) alternate the relationships between BI and social relationships. Walking (Sig. = 0.000) and vigorous PA (Sig. = 0.016) moderate the relationship between BI and environmental health. The influence of PA on the moderation of the relationship of BMI and BI with physical and psychological health in the working population was not statistically significant.

The aim of this research is to contribute to the understanding of the concept of satisfaction with life by determining the relationship between personality traits and the subjective experience of satisfaction with life in students—recreational athletes. This research is based on the biological theory of personality by Hans Eysenck and it attempts to offer explanations of a possible change in satisfaction with life in the period of great social deprivation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The sample of subjects consisted of 120 undergraduate students (N = 120) of all years and both sexes, 55 (45.8%) males and 65 (54.2%) females, at the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, the University of Nis. The average age of the subjects was 23.63 years (SD = 2.070). Eysenck's personality questionnaire (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, EPQ: Eysenck et al., 1885, adapted and translated by Šipka, 1985) was used for the operationalization of personality structure. The SWLS scale (Satisfaction With Life Scale, Diener et al., 1985) was used for estimating satisfaction with life. A significant regression model, which explains 11% of variance in the subjective experience of satisfaction with life in recreational athletes, was obtained. In the model, extraversion stands out as a significant predictor from the group of personality traits (β = 0.279). Neuroticism (β = −0.160) and psychoticism (β = −0.122) did not prove to be significant predictors of satisfaction with life in the structural model regardless of there being a significant negative correlation between neuroticism and satisfaction with life. The more extraverted participants had a keener subjective sense of satisfaction with life.

The effects of the aerobic endurance running program on the morphological characteristics of adolescent girls with different nutritional SUMMARY: This study aimed to explore the effects of a single moderate-intensity aerobic endurance running program on the morphological characteristics of normal-weighted and overweighted female adolescents and whether effects differ between individuals of different nutritional statuses. A total of 47 adolescent girls participated in this randomized controlled trial. Before and after 12 weeks of intervention, measurements were obtained for body height, body mass, BMI, triceps, subscapular, abdominal, thigh, and calf skinfolds, and chest, abdominal, thigh, and calf circumference. The total duration of the program was 12 weeks, with a frequency of 2 hours/week (24 sessions). The individual session lasted 60 minutes, and the intensity ranged from 60 % HRmax to 80 %. The findings from the present study suggest that the 12-week aerobic endurance running program induced changes in morphological characteristics of female adolescents. The significant reductions in body mass and BMI were small for normal-weight adolescents (-2,64 % and -3,48 %) and moderate for overweight adolescents (-4,14 % and -4,36 %) following the experimental program. The magnitude of reductions in the skinfold thickness was small for both groups (triceps, subscapular, abdominal, and calf) and moderate for thigh skinfold and a sum of skinfolds in the overweight group. The reductions in the magnitude of all circular measures were small for both groups. It ranged from -1.59 % to -2.59 % for normal-weight and from -2.54 % to -3.92 % for overweight adolescents, respectively. Additionally, the effects of the applied program seem more favorable to overweight than normal-weight adolescents. This study's current findings indicate that the 12-week aerobic endurance running program is effective due to improvements in morphological characteristics, body mass, and BMI of female adolescents. Additionally, this study's findings show that applied aerobic endurance running program proved more effective for overweight adolescents.

The process of aging leads to changes in functional abilities, fitness levels, level of physical activity, and body mass index (BMI), all of which causes changes in the quality of life. The current study aims to determine the association between the level of physical activity (PA) and BMI, and quality of life (QoL) among elderly women. The total sample numbered 156 women, with an average age of 67.7 ± 5.6 years. To determine the level of physical activity, the self-reported International Physical Activity Questionnaire Long Form (IPAQ-LF), was used. To calculate the values of the BMI, the standard procedure recommended by the World Health Organization was used. Quality of life was evaluated using the short form of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire designed by the World Health Organization. All the data were processed using the statistical package for data analysis SPSS 20.0. Pearson’s correlation analysis shows statistically significant relations at the level of p < 0.01 between PA and Physical health in Housework = 0.36, Leisure time PA = 0.27, Walking = 0.24, Moderate PA 0.43, Total PA = 0.43, while the correlations between the variables at the significance level of p < 0.05 were determined in PA in transportation = 0.19 and High-intensity PA = 0.16. Multiple linear regression analysis of different levels of PA as independent variables on individual domains of QoL shows that there is an association of PA and Physical health (Sig = 0.000), more precisely, Total PA is statistically the most closely related to Physical health (Sig = 0.000), and then follows PA at work and Social relations (Sig = 0.036). Similar results were obtained when BMI is added to model A. In contrast to model A, model B shows a statistically significant association between PA and BMI with the environmental domain of QoL (Sig = 0.001). The results of the current study indicate that high- and moderate-intensity physical activity both have benefits for physical health, whereas moderate PA showed higher significance levels. Results also show that elderly women with higher BMI values achieve better results in the environmental domain of QoL.

Abstract Background: The relationship between different surrogates of insulin resistance and left ventricular geometry in obese children is still unclear. Objective: We sought to explore the relationship between commonly used measures of insulin sensitivity/resistance (homeostatic model assessment index, serum uric acid, and triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio) and left ventricular geometry in normotensive obese children. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 32 normotensive obese children were examined. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to measure left ventricular mass index and relative wall thickness. Homeostasis model assessment index, serum uric acid level, and a ratio of triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were used as markers of the insulin resistance. Simple and partial correlation analyses (to control for the effects of body mass index) were conducted to explore relationship between studied variables and left ventricular mass index or relative wall thickness as outcome variables. Results: We found positive correlations between homeostasis model assessment index and relative wall thickness (r = 0.47, p = 0.03) which remained significant after controlling for the effect of body mass index, z-score (r = 0.48, p = 0.03). The cutoff level of homeostasis model assessment index with the optimum sensitivity (Sn) and specificity (Sp) derived from the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for predicting concentric remodelling was ≥5.51 with Sn = 83.33 and Sp = 68.75. Conclusion: There is a positive relationship between homeostasis model assessment index and relative wall thickness of obese normotensive children which may help to distinguish at risk obese normotensive children for the development of concentric left ventricular remodelling.