The Youth Fitness International Test (YFIT) battery for monitoring and surveillance among children and adolescents: A modified Delphi consensus project with 169 experts from 50 countries and territories.

Background: Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence is associated with a variety of health outcomes and is a powerful marker of current and future health. However, inconsistencies in tests and protocols limit international monitoring and surveillance. The objective of the study was to seek international consensus on a proposed, evidence-informed, Youth Fitness International Test (YFIT) battery and protocols for health monitoring and surveillance in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years.

Physical Activity Levels in Children with Esophageal Atresia and Congenital Heart Disease: A Comparative Multicenter Study.

Aim Of The Study:  Esophageal atresia (EA) is associated with impaired motor development, cardiopulmonary function, and physical activity (PA). Despite missing scientific evidence, this fact is often attributed to associated congenital heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to investigate PA in EA patients without CHD compared with CHD patients and healthy controls.

Nationwide Survey Reveals High Prevalence of Non-Swimmers among Children with Congenital Heart Defects.

Background: Physical activity is important for children with congenital heart defects (CHD), not only for somatic health, but also for neurologic, emotional, and psychosocial development. Swimming is a popular endurance sport which is in general suitable for most children with CHD. Since we have previously shown that children with CHD are less frequently physically active than their healthy peers, we hypothesized that the prevalence of non-swimmers is higher in CHD patients than in healthy children.

Active school transport routines during school transitions: Socio-structural predictors of changes from childhood into early adulthood.

The purpose of this study is to investigate socio-structural predictors of active school transport (AST) change and to explore the stability and changes of transport modes during school transitions and into early adulthood in Germany. School transport mode, urbanicity level, socioeconomic status, and migration background were assessed in 624 children (8.9 ± 1.

Physical Self-Concept and Physical Activity in Children with Congenital Heart Defects-Can We Point Out Differences to Healthy Children to Promote Physical Activity?

Objective: Children with congenital heart defects (CHD) are at high risk for cardiovascular disease in addition to their congenital disease, so it is important to motivate this group of patients to live a physically active lifestyle. A potential influencing determinant of younger children's physical performance is the physical self-concept. The objective of the present study was first to evaluate the correlation between the physical self-concept (PSC) and the participation in physical activities (PA) of a representative group of children with congenital heart disease (CHD), and second to point out differences in comparison to their healthy peer group.

Habitual physical activity in patients born with oesophageal atresia: a multicenter cross-sectional study and comparison to a healthy reference cohort matched for gender and age.

Unlabelled: Oesophageal atresia (EA) is associated with life-long gastrointestinal and respiratory morbidity and other associated malformations. The aim of this study is to compare physical activity (PA) levels of children and adolescents with and without EA. A validated questionnaire (MoMo-PAQ) was used to evaluate PA in EA patients EA (4-17 years), who were randomly matched for gender and age (1:5) with a representative sample of the Motorik-Modul Longitudinal Study (n = 6233).

The Challenge of Incomplete Data in Accelerometer Studies: Characteristics of Nonparticipation and Noncompliance in a Nationwide Sample of Adolescents and Young Adults in Germany.

Background: Incomplete data due to nonparticipation and noncompliance with the study protocol can bias the results of studies. We investigated how a nationwide accelerometer sample of adolescents and young adults is affected by such incomplete data.

Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from 6465 participants (11-31 y old) who participated in a national health survey in Germany (KiGGS Wave 2; 2014-2017).

European fitness landscape for children and adolescents: updated reference values, fitness maps and country rankings based on nearly 8 million test results from 34 countries gathered by the FitBack network.

Objectives: (1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness in European children and adolescents aged 6-18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multilanguage fitness platform (FitBack); (2) to provide comparisons across European countries.

Methods: This study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity and fitness at population level (ALPHA) test battery as it comprises tests with the highest test-retest reliability, criterion/construct validity and health-related predictive validity: the 20 m shuttle run (cardiorespiratory fitness); handgrip strength and standing long jump (muscular strength); and body height, body mass, body mass index and waist circumference (anthropometry).

Physical Activity and Recurrent Pain in Children and Adolescents in Germany-Results from the MoMo Study.

Recurrent pain can be a significant disruption in the activities of daily life, and is not only a health problem in adults but also in children and adolescents. This study analyzed the prevalence of recurrent pain in the current sample (n = 1516; 11-17 years (mean = 14.4 ± 2.

Community networks of sport and physical activity promotion: an analysis of structural properties and conditions of cooperation.

Background: The importance of intersectoral cooperation networks among community organizations located in people's immediate environments in addressing population health problems such as physical inactivity has come into focus in recent years. To date, there is limited evidence on how and why such networks emerge. Therefore, the aims of this study were (a) to analyze the structural properties and (b) to identify the conditions of cooperation in interorganizational community networks of sport and physical activity promotion.

Changes in Physical Fitness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in German Children.

With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, each country has developed strategies to try to control the virus. The restrictions and subsequent consequences also limited the possibilities and structures for being physically active. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine changes in physical fitness in a cohort that was investigated over an extended period.

The geospatial and conceptual configuration of the natural environment impacts the association with health outcomes and behavior in children and adolescents.

Background: Studies investigating associations between natural environments and health outcomes or health behaviors in children and adolescents yielded heterogenous results to date. This may be the result of different geospatial configurations of the natural environment and confounding characteristics of the study population. Thus, we investigated how the relationship between the natural environment and mental health, muscular fitness, and physical activity varies depending on the geospatial configuration of nature and children's and adolescents' characteristics.

Urban-Rural Differences in Children's and Adolescent's Physical Activity and Screen-Time Trends Across 15 Years.

Background: Urban and rural areas have been experiencing major demographic and structural changes, characterized by an aging population in rural areas and a growth of cities in number and size. However, it is poorly researched how children's physical activity and screen time developed in urban and rural areas. To address this deficit, we investigated physical activity and screen-time trends in Germany's pediatric population across four urbanicity levels (rural, small town, medium-sized town, city).

Changes in Physical Activity Patterns Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

With the outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease 19 (Covid-19) in late 2019, governments increasingly imposed containment strategies, including social distancing as well as restricted population movement, potentially having negative impacts on mental and physical health. A growing number of studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on different facets of physical activity (PA); an overview combining these (mixed) results, however, is missing. Thus, the objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate whether and to which extent PA changed from before to during the Covid-19 pandemic, taking age, gender, and measurement method into account.

The Fitness Barometer: A Best Practice Example for Monitoring Motor Performance With Pooled Data Collected From Practitioners.

Motor Performance (MP) in children is an important resource for their future active lifestyle and health. Monitoring of MP is crucial to derive information of trends and to implement specific programs on the base of current MP levels. A variety of MP assessment tools exist, making it difficult to determine a "gold-standard" for assessment and to compare the findings.

Health-Related Motor Testing of Children in Primary School: A Systematic Review of Criterion-Referenced Standards.

Being physically fit in younger years prevents several diseases in the presence as well as in the life course. Therefore, monitoring physical fitness and motor competence through motor testing is essential for determining developmental status and identifying health-related risks. The main objectives of this systematic review were (1) to identify currently available health-related criterion-referenced standards and cut-off points for physical fitness and motor competence test items, (2) to frame the methodological background on setting health-related criterion-referenced standards and (3) to give implications for a health-related evaluation system for physical fitness and motor competence tests.

A Short Version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale: Development and Psychometric Properties.

Objective: The purposes of this paper were to (a) develop a new short, theory-driven, version of the physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES-S) using content analysis; and (b) subsequently to measure the psychometric properties (construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity) of the PACES-S for adolescents.

Methods: Six experts used a four-point Likert scale to assess the content validity of each of the 16 items of the physical activity enjoyment scale according to a provided definition of physical activity enjoyment. Based on the results, exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze survey data from a longitudinal study of 182 individuals (Measure 1 of Study 1: 15.

Physical fitness of children and youth with asthma in comparison to the reference population : Cross-sectional results of the population-based MoMo study in Germany.

Background: Physical fitness is an essential marker of health. The literature regarding the question of whether individuals with asthma have reduced physical fitness compared to their non-asthmatic peers is inconsistent and focuses on the cardiorespiratory endurance dimension. This study provides a comparison of different dimensions of physical fitness in individuals with and without asthma on the basis of the German population-based study "KiGGS" (German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents) and its in-depth study "MoMo" (2009-2012: wave 1 and 2014-2017: wave 2).

Indicators to Assess Physical Health of Children and Adolescents in Activity Research-A Scoping Review.

Sufficient physical activity can help promote and maintain health, while its lack can jeopardize it. Since health and physical activity lay their foundation for later life in childhood and adolescence, it is important to examine this relationship from the beginning. Therefore, this scoping review aims to provide an overview of physical health indicators in children and adolescents in research on the effects of physical activity and sedentary behavior.

Relating outdoor play to sedentary behavior and physical activity in youth - results from a cohort study.

Background: Outdoor play, sedentary behavior (SB), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are related to youth's health, however, there are research gaps regarding 1) associations between outdoor play, SB, and MVPA across a broad pediatric age range (6-17 years), and 2) longitudinal associations between outdoor play, SB, and MVPA across childhood and adolescence. Two studies were conducted to address those research gaps: Study 1 aimed to investigate relationships between outdoor play and accelerometer-assessed SB and MVPA in a cross-sectional nationwide sample of children and adolescents in Germany. Study 2 aimed to investigate prospective associations between outdoor play and self-reported screen-time SB and MVPA and in a sample of children with three measurement timepoints across 11 years.

Population density predicts youth's physical activity changes during Covid-19 - Results from the MoMo study.

Children in Germany showed positive physical activity changes during the first Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020, but it is unclear how the changes relate to population density, which we investigated in a longitudinal sample of 1711 youth (4-17 years). For each ten citizens more per km, less positive physical activity changes were observed. For example, a child living in an area with 100 citizens/km increased daily life physical activity by 44.