ORGANIZED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTH IN PRESCHOOL AGE: A REVIEW.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how organized Physical Activity (oPA) can contribute to the promotion of preschool aged children's health and specifically to health indicators such as adiposity, bone and skeletal health, cardiometabolic health, motor skill development, cognitive development, and psychosocial health.

Methods: A literature search of interventions aimed at improving health in preschool age was conducted in five electronic databases. Included in the review were only studies meeting the following criteria: published or accepted for publication studies; written in English; intervention with any type of oPA; 2-6 years old participants; pre- and post-objective assessments of the intervention effects; presence of a control group.

Iron status markers are only transiently affected by a football game.

We examined the temporal variation of iron's status markers during a 60 h period following a football game. Thirty-four male football players were randomly assigned to a control group (CG, N = 14, participated only in measurements and training) or an experimental group (EG, N = 20, took part in a football game one week after the completion of the competitive season). All participants trained regularly for two consecutive days after the game.

Pedometer determined physical activity and obesity prevalence of Greek children aged 4-6 years.

Background: Pre-school age is important for developing healthy attitudes towards physical activity (PA). However, research on pre-schoolers' pedometer-determined PA is limited.

Aim: To describe pre-schoolers' ambulatory activity; investigate step count differences in respect to Body Mass Index (BMI) categories and examine the prevalence of obesity.

The Motor-Proficiency-Test for children between 4 and 6 years of age (MOT 4-6): an investigation of its suitability in Greece.

Given the negative influence of motor difficulties on people's quality of life their early identification seems to be crucial and consequently the information provided by a sound assessment tool is of great importance. The aim of this study was to examine the suitability of the MOT 4-6 (Zimmer & Volkamer, 1987) for use with preschoolers in Greece. Seven hundred and seventy-eight Greek children aged 48-71 months participated in the study.

The relationship between motor proficiency and pedometer-determined physical activity in young children.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between motor proficiency and pedometer-determined physical activity in 5-6 year-old children. Participants (n = 232) were randomly recruited and assessed from 30 kindergartens in Northern Greece. Two trained researchers administered the measurements for the assessment of children's motor proficiency by using the BOTMP-SF.

The validity of two Omron pedometers during treadmill walking is speed dependent.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of walking speed on the accuracy of measurement of steps, distance, and energy expenditure of two commercially available Omron pedometers [HJ-720IT-E2 (HJ-720) and HJ-113-E (HJ-113)]. Twenty-four untrained males (age, 22.7 ± 2.

Can the movement assessment battery for children-test be the "gold standard" for the motor assessment of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder?

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is an important risk factor in the development of children that can have a significant academic and social impact. This reinforces the need for its timely identification using appropriate assessment methods and accurate screening tests. The commonly used standardized motor test for the DCD identification is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Test (M-ABC Test) (Henderson & Sugden, 1992).