Children are consistently not achieving recommended levels of physical activity (PA) despite it being a compulsory requirement of the national curriculum in England. Fruit and vegetable consumption also falls below recommended levels for both adults and children. With school PA increasingly being outsourced, football foundations (linked to professional football clubs) are now prominent providers of children's PA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study provides insight into an inclusive program between Special Olympics (SO) and academy football (soccer) players in the United Kingdom from the perspectives of players and facilitators. Qualitative focus groups were conducted across 30 participants (six facilitators, 14 Premier League academy players, and 10 SO players). Focus groups compared stakeholders' experiences of participating in a season-long inclusive football program.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current study addresses the need to empirically develop effective mental health interventions for youth from ethnic/racial minority and low-income neighborhoods. Using Stage Model evaluation methods supported by the National Institutes of Health in the US to address underutilization of mental healthcare among racial/ethnic minority youth, this feasibility study demonstrates empirical adaptation of an innovative sport-specific psychological intervention for use in youth from ethnic/racial minority and low-income neighborhoods. An international group of professionals familiar with sport performance and mental health intervention serving the target population experientially examined the adapted intervention protocols in workshops and provided feedback.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Physical activity provides a number of physical and psychological benefits. Multimodal proprioceptive exercise represents a useful balance-based exercise with the potential to reduce falls in older adults. Previous research has also indicated cognitive benefits following multimodal proprioceptive exercise in young and older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study explores the views of children, parents, school staff and intervention staff regarding interventions designed to promote healthy lifestyles and positive choices in primary schools in the North East of England, United Kingdom. The interventions consisted of six weekly sessions in which classroom learning was followed by physically active games. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 45 participants and thematic analysis was performed on the resultant 26 transcripts to identify themes relating to the role of physical activity, facilitators and barriers to children's engagement in the sessions and the perceived outcomes of intervention participation.
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