Characterising the activity, lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes of UK university students: an observational cohort study with a focus on gender and ethnicity.

Background: Health-related outcomes and behaviours in university students are known to be poor relative to the general population. The substantial contextual shifts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with increased numbers of students from minoritised ethnicity backgrounds and presenting as trans and gender diverse (TGD), means that up-to-date information is unavailable. The primary aim of this study was therefore to characterise the current movement, dietary and lifestyle behaviours, mental health, and Body Mass Index (BMI) of UK university students and assess differences between genders and ethnic groups.

It Is Not Just a Matter of Motivation: The Role of Self-Control in Promoting Physical Activity in Older Adults-A Bayesian Mediation Model.

This study aimed to understand how psychological factors affect regular exercise in older adults, hypothesising that trait self-control mediates the relationship between motivation types (intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation) and exercise time. In this cross-sectional study, 430 older adults (mean age = 68.8 ± 6.

Gross Motor Skills Are Associated with Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in School-Aged Children.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most prevalent disorders in children and is frequently linked with motor difficulties that can impact both daily motor tasks and overall developmental trajectories. The objective of this study was to analyse the association between gross motor skills and ADHD symptoms. Using a cross-sectional research design, data were collected from a sample of primary school children (N = 2677; mean age = 8.

Sex differences in 3- to 5-year-old children's motor competence: A pooled cross-sectional analysis of 6241 children.

There is some, albeit inconsistent, evidence supporting sex differences in preschoolers' motor competence (MC), with these observations not uniform when analyzed by age, and cultural groups. Thus, this study examined sex differences across ages in 3- to 5-year-old children's MC. A cross-country pooled sample of 6241 children aged 3-5 years (49.

Instruments for Measuring Psychological Dimensions in Human-Robot Interaction: Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties.

Background: Numerous user-related psychological dimensions can significantly influence the dynamics between humans and robots. For developers and researchers, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the psychometric properties of the available instruments used to assess these dimensions as they indicate the reliability and validity of the assessment.

Objective: This study aims to provide a systematic review of the instruments available for assessing the psychological aspects of the relationship between people and social and domestic robots, offering a summary of their psychometric properties and the quality of the evidence.

What Effect Do Goal Setting Interventions Have on Physical Activity and Psychological Outcomes in Insufficiently Active Adults? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Goal setting is commonly used for promoting physical activity (PA) among insufficiently active individuals. Previous reviews have analyzed the effects of goal setting on PA, but the purpose of this systematic review was to examine the concurrent effects of goal setting on PA and psychological outcomes in insufficiently active individuals to support interventions aiming to produce sustained PA behavior change.

Methods: In this review (PROSPERO: CRD42021243970), we identified 13 studies with 1208 insufficiently active adults that reported the effects of goal-setting interventions (range 3-24 wk) on both PA and psychological outcomes (eg, self-efficacy, motivation, and affect).

Determining factors of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.

Introduction: Historically, university students demonstrate poor movement behaviours that could negatively impact current and future health. Recent literature has focused on identifying determinants of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) in this population to inform the development of intervention strategies. However, the COVID-19 pandemic substantially restricted movement behaviours in this population, meaning findings of previous research may no longer be applicable within the current societal context.

Motor Competence and Body Mass Index in the Preschool Years: A Pooled Cross-Sectional Analysis of 5545 Children from Eight Countries.

Background And Objective: One in five preschool children are overweight/obese, and increased weight status over time increases the risks of poorer future health. Motor skill competence may be a protective factor, giving children the ability to participate in health-enhancing physical activity. Yet, we do not know when the relationship between motor competence and weight status first emerges or whether it is evident across the body mass index (BMI) spectrum.

Longitudinal analysis of physical function in older adults: The effects of physical inactivity and exercise training.

Lack of exercise contributes to systemic inflammation and is a major cause of chronic disease. The long-term impact of initiating and sustaining exercise in late life, as opposed to sustaining a sedentary lifestyle, on whole-body health measures such as physical performance is not well known. This is an exploratory study to compare changes in physical performance among older adults initiating exercise late in life versus inactive older adults.

The Effect of Cognitive Task Complexity on Healthy Gait in the Walking Corsi Test.

Dual-task activities are essential within everyday life, requiring visual-spatial memory (VSM) and mobility skills. Navigational memory is an important component of VSM needed to carry out everyday activities, but this is often not included in traditional tests such as the Corsi block tapping test (CBT). The Walking Corsi Test (WalCT) allows both VSM and navigational memory to be tested together, as well as allowing measures of gait to be collected, thus providing a more complete understanding of dual-task function.

An After-School Football Session Transiently Improves Cognitive Function in Children.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a real-world after-school football session on subsequent cognitive function in primary school children. Following ethical approval, 100 children (aged 8−9 year) from the same after-school football club were randomly assigned to either an intervention (60 min football activity) or control (continued to rest) group. Cognitive function (selective visual attention, short term memory and long-term memory) was assessed prior to, immediately following and 45 min following the football session (and at the respective timepoints in the control group).

16 Weeks of Physically Active Mathematics and English Language Lessons Improves Cognitive Function and Gross Motor Skills in Children Aged 8-9 Years.

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of physically active lessons, implemented through the Mathematics and English Language curriculum, on cognitive function and gross motor skill development. Following ethical approval, 192 children aged 8-9 years were randomly allocated to an intervention group ( = 98) or a control group ( = 94). The intervention consisted of 8 h.

Mercury levels in hair are associated with reduced neurobehavioral performance and altered brain structures in young adults.

The detrimental effects of high-level mercury exposure on the central nervous system as well as effects of low-level exposure during early development have been established. However, no previous studies have investigated the effects of mercury level on brain morphometry using advance imaging techniques in young adults. Here, utilizing hair analysis which has been advocated as a method for biological monitoring, data of regional gray matter volume (rGMV), regional white matter volume (rWMV), fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), cognitive functions, and depression among 920 healthy young adults in Japan, we showed that greater hair mercury levels were weakly but significantly associated with diminished cognitive performance, particularly on tasks requiring rapid processing (speed measures), lower depressive tendency, lower rGMV in areas of the thalamus and hippocampus, lower rWMV in widespread areas, greater FA in bilaterally distributed white matter areas overlapping with areas of significant rWMV reductions and lower MD of the widely distributed gray and white matter areas particularly in the bilateral frontal lobe and the right basal ganglia.

Loneliness inside of the brain: evidence from a large dataset of resting-state fMRI in young adult.

Although loneliness itself is a natural emotion, prolonged loneliness is detrimental to human health. Despite its detrimental effect, few loneliness-related neuroimaging studies have been published and some have limitations on the sample size number. This study aims to find the difference in resting-state functional connectivity associated with loneliness within a big sample size via the seed-based approach.

Differences in self-control, self-efficacy and depressive symptoms between active and inactive middle-aged and older adults after 1 year of COVID restrictions.

Objectives: The psychological impact of the prolonged lockdown measures in the UK as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic is unclear. Our aim was to determine if there are significant differences in self-control, self-efficacy, depressive symptoms and leisure motivation between UK older adults with differing levels of physical activity, and which of these variables can be used to predict activity level after 1 year of lockdown restrictions.

Methods: 521 adults aged 50-92 years completed an online survey consisting of several validated measures relating to physical activity, self-control, self-efficacy, depressive symptoms, and leisure motivation.

Systematic Review of the Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on the Gut Microbiome of Older Adults.

Recent evidence suggests that exercise/physical activity (PA) can beneficially alter the gut microbiome composition of young people, but little is known about its effects in older adults. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize results of human studies that have assessed the effects/associations of PA/exercise on the gut microbiome of older adults and to better understand whether this can help promote healthy ageing. Seven studies were included in the review and overall, exercise and increased amounts of PA were associated with decreases in the abundance of several well-known harmful taxa and increases in the abundance of health-promoting taxa.

Brain structures and activity during a working memory task associated with internet addiction tendency in young adults: A large sample study.

The structural and functional brain characteristics associated with the excessive use of the internet have attracted substantial research attention in the past decade. In current study, we used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and multiple regression analysis to assess the relationship between internet addiction tendency (IAT) score and regional gray and white matter volumes (rGMVs and rWMVs) and brain activity during a WM task in a large sample of healthy young adults (n = 1,154, mean age, 20.71 ± 1.

Polygenic risk score for bipolar disorder associates with divergent thinking and brain structures in the prefrontal cortex.

It has been hypothesized that a higher genetic risk of bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with greater creativity. Given the clinical importance of bipolar disorder and the importance of creativity to human society and cultural development, it is essential to reveal their associations and the neural basis of the genetic risk of bipolar disorder to gain insight into its etiology. However, despite the previous demonstration of the associations of polygenic risk score (PRS) of BD and creative jobs, the associations of BD-PRS and creativity measured by the divergent thinking (CMDT) and regional gray matter volume (rGMV) as well as regional white matter volume (rWMV) have not been investigated.

Cortico-striatal-thalamic loop as a neural correlate of neuroticism in the mind-body interface.

Objective: Although brain structural studies have demonstrated the neural correlates of neuroticism, the outcomes are not easily identified because of the various possible brain regions involved, low statistical power (low number of subjects), and brain structural measures available, such as mean diffusivity (MD), which are more suitable than standard regional measures of grey and white-matter volume (rGMV, rWMV) and fractional anisotropy (FA). We hypothesized that neuroticism neural correlates could be detected by MD and differentially identified using other measures. We aimed to visualize the neural correlates of neuroticism.

Effects of 1 Year of Lifestyle Intervention on Institutionalized Older Adults.

The socio-economic and health consequences of our ageing population are well documented, with older adults living in long-term care facilities amongst the frailest possessing specific and significant healthcare and social care needs. These needs may be exacerbated through the sedentary behaviour which is prevalent within care home settings. Reducing sedentary time can reduce the risk of many diseases and improve functional health, implying that improvements in health may be gained by simply helping older adults substitute time spent sitting with time spent standing or in light-intensity ambulation.

Italian version of the short 10/66 dementia diagnostic schedule: a validation study.

Objectives: To determine the criterion and concurrent validity of the Italian version of the short 10/66 Dementia Diagnostic Schedule and algorithm in a sample of Italian native speakers, older adults.

Design: A cross-sectional, validation study.

Setting: The study was conducted with older adults living in the community and in nursing homes in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, and the Piedmont region in Italy between March and August 2019.