Publications by authors named "Oscar Veiga"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to explore how lifestyle habits like physical activity, screen time, sleep, and diet affect abdominal obesity and various health biomarkers in adolescents with Down syndrome.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 83 adolescents and categorized them into three groups based on their lifestyle compliance: low, medium, and high.
  • Findings showed that those with higher compliance had lower levels of unhealthy biomarkers and abdominal obesity, indicating that better lifestyle choices lead to improved health outcomes.
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This study evaluated the effectiveness of 'ENTREN-F' -a multi-component, family system-based intervention-for managing paediatric obesity at National Health Primary Care. A 3-arm, parallel-design, single-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT), 165 families were randomized: Arm 1) ENTREN-F(n = 62) is a 12-week cognitive-behavioural intervention (CBT) family system-based programme, addressing lifestyle changes, children's emotional and social development and the family system, Arm 2) 'ENTREN' (n = 52) is a CBT family-based programme for children and parents, not addressing the family system, and Arm 3) Control group (CG) (n = 51) covers individual behavioural monitoring. All children were clinical interviewed to assess a diagnosis.

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Purpose: In the field of health sciences gender is often confused with biological sex (male/female) or reduced to a dichotomous classification (masculinity/femininity). The concepts of sex and gender interact with each other, but they are not equivalent. According to Sandra Bem four gender typologies can be established (androgynous, masculine, feminine and undifferentiated).

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Introduction: The aims of this study were to examine cross-sectional, and longitudinal association of different measures of obesity and physical fitness with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in adolescents with Down syndrome.

Methods: Longitudinal analysis included 90 adolescents with Down syndrome. Obesity and physical fitness were measured following the ALPHA battery.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study analyzed the relationship between physical activity (PA) levels and patterns with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in 175 children and 188 adolescents using accelerometry to measure PA.
  • - Results showed that higher levels of vigorous and moderate-vigorous PA, specifically in 10-minute bouts, were linked to lower MetS scores, particularly among male children and adolescents, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
  • - The findings suggest that shorter bouts of physical activity (like 10 minutes) may be more effective in improving health outcomes related to metabolic syndrome in the pediatric population.
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The physical activity, exercise and wellness sector is rapidly growing and seems to be an exciting field for business and professional development with great potential globally. The purpose of this observational and cross-sectional study was to determine the most popular health and fitness trends in Southern Europe for the first time, including data from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus, and to investigate any potential differences in this area compared to the Pan-European and global fitness trends for 2023. A national online survey was conducted in five Southern European countries, using the methodology of similar regional and worldwide surveys conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine since 2007.

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Background: The aim of this study was to examine associations of total volume and bouts of sedentary time (ST) and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with physical fitness (PF) in youth.

Methods: This was a 2-year follow-up study with 1418 children and adolescents (51.7% boys).

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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).

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We aimed to analyse the longitudinal association between physical fitness (PF) and body composition (BC) with a metabolic risk score (Met4) in children and adolescents and to elucidate whether the association between PF and Met4 differs when using relativized or absolute fitness variables. A total of 188 children (86 females) and 195 adolescents (97 females) were included. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was determined by the 20-m shuttle run test, and muscular fitness (MF) was determined by hand grip and standing long jump tests.

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Background: Poor dietary habits and low levels of physical activity (PA) have a strong tendency to track from childhood into adulthood. The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is known to be extremely healthy, associated with lower BMI and a lower risk of obesity in children and adolescents. Therefore, adherence to the MD was compared between Spanish ( = 182) and German ( = 152) children aged 10 to 13 years to examine a possible more "westernized" diet in Spain with a non-Mediterranean country, that traditionally prefers a "Western diet" and to determine the association between adherence to the MD and gender, body composition, and PA levels.

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Background: Pediatric obesity is a primary public health concern, and designing effective programs for managing it is of the utmost importance. The objective of this study was to describe the protocol study of a three-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial aimed at assessing the efficacy of a family-system-based intervention ("ENTREN-F" program) for managing childhood obesity, compared to the "ENTREN" program (no "F" - without specific family-system-based workshop) and a control group (behavioral monitoring).

Methods/design: The ENTREN-F program was a multicomponent family-system-based intervention carried out by a multidisciplinary team in the primary health care setting.

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Objective: This study was aimed to examine patient enrolment in the pre-intervention stage, family-reported barriers, attendance rates and underlying predictors of short-term attendance in a family-system-based randomised controlled trial for managing childhood obesity in children aged 8-12-years-old (ENTREN-F).

Method: Psychosocial and anthropometric measures were collected through primary health referral. The data were used for descriptive analyses of sample characteristics and linear regression analyses.

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To examine the longitudinal relationships between objectively measured total volume and specific intensities of physical activity (PA) with academic performance in a large sample of youth aged 6-18 years. A longitudinal study of 1046 youth (10.04 ± 3.

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(1) Background: Numerous studies have focused on examining the association between PA levels and health-related physical fitness components in children or adolescents without disabilities. However, research on the association between PA and health-related physical fitness in adolescents with DS (Down syndrome) is limited, and most of the previous studies have been developed with a cross-sectional perspective. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the prospective association of accelerometer-based PA at baseline with health-related physical fitness at a 2-year follow-up in a relatively large sample of adolescents with DS from the UP&DOWN study.

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Objectives: The aim was to determine the independent associations of muscular fitness (MF), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and waist circumference (WC) with blood pressure (BP) levels over 2 years in children and adolescents.

Methods: 1089 children (517 females) and 787 adolescents (378 females) with complete data on fitness, WC and BP (systolic [SBP] and diastolic [DBP]) were included. Upper MF was assessed through the handgrip strength test, and lower MF using the standing long jump test.

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Previous studies have observed a link between gender and well-being and health in young populations. The purpose of this research was twofold: (1) to analyse the cross-sectional relationship between gender status with well-being indicators and self-perceived health in adolescents at baseline and at 2-year follow-up and (2) to evaluate the prospective associations between gender at baseline and well-being indicators/self-perceived health assessed at 2-year follow-up. Well-being was measured using the KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaire (as a measure of health-related quality of life (HR-QoL)), the Children's Hope Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule.

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Trajectories of physical activity and sedentary time (SED) may differ between subgroups of youth. The aim of this study was to identify group-based dual trajectories of physical activity and SED and explore individual, social, and environmental correlates of these trajectories. Longitudinal data (three time points, baseline 2011-2012) of Spanish youth (n = 1597, mean age = 11.

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No studies have analyzed the longitudinal associations of change in physical fitness components and obesity with academic performance. The aim of the study was to examine longitudinal associations of changes in physical fitness components and body mass index with academic performance among youth, and whether the physical fitness components are moderators of the longitudinal association between obesity and academic performance in youth. Longitudinal analyses (2 years) included 1802 youths.

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Background: The aim of this study was to examine the bidirectional longitudinal associations of several markers of fatness and physical fitness in adolescents with Down syndrome.

Methods: This study comprised a total of 111 adolescents (41 females), aged from 11 to 20 years with complete data at the baseline. We had a drop-out of <10% from the baseline to the 2-year follow-up.

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Background: Affect and physical fitness play an important role in psychological and physical health; however, the association between those variables in youth remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of physical fitness on positive and negative affect in Spanish children and adolescents.

Method: Healthy young Spanish people (n = 1,490) were recruited for the present study: 542 children (n = 272 girls; mean age 9.

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Objective: Based on a three-factor model of subjective wellbeing (evaluative, hedonic and eudemonic), the purpose of this study was to analyze gender differences in children and adolescents through three different subjective wellbeing indicators.

Method: The sample comprised 1.407 children and adolescents from Cadiz and Madrid (Spain), in the framework of the UP&DOWN study.

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The aim was to examine the bidirectional association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and fatness in a 2-year longitudinal study conducted in young people. A total of 1082 children (512 females) and 727 adolescents (342 females) with complete data at baseline and follow-up were included. CRF was determined by the 20-m shuttle run test.

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The aims of this study were to identify profiles of sedentary behaviour (SB) patterns, based on leisure-time self-reported SB modalities (screen, educative, social, and relaxing) and to evaluate changes in these profiles over 2 years among Spanish youth aged 8-18 years. Latent profile analysis (LPA), a data-driven analytic approach, was used to identify groups of boys and girls (n = 1553; 48% girls; mean±SD age: 12.56 ± 2.

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Background: Longitudinal changes in child and adolescent active school transport (AST), and the mediating role of different intensities of daily physical activity (PA) levels in relation to AST and physical fitness and adiposity indicators is unclear. This study aimed to: 1) describe longitudinal changes in AST, light PA (LPA), moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA), physical fitness and adiposity indicators over three time-points; and 2) investigate the mediating role of LPA and MVPA levels on associations between AST and physical fitness and adiposity indicators over three time-points among children and adolescents.

Methods: This longitudinal study comprised 1646 Spanish children and adolescents (48.

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