Proximity to Sports Facilities and Sports Participation for Adolescents in Germany

Objectives - To assess the relationship between proximity to specific sports facilities and participation in the corresponding sports activities for adolescents in Germany. Methods - A sample of 1,768 adolescents aged 11–17 years old and living in 161 German communities was examined. Distances to the nearest sports facilities were calculated as an indicator of proximity to sports facilities using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Participation in specific leisure-time sports activities in sports clubs was assessed using a self-report questionnaire and individual-level socio-demographic variables were derived from a parent questionnaire. Community-level socio-demographics as covariates were selected from the INKAR database, in particular from indicators and maps on land development. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between proximity to the nearest sports facilities and participation in the corresponding sports activities. Results - The logisitic regression analyses showed that girls residing longer distances from the nearest gym were less likely to engage in indoor sports activities; a significant interaction between distances to gyms and level of urbanization was identified. Decomposition of the interaction term showed that for adolescent girls living in rural areas participation in indoor sports activities was positively associated with gym proximity. Proximity to tennis courts and indoor pools was not associated with participation in tennis or water sports, respectively. Conclusions - Improved proximity to gyms is likely to be more important for female adolescents living in rural areas

EFFECTS OF AGE, GENDER AND ACTIVITY LEVEL ON COUNTER-MOVEMENT JUMP PERFORMANCE AND VARIABILITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

The aim of this study was to investigate counter-movement jump performance and variability in a large population of children and adolescents with respect to age, gender, and activity level. 1835 subjects performed three counter-movement jumps with arms akimbo on a force platform. The subjects were divided into 6 age groups and three activity level groups. Jump height and maximum rate of force development were calculated for all jumps. The best trial out of three was considered for further calculations. Variability of both parameters was indicated by the coefficient of variation over three jumps. Both parameters increased with increasing age while their variability decreased. Boys jumped higher than girls. Regarding maximum rate of force development female subjects showed higher values. The active subjects jumped higher and with less variability than the sedentary group. Jump height and maximum rate of force development are good parameters to describe the development of jumping performance regarding age, gender and activity aspects. Due to the high variability of maximum force rate development, however, this parameter has to be interpreted with caution in subject-specific assessments

Neuroticism and extraversion moderate the relationship between physical activity enjoyment and habit

The aim of this study was to examine whether certain personality traits moderate the relationship between physical activity enjoyment and habit. Seven hundred twenty-four participants (Mage = 31.29 years; 54.7% female) completed an online survey that included measures of physical activity enjoyment, physical activity habit, personality factors (neuroticism, extraversion, and consciousness), and emotional style dimensions (outlook and resilience). The data were analysed using Hayes’ PROCESS macro for SPSS (controlled for demographic variables and engagement duration for the selected physical activity behaviour) with habit as the dependent variable. Results indicate that physical activity enjoyment was positively related to habit. Neuroticism was negatively related to habit, while the other personality traits examined were positively related to habit. Moderation analyses revealed that the relationship between physical activity enjoyment and habit was stronger for individuals with higher levels of neuroticism and extraversion, however, the effects were very small. The other tested moderation effects were not significant. These findings suggest that increasing physical activity enjoyment may be crucial for reinforcing habit regardless of the personality traits analysed in this study. In nuances, physical activity enjoyment could be particularly important for less emotionally stable and more extraverted individuals as a reward that promotes habit

Antecedents and Consequences of Outward Emotional Reactions in Table Tennis

The purpose of the present study was to shed light on the behavioral component of emotions by investigating antecedents and consequences of outward emotional reactions during table tennis competitions. With regards to the antecedents of outward emotional reactions, in line with appraisal theories, we considered the importance and the controllability of the situation as two important constructs. Fifteen table tennis matches, involving in total 21 players (7 females) with a mean age of 16.71 (SD = 0.70), were video recorded during the finals of the youth National Championship in Greece. Based on the footage, outward emotional reactions after every point were classified as neutral, positive, or negative. Situational factors in relation to the scoring system, bearing the importance and the controllability of the situation, were formed to assess antecedents of outward emotional reactions. To measure the consequences of outward emotional reactions, the impact on the outcome of the next point was assessed. Generalized linear models with a logit link were computed separately for positive outward emotional reactions after having won a point and negative outward emotional reactions after having lost a point. In general, the results show that while situational factors bearing the importance of the situation could predict positive and negative outward emotional reactions, the effects of situational factors bearing the controllability of the situation were less conclusive. In addition, the results also showed interactive effects between the two constructs for both positive and negative outward emotional reactions. With regard to the consequences of outward emotional reactions, negative and positive outward emotional reactions could not predict the outcome of the next point. To conclude, this study highlights the behavioral component of emotions as a viable alternative to enhance our understanding of the role of emotions in sport

Self-talk and emotions in tennis players during competitive matches

A theory-driven classification recently introduced to sport psychology distinguishes between goal-directed self-talk as a controlled type of self-talk, and spontaneous self-talk as an uncontrolled type of self-talk. Based on this classification, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship between self-talk and emotions. To this end, twenty competitive tennis matches were video-recorded. Shortly after the match, the players were confronted with situations from the match and asked to rate the intensity of their emotions experienced, the intensity of their outward emotional reactions, and to report on their self-talk. Multilevel fixed and random effect models showed that the intensity of emotions experienced (fixed model: β = −1.40; p < .01; random model: β = −1.40; p < .01) and outward emotional reactions (fixed model: β = −0.79; p < .01; random model: β = −0.76; p < .05) were lower in instances where players reported solely goal-directed self-talk than in instances where players reported solely spontaneous self-talk. Moreover, in the fixed model, the intensity of emotions experienced was also lower in instances where players reported goal-directed self-talk in conjunction with spontaneous self-talk, compared to instances where players reported solely spontaneous self-talk (β = −0.46; p < .01). Finally, exploratory analyses suggest that these effects are mostly true for negative emotions rather than positive ones. Overall, the findings support the relevance of dual-process self-talk approaches. These findings encourage players to gain awareness about their emotions through spontaneous self-talk, while they can use goal-directed self-talk for emotion regulation

The difference between saying and doing when it comes to training volume: Effect of motives of sport activity, age, gender and pain on training volume [Der Unterschied zwischen Sagen und Tun beim Trainingsfleiß: Effekte von Motiven sportlicher Aktivität, Alter, Geschlecht und Schmerzen auf den Trainingsumfang sportlicher Aktivitäten]

Background Health, joy/fun, body shape and society are motives for physical exercise. So far, the impact of the strength of these factors on the training scope is unclear. The study aims to analyse the association between these motives, age, gender, back pain and training volume. Materials and methods In this study, 792 participants (68% women and 32% men, mean age 53.5 years, standard deviation 11.9, range 24–85 years) were asked about their motives for physical activities, their back pain and their volume of training. Regression analyses were performed to assess the effects of the motives on training volume. Results In women, the motives joy (B$_{joy}$ = 0.23, t = 3.6, p < 0.001, r = 0.25), body shape (B$_{body shape}$ = 0.127, t = 2.0, p = 0.05, r = 0.16) and age (B$_{age}$ = 0.03, t = 2.5, p = 0.01, r = 0.17) had small (age, body shape) to medium effects (joy) on training volume. In men, only back pain had a significant positive effect (B$_{back pain}$ = 1.4, t = 4.2, p < 0.001, r = 0.35) on training volume (strong effect). Discussion and conclusion For active women, the pleasure felt during training (intrinsic motivation) and the desire for a better figure (introjected regulation = meeting external requirements) promote the amount of training. For active men, the solution to the health problem is possibly in the foreground: the greater the problem (back pain), the higher the training volume. Presumably, they have made the experience that physical training reduces back pain

Long-term health benefits of physical activity – a systematic review of longitudinal studies

BACKGROUND: The treatment of noncommunicable diseases (NCD), like coronary heart disease or type 2 diabetes mellitus, causes rising costs for the health system. Physical activity is supposed to reduce the risk for these diseases. Results of cross-sectional studies showed that physical activity is associated with better health, and that physical activity could prevent the development of these diseases. The purpose of this review is to summarize existing evidence for the long-term (>5 years) relationship between physical activity and weight gain, obesity, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. METHODS: Fifteen longitudinal studies with at least 5-year follow up times and a total of 288,724 subjects (>500 participants in each study), aged between 18 and 85 years, were identified using digital databases. Only studies published in English, about healthy adults at baseline, intentional physical activity and the listed NCDs were included. RESULTS: The results of these studies show that physical activity appears to have a positive long-term influence on all selected diseases. CONCLUSIONS: This review revealed a paucity of long-term studies on the relationship between physical activity and the incidence of NCD