We are going through a second period of lockdown with the consequences of social distancing being
more obvious and the need for a restart imperative. However, the Covid-19 and its mutations are still
here, they still appear threatening and all countries are ready to impose tougher measures, while at the
same time the citizens are being vaccinated.
Purpose of this study was to investigate the gender effect on physical activity (PA) and bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) of total body less head (TBLH) and lumbar spine (L1-L4) in tanner stage I greek schoolchildren. PA was measured by ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer and Dual-energy X-ray Absoroptiometry (DXA) used to assess BMC and BMD of participants (52 boys, 58 girls, Tanner stage I, aged 7-9 years). Students t-test for independent samples was used to evaluate gender differences. Results showed that there was not any gender difference in BMC and BMD of TBLH and L1-L4, but boys counted significantly more steps/day than girls (11.636±2471.56 vs 9953.71±1638.8, respectively, p<0.001). Only 1/3 of boys and girls met MVPA’s recommendation. In conclusion, boys were more active than girls, but there was no difference in bone status of TBLH and L1-L4 in Tanner stage I of Greek schoolchildren.
The article presents ail explorative study on the impact of rhythmic psychomotor interv ention on the skills of waiting and self-control in pre-scholar age children in Italy. The focus skills are investigated through the analysis of psychomotor indicators, on one side, such as tonic-emotional availability and waiting times and external indicators, and on the other side, such as the knowledge of time concept and the analysis of behaviors at school and home, investigated through teachers and parents. The exploratory work made it possible to identify the positive effect of the rhythmic psychomotor intervention on the body calm, the deferral of satisfaction and the ability to anticipate, highlighted by the literature as predictors of better behavior at school and, consequently, of a more facilitated learning. The study shows that there is a close correlation between the mentioned components and opens a longitudinal research scenario aimed at analyzing the effects that such an intervention can have in preventing behavioral and scholastic difficulties.
It is well know that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in their social skills. However, movement programmes have been found to enhance their social development. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of a Greek traditional dance (GTD) programme on the social skills of children with ASD. Eight 6-14-year-old children with ASD participated in the study and were randomly classified into the control group (CG), who took part only in the physical education lessons, and the experimental group (EG), who apart from physical education participated in an 8-week TGD programme of two sessions/week. Children’s social skills were assessed with the Educational Evaluation Tool for children with autism in the field of Social Skills (Apteslis et al., 2012) that was administered to participants’ teachers. Due to both the small sample size and the great heterogeneity of children with ASD, the participants were faced as eight case studies classified into two groups (EG; CG). According to the results, children of the EG presented higher improvement in social skills compared to those of the CG. The above findings are encouraging; however, further research with a larger sample size and a GTD programme of longer duration is necessary if sound conclusions are to be drawn.
Children with intellectual disability (ID) characteristically have motor problems. The purpose of this study was to compare differences in motor skills between Finnish children with and without ID, to compare the differences between children with ID with and without DS, and to systematically replicate Rintala & Loovis (2013). Twenty-five Finnish children (10 girls, 15 boys; M age = 8.7 yr.; SD 1.2) with ID were tested using the TGMD-3. Children with ID (including six children with DS) were matched according to age and gender with typically developing children in order to identify differences in motor skills. The findings revealed significant variability in the motor skills of children with ID as was seen in Rintala and Loovis (2013). The differences in the present study were more significant. Differences between children with ID with and without DS were also noteworthy. With the exception of gallop and catch, all remaining motor skills produced no significant difference in performance between children with DS and children with ID without DS. Overall, the lack of adequate motor skill development in individuals with ID may in the future be a further hindrance to their participation in physical activities and maintenance of active lifestyles for optimal health.
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