Introduction and Objective: This systematic review aimed to analyse the international evolution of fitness with its distributional changes in the performance on tests of physical fitness among school-aged children and adolescents.Methods: In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, the search was undertaken in four international databases (ERIC, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) to identify the studies reporting temporal trends in the physical fitness among school-aged children and adolescents.Results: A total of 485 potential articles were identified, of which 19 articles were relevant for the qualitative synthesis; 1,746,023 children and adolescents from 14 countries (China, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, New Zealand, Denmark, Spain, Norway, Mozambique, Poland, USA, Lithuania, Portugal, Canada), for the period between 1969 and 2017 were included. The subjects were tested using 45 motor tests from eight battery tests. The quality of the study in eight articles was rated as strong, while in 11 articles it was rated as moderate.Discussion: The vast majority of studies show a constant decline in strength and endurance. Three Chinese studies show an increase in strength from 1985 to 1995 and then a decline until 2014. For endurance, similar patterns were found in the two most comprehensive Chinese studies. The decline in flexibility is also evident in European countries. For agility, speed, balance, and coordination, the trend differs among populations.

There is evidence that functional training is beneficial for the overall physical fitness of athletes. However, there is a lack of a systematic review focused on the effects of functional training on athletes' physical fitness. Thus, the aimed of the present review is to clarify the effects of functional training on physical fitness among athletes. In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA)Statementguidelines, the systematic search of PubMed, SCOPUS, EBSCOhost (SPORTDiscus), and CINAHL Plus databases was undertaken onthe 2nd November2020 to identify the reported studies, using a combination of keywords related to functional training, physical fitness,andathletes.From the 145 studies, only nine articles met all eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. The assessment was performed on the Pedro scale, and the quality of the study included in the nine studies was fair (ranging from 3 to 4). The results showed that speed (n= 6) was theaspect of physical fitnessstudied in functional training interventions, followed by muscular strength (n= 5), power (n= 4), balance (n= 3), body composition (n= 3), agility (n= 3), flexibility (n = 1) and muscular endurance (n= 1). Existing evidence concludes that functional training significantly impacts speed, muscular strength, power, balance, and agility.Furthermore, there are still limit numbers of evidence showing effect offunctional training on flexibility and muscular endurance. In contrast, no significant improvement was found in body composition where functional training was conducted.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier: CRD4202123092.

Physical fitness (PF) is a multi-component construct and a biomarker of health. Worse PF is related to vulnerability and predicts worse academic achievements. Thus, assessing PF is important to monitor health in youth. This systematic review aimed to identify and inform physical education, health professionals and entities about existing PF batteries and field-tests that can be used in school settings. A comprehensive literature search was carried out in five electronic databases (Academic Search Complete, Education Resources Information Center, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) to identify PF battery protocols that can be carried out in the school setting. Overall, 24 PF batteries were identified. Regarding the PF components assessed, only cardiorespiratory fitness and upper body strength were contemplated in all batteries. Middle-body strength and lower body strength were presented in most batteries (21 and 19 of 24, respectively). Agility (16 of 24) and body composition (16 of 24) were also considered in several batteries, although to a lesser extent. Flexibility (14 of 24) and speed (12 of 24) were the PF components less represented in the batteries. Among the 24 identified PF batteries, 81 PF tests assessing the different PF components were encountered. The advances in the PF field-based assessment in school settings and health in youth resulted in the amplification of the number of existing batteries. Considering the connection between PF and health and the opportunity that the school setting provides to assess fitness in children and adolescents, there is a need for standardization and a consensus of PF assessments in this specific setting.

Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research in 164 countries. Methods: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020 surveys. Comprehensive searches were performed for each country to determine the level of development of their PA surveillance, policy, and research, and the findings were verified by the GoPA! Country Contacts. Trends were analyzed based on the data available for both survey years. Results: The global 5-year progress in all 3 indicators was modest, with most countries either improving or staying at the same level. PA surveillance, policy, and research improved or remained at a high level in 48.1%, 40.6%, and 42.1% of the countries, respectively. PA surveillance, policy, and research scores decreased or remained at a low level in 8.3%, 15.8%, and 28.6% of the countries, respectively. The highest capacity for PA promotion was found in Europe, the lowest in Africa and low- and lower-middle-income countries. Although a large percentage of the world’s population benefit from at least some PA policy, surveillance, and research efforts in their countries, 49.6 million people are without PA surveillance, 629.4 million people are without PA policy, and 108.7 million live in countries without any PA research output. A total of 6.3 billion people or 88.2% of the world’s population live in countries where PA promotion capacity should be significantly improved. Conclusion: Despite PA is essential for health, there are large inequalities between countries and world regions in their capacity to promote PA. Coordinated efforts are needed to reduce the inequalities and improve the global capacity for PA promotion.

Since early childhood is regarded as an important period of motor and cognitive development, understanding the effects of physical activity on motor abilites and cognitive development in preschool children has major public health implications. This study investigates the effects of a 12 weeks' yoga intervention program on motor and cognitive abilities in preschool children. Preschool children (n = 45; age 5–6 years) attending regular preschool programs were non-randomly assigned to yoga intervention (n = 23; 30 min sessions three times per week) or a control group (n = 22; no additional organized physical activity program). Exercise training for the intervention group included yoga program. Motor abilities (BOT-2 subtests: fine motor integration, manual dexterity, balance and bilateral coordination), and cognitive abilities (School Maturity Test subtests: visual memory, stacking cubes and codes) were assessed before and after the intervention period in both groups. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Participants in the intervention group improved fine motor integration (p = 0.022), fine motor skills in general (0.029), bilateral coordination (0.000), balance (0.000), and body coordination (0.000). Preschool children's participation in the preschool yoga intervention significantly improved their motor abilities, but not their cognitive abilities.