Background: The application of various martial arts programs can greatly contribute to improving the of physical fitness of preschool and school children. The purpose of this review paper was to determine the effects and influence that martial arts program intervention has on children’s physical fitness, which includes motor skills and the aerobic and anaerobic abilities of children. Method: We searched the following electronic scientific databases for articles published in English from January 2006 to April 2021 to gather data for this review paper: Google Scholar, Pub Med, and Web of Science. Results: After the search was completed, 162 studies were identified, of which 16 studies were selected and were systematically reviewed and analyzed. Eight studies included karate programs, four studies included judo programs, two studies contained aikido programs, and two studies contained taekwondo programs. The total number of participants was 1615 (experimental group = 914, control group = 701). Based on the main findings, karate, judo, taekwondo, and aikido programs showed positive effects on the physical fitness of the experimental group of children. According to the results, the effects of these programs showed statistically significant improvements between the initial and final measurements of most of the examined experimental groups. Conclusion: We concluded that martial arts programs were helpful for improving the physical fitness of preschool and school children, especially for parameters such as cardiorespiratory fitness, speed, agility, strength, flexibility, coordination, and balance.

Physical literacy (PL) is thought to facilitate engagement in physical activity, which could lead to better physical fitness (PF). The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of the Croatian version of two frequently applied PL questionnaires that evaluate knowledge and understanding, perceived competence, environment, and value for literacy, numeracy, and PL and validity regarding correlation with objectively evaluated PF in adolescents. Five hundred forty-four high school students (403 females, 141 males) from Croatia were tested on PF (standing long jump, sit-ups for 30 s, sit-and-reach test, multilevel endurance test) and two PL questionnaires. The reliability of the Croatian version of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy knowledge and understanding (CAPL-2-KU) and PLAYself was good (α = 0.71–0.81 for PLAYself subscales, κ = 0.39–0.69 for CAPL-2-KU). Genders differed in the self-description dimension of PLAYself, with higher results in boys (Z = 3.72, p < 0.001). CAPL-2-KU and PLAYself total score were associated with PF in boys and girls, with PLAYself having stronger associations with PF. This research supports the idea of PL as an essential determinant for the development of PF, highlighting the necessity of the development of cognitive and affective domains of PL in physical education throughout a specifically tailored pedagogical process.

Background: Considering that obesity is characterized today as a public health challenge and an epidemic in many countries in the world and that one of the main predictors for obesity is socio-economic status (SES), the aim of this paper was to assess the relationship between the SES of parents/guardians and female adolescent obesity in Montenegro. Methods: A stratified random probability sample method was used, and the number of participants in this study was 596, aged 15.8 ± 0.58, from all three regions in Montenegro. As SES was a factor in this research, specific SES parameters such as household wealth and parental educational level were collected for parent/guardian of each child. The following anthropometric indices were utilized to evaluate nutritional status: body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR). Results: Regarding nutritional status, it can be said that no statistically significant difference between female adolescents according to the regions of Montenegro was found. Of all the adolescents in the study, 15.4% of them were above the normal nutrition level as measured by BMI, while 12.2% were classified as obese by the WHtR. Furthermore, the study found a significant negative relationship between a mother’s level of education and obesity in female adolescents, with odds ratios of 0.31 (p = 0.035) and 0.19 (p = 0.009) for secondary and high level education, respectively. This suggests that daughters of mothers with higher levels of education are less likely to be obese. Conclusions: In regard to the nutritional status of the respondents in this study, their values fell within the normal range compared to the European average. However, the results regarding the relationship between certain SES characteristics and obesity suggest a similarity to developed countries.

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