The aim of the present study was to analyse differences in the psychoneuroendocrine stress responses of high-level, young swimmers depending on whether an autocratic and democratic coaching style was applied. Modifications in cortisol and the motivational climate of 18 young swimmers (15.3 ± 1.86 years, 10 females and 8 males) were analysed before and after two training sessions with equivalent training loads but directed by two coaches applying different approaches, i.e., autocratic (A) and democratic (D). The basal testosterone levels of the coaches were also assessed. The basal testosterone concentration was higher in coach A than in coach D; the athletes perceived them as autocratic and democratic, respectively. Swimmers under coach A’s instructions showed higher cortisol levels, suggesting higher cortisol production related to coaching style. Furthermore, differences in the motivational climate concerning ego (i.e., athletes comparing their ability with that of other athletes) were observed with coach A, whereas differences in motivational climate concerning the task (i.e., athletes comparing their ability with their own past performance) were observed with coach D. Cognitive variables showed negative perceptions affecting athletes’ training experience and performance when they were screamed at or insulted by coach A. There were no gender or age differences in cortisol production or motivational climate. In conclusion, this study suggests that an autocratic coaching style modulates cortisol release in both genders, affecting young elite swimmers’ motivational climate and training experience.

Active commuting to school in children and adolescents can help achieve compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for physical activity. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the mode of transport used to go to school and the mode of transport used to go to extracurricular sports practice. Multistage random cluster sampling was conducted to include 128 schools with the participation of 11,017 students between the ages of 5 and 19. Participants completed the survey of sports habits designed by the National Sports Council. The results revealed that the mode of transport used to go to school is significantly related to the mode of transport used to go to sports practice. A total of 54.3% of students aged 5 to 19 years walk to school. A total of 23.7% of boys walk and 7.9% bike to extracurricular physical activities vs. 24.1% of girls who walk. The fact that girls only walk to extracurricular physical activities implies that the organized sports activities were nearby. Therefore, it seems crucial to have a wide range of physical activities on offer locally to promote extracurricular physical activity participation for girls.

The aim of this study was to study different ‘healthy profiles’ through the impact of multiple lifestyle behaviours (sleep patterns, screen time and quality diet) on active commuting to school (ACS) in adolescents. Sixteen secondary schools from four Spanish cities were randomly selected. All participants filled in an “Ad-Hoc” questionnaire to measure their mode of commuting and distance from home to school and their lifestyle behaviours. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to analyse the main predictor variables of ACS. The final sample was 301 adolescents (50.2% girls; mean age ± SD: 14.9 ± 0.48 years). The percentage of ACS was 64.5%. Multiple logistic regressions showed: boys were more active commuters than girls [OR = 2.28 (CI 95%: 1.12–4.64); p = 0.02]; adolescents who lived farther had lower probability to ACS [OR = 0.74 (CI 95%: 0.69–0.80); p < 0.001]; adolescents who met sleep duration recommendations were more likely to ACS [OR = 3.05 (CI 95%: 1.07–8.69); p = 0.04], while with each hour of sleep, the odds of ACS was reduced [OR = 0.51 (CI 95%: 0.30–0.89); p = 0.02]; higher odds were shown to ACS in adolescents who have more adherence to MD [OR = 1.16(CI 95%: 1.00–1.33); p = 0.05]; and habitual breakfast consumption was inversely associated with ACS [OR = 0.41 (CI: 95%: 0.18–0.96); p = 0.04]. ACS was associated with being a boy, living at a shorter distance to school, a daily sleep time ≥ 8 h and presented a higher adherence to MD.

Background/Objectives: Skipping breakfast is increasingly common among adolescents and has been associated with adverse health and academic outcomes. The average prevalence of breakfast skipping among adolescents is around 16%, although worldwide, it varies greatly across studies, ranging from 1.3 to 74.7%. This study aimed to assess the frequency of daily breakfast consumption and explore the factors associated with its omission in a stratified sample of Spanish adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 547 third-year secondary school students (aged 14–15) from both urban and rural areas in Castilla-La Mancha. Self-reported questionnaires were used to gather sociodemographic, psychosocial, and lifestyle data, including adherence to the Mediterranean diet (via the Kidmed questionnaire) and breakfast habits during school days. Descriptive, bivariate (Chi-square), and multivariate (binary logistic regression) analyses were conducted separately for boys and girls. Results: Findings showed a high prevalence of breakfast skipping one or more days (33.46%), with a significantly higher rate among girls (43.27%) than among boys (24.42%). Also, girls were more likely than boys to skip breakfast every day (14.18% vs. 6.87%, p < 0.001). In both groups, low adherence to the Mediterranean diet was strongly associated with skipping breakfast, along with higher screen time, shorter sleep duration, and being overweight/obese. Among girls, low olive oil consumption (OR 0.145 (CI 0.03–0.67) p 0.014) and poor Mediterranean diet adherence (OR 0.140 (CI 0.06–0.34) p < 0.001) were significant predictors. For boys, being overweight/obese (OR 2.185 (CI 1.06–4.52) p 0.035), low Mediterranean diet adherence (OR 0.136 (CI 0.06–0.32) p < 0.001), and not eating industrial pastries were associated factors (OR 0.413 (CI 0.20–0.88) p 0.022). Predictive models demonstrated good discriminatory power (AUC = 0.807 for girls; 0.792 for boys). Conclusions: Skipping breakfast is prevalent among adolescents, particularly girls, and is linked to poor dietary patterns and excess weight. These findings underscore the need for gender-specific nutritional interventions to promote regular breakfast consumption and improve dietary habits in adolescents.

The aim of this study was to differentiate professional dancers from two different Spanish dance companies with regard to the effects of emotional intelligence, mood and coping strategies, by analysing the existing interrelationship between them. The sample was composed of 36 dancers: 16 women and 20 men aged 19 to 40. Twenty of them came from the national company and 16 from a private Spanish dance company. The questionnaires on mood measures Profile Mood State Questionnaire (POMS), Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire in Sport (IED) and coping strategies for stress (ACSI- 28) were applied. The study indicates that some important differences were found between the men and women dancers with regard to goal setting. In the future, analyses will be able to provide a further development in psychological aspects in order to improve training plans and professional strategies in dancing.