The aim of this research was to examine the association between body mass index, physical activity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and health-related quality of life in a sample of Spanish adolescents. The study involved 456 adolescents aged between 11 and 14 years. They completed questionnaires on the Mediterranean diet (KIDMED), physical activity (Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children [PAQ-C]), and quality of life (KIDSCREEN-27). Body mass index was calculated. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to determine whether health-related quality of life could be predicted by the measured variables. The variables were analyzed in a stepwise manner, with Mediterranean diet entered in the first step, body mass index in the second, and physical activity in the third. Mediterranean diet accounted for 4.6% of the variance in adolescent's health-related quality of life, with higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet predicting higher health-related quality of life-scores. Body mass index accounted for a further 4.1% of the variance, with a higher body mass index predicting lower health-related quality of life scores. Finally, physical activity explained an additional 11.3% of the variance, with a higher level of physical activity being associated with higher health-related quality of life scores. Together, these variables explained 20% of the variance in the adolescents' health-related quality of life. Physical activity, body mass index, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet are important components to consider when targeting improvements in the health-related quality of life of adolescents, with physical activity representing the component with the greatest influence.

The aim of this research was to develop an explanatory model of body mass index (BMI), health-related quality of life, and physical activity, and to analyse the effects of the physical variables on the levels of physical activity, self-esteem and health-related quality of life. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 631 Spanish schoolchildren (12.5 ± 1.4 years old). They completed questionnaires on self-esteem (Rosemberg test), physical activity (PAQ-C), Mediterranean diet (KIDMED), quality of life (KIDSCREEN-27) and had their BMI and maximum oxygen uptake measured. Structural equations constituted the statistical analyses. A correlation was found between lower BMI and fewer hours of self-reported screen time which was also conducive to higher cardio-respiratory levels and greater engagement in physical activity. More physical activity and better dietary care were related generally with higher health-related quality of life and self-esteem. The model demonstrated acceptable goodness of fit. Findings of the study suggest physical activity and positive dietary behaviours should be promoted in Spanish schools as incremental improvements have the potential to concordantly improve a large range of healthful outcomes including health-related quality of life, self-esteem and BMI.

(1) Background: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max), Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence, self-esteem (SE) and academic performance (AP) in primary education students. In order to address this aim, an explanatory model was developed to examine the existing relationships between PA, ST, VO₂max, MD adherence, SE and AP. Further, the proposed structural model was examined via multi-group analysis as a function of sex and school type. (2) Methods: A non-experimental, descriptive, comparative and cross-sectional study was designed with a total sample of 269 Spanish students (11.29 ± 0.62). Validated questionnaires were administered to collect data on study variables. (3) Results: Relative to boys, girls reported better academic grades and showed a stronger positive relationship between MD adherence and AP, MD adherence and PA, and VO₂max and SE. Likewise, girls showed a stronger negative relationship between ST and VO₂max, and ST and MD adherence. At the same time, mixed funding school (MFS) students reported higher PA engagement than state school (SS) students. However, SS students reported better MD adherence, ST and AP than MFS students. Further, a stronger positive relationship was found in SS students between MD adherence or VO₂max and SE than in MFS students. Also, within the former group, ST was more negatively related to MD adherence and VO₂max. (4) Conclusions: Scientific and educational communities must develop future strategies that consider potential determinants in order to target more desirable outcomes.

Psychomotor skills are, among others, an aspect particularly valuable for structuring the teaching–learning process of infant schoolchildren. For this reason, a study was carried out with the aim of describing and comparing the socio-demographic, psychomotor, and learning levels of schoolchildren in the second stage of infant education. Ninety-five pupils from the second cycle of infant education in the capital of Granada took part in this study. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the movement assessment battery for children-2 (MABC-2), and the preschool learning behaviour scale (PLBS) were used to collect data. The main results show that manual dexterity appears as the main motor factor and similar figures in the three dimensions of learning behaviours. On the other hand, balance and learning behaviours were higher in 6-year-old schoolchildren. In terms of gender, girls obtained higher values for the level of the learning behaviour variables. A positive correlation was found between the dimensions of learning and motor activity.

La práctica adecuada de actividad física (AF) y la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea (DM) son importantes para mejorar la salud. Los estilos de vida de los niños se han visto afectados por el confinamiento debido a la pandemia de COVID-19. También es posible que el impacto perjudicial inicial de la pandemia en la salud de los niños continúe más allá del periodo en el que se impuso el confinamiento. Por lo tanto, el objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar el compromiso con la AF, la adherencia a la DM y el tiempo de pantalla en los niños durante el confinamiento y comparar los hallazgos con los datos recopilados durante los períodos previos y posteriores al confinamiento. La muestra inicial incluyó 55 niños de 10-12 años. De ellos, dieciocho no pudieron ser objeto de seguimiento. La muestra final estaba compuesta por 37 niños de 12-13 años. Todos eran alumnos de primaria de la provincia de Granada, España. Se administraron cuestionarios validados para evaluar la AF (PAQ-C) y la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea (KIDMED). Se utilizó el test FAS III para evaluar el estatus socioeconómico y se desarrolló un cuestionario ad-hoc para recoger datos sociodemográficos y evaluar el tiempo de pantalla. Los niños mostraron peores niveles de AF y tiempo frente a la pantalla durante el confinamiento en comparación con los periodos previo y posterior al confinamiento. Los hábitos de tiempo frente a la pantalla adquiridos durante el confinamiento continuaron después. Por el contrario, los niveles de AF fueron más altos después del confinamiento que durante y después del mismo. Palabras clave: Salud, confinamiento, COVID-19, longitudinal, niños. Adequate physical activity (PA) engagement and Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence are important for improving health. Children’s lifestyles have been affected by lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also possible that the initial detrimental impact of the pandemic on children’s health continues beyond the period in which confinement was imposed. Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze PA engagement, MD adherence and screen time in children during confinement and compare findings with data gathered during pre- and post-confinement periods. The initial sample included 55 children aged 10-12 years. Of these, eighteen could not be followed up. The final sample was composed of 37 children aged 12-13 years. All were primary school students in the province of Granada, Spain. Validated questionnaires were administered to evaluate PA (PAQ-C) and Mediterranean diet adherence (KIDMED). The FAS III test was used to evaluate socioeconomic status and an ad-hoc questionnaire was developed to collect sociodemographic data and evaluate screen time. Children exhibited worse PA levels and screen time during confinement when compared with pre-confinement and post-confinement periods. Screen time habits acquired during confinement continued afterwards. In contrast, PA levels were higher following confinement than both during and afterwards. Keywords: Health, confinement, COVID-19, longitudinal, children.

The motivation developed towards sport plays a key role in the adherence to a healthy dietary pattern, however, it also plays an important role towards digital entertainment. Taking this into account, the present study aims to develop an explanatory model of the incidence of sport motivation on adherence to a healthy dietary pattern and adherence to video games and to contrast the structural model by means of a multi-group analysis according to gender. To this end, a cross-sectional descriptive comparative study was carried out with 1112 participants (25.09±6.22). The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Predimed questionnaire, the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire (PMCSQ-2) and the Video Game Related Experiences Questionnaire (CERV). Finally, the results reveal that the female sex obtains a negative relationship between sport motivation and digital leisure, while the male sex reflects a negative relationship between task climate and adherence to the Mediterranean diet.