This scoping review provides an overview of the relationship between physical activity, physical fitness, cognition, and academic outcomes in Latino school-aged children and identifies areas for future research. A primary search was conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and ERIC for original-research articles meeting the inclusion criteria; the search results were uploaded into PICO Portal and assessed by two independent reviewers. Of the 488 initial search results, 50 articles were eligible for full-text review, and 38 were included in this review. Most studies were cross-sectional, conducted in the United States or Chile, and included children 5–18 years old. Overall, the majority of articles reported positive associations between physical activity or physical fitness and cognitive outcomes (n = 11/12; 91.7%), and physical activity or physical fitness and academic outcomes (n = 22/28; 78.6%). In sum, this review provided consistent evidence for higher amounts of physical activity and greater physical fitness to be associated with various positive cognitive and academic outcomes in a school-aged Latino population. This scoping review also elucidated a substantial gap in the research regarding study design, with a discernible lack of interventional efforts. Future studies should test physical activity interventional strategies to optimize cognitive and academic outcomes in school-aged Latino populations.

Background: Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy has well‐documented benefits, yet pregnant rural residents may face additional barriers to PA. Objective: To examine whether leisure‐time physical activity (LTPA) and correlates of LTPA, including exercise outcome expectations, barriers, and environmental supports for PA, differ by rurality, and explore whether rurality moderates the associations between these correlates and LTPA during pregnancy. Methods: Pregnant individuals from Iowa and West Virginia ( n = 374) completed questionnaires assessing LTPA, exercise outcome expectations and barriers during each trimester, and environmental supports for PA at the first trimester. Rurality status was categorized as urban, micropolitan, or small town rural using Rural–Urban Commuting Area codes. Robust linear mixed effects models included trimester as a fixed effect and a random intercept for participant. Environmental supports were analyzed using a robust linear model restricted to first‐trimester data. Models were adjusted for site, age, pre‐pregnancy body mass index, education, parity, and minority status. Results: In unadjusted models, small‐town rural participants engaged in less LTPA than urban participants (9.02 vs. 12.14 MET‐h/week, p = 0.021), though this was not significant after adjustment. Small‐town rural participants reported fewer environmental supports for PA than urban participants ( β = −0.42 SD, p = 0.002). Rurality did not moderate the associations between examined correlates and LTPA. Conclusions: Rurality was not associated with LTPA, exercise expectations, or barriers after adjustment. Although small‐town rural participants reported fewer environmental supports for PA, this was not associated with LTPA, warranting further investigation in larger samples to determine whether improving environmental supports would translate into increased LTPA during pregnancy.

Background: Childhood obesity is a major public health concern that increases cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease theory posits that obesity and CVD risk is, in part, programmed in utero. A greater understanding of modifiable maternal factors that associate with offspring obesity and CVD risk in childhood could inform primordial prevention interventions during pregnancy. Maternal sedentary behavior, physical activity, and sleep during pregnancy are modifiable and plausible determinants of offspring obesity and CVD risk yet remain insufficiently studied. This protocol describes the design of the Pregnancy 24/7 Offspring Study (NCT07172880), developed to address this gap in knowledge. Methods: This study examines associations between device‐based maternal 24‐hour movement behavior (sedentary behavior, physical activity, and sleep) measured in each pregnancy trimester and analyzed via trajectories and as compositions with offspring obesity and CVD risk through 24 months of age. Maternal 24‐hour movement behavior data and birth outcomes were previously collected in the Pregnancy 24/7 Cohort Study (N=500, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia). The Offspring study extends this cohort by enrolling up to 450 maternal‐offspring dyads and collecting new measures in the offspring, including body mass index z‐score from birth through 24 months obtained via medical record abstraction, anthropometry, indicators of CVD risk, and maternal questionnaires. The primary outcome is body mass index z‐score trajectory; secondary outcomes include adiposity, blood pressure, and brachial‐femoral pulse wave velocity. Conclusions: Findings from this study will advance understanding of how maternal 24‐hour activity associates with early‐life obesity and CVD risk, informing primordial prevention strategies during pregnancy.