Limited evidence is available regarding the effects and duration of Halliwick-based aquatic exercise intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This pilot study aimed to investigate the feasibility, initial effects and short-term persistence of Halliwick-based aquatic exercise on social and motor skills in children with ASD. Twelve children with ASD were randomly assigned into either intervention group or control group. Assessments were conducted at baseline (T0), after 6 weeks of intervention (T1), at the end of intervention (T2), and 4 weeks after cessation of the intervention (T3). Outcome measures included balance performance (standing on one leg with eyes open and closed, intensive Romberg tests), the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), Children’s Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Children’s Sensory Integration Rating Scale (CSIS), and the Humphries Assessment of Aquatic Readiness (HAAR). In the intervention group, ATEC health/behavior and total score were significantly reduced at T1 compared to T0, and speech/language/communication scores were significantly lower than those of the control group. CARS scores showed significant reductions at T1, T2, and T3 compared to T0. In contrast, CSIS scores, balance performance and HAAR scores demonstrated significant increases from T1 to T3 compared to both baseline and the control group. This pilot study suggested that a 12-week Halliwick-based aquatic exercise program may be associated with improvements in social and motor skills in children with ASD, with some benefits maintained for at least 4 weeks. Large-scale studies are needed to confirm the preliminary findings.

This study sought to identify key factors in university students’ physical and mental health by using a combination of methods, including classical statistical analysis and machine learning techniques. Physical and mental health test data were collected from undergraduates of the 2020 to 2023 cohorts at a university. A self-designed questionnaire on factors associated with physical and mental health was also sent to randomly selected undergraduate students from the same university. The study data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, and a machine learning model. The results revealed that participation in school sports clubs (β = −0.111, p < 0.001) and amount of exercise (β = 0.182, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of physical health status. Difficult family economic situation (β = 0.162, p < 0.001), major satisfaction (β = −0.092, p = 0.02), the quality of a romantic relationship (β = −0.121, p = 0.003), the quality of interpersonal relationships (β = −0.157, p < 0.001), and an overprotective family parenting style (β = 0.109, p = 0.011) were significant predictors of mental health status. The results of regression analysis and application of the machine learning model identified that the amount of exercise, quality of interpersonal relationships, and family parenting style had consistent effects on both the physical and mental health of university students.