The application of artificial intelligence (AI) opens an interesting perspective for predicting injury risk and performance in team sports. A better understanding of the techniques of AI employed and of the sports that are using AI is clearly warranted. The purpose of this study is to identify which AI approaches have been applied to investigate sport performance and injury risk and to find out which AI techniques each sport has been using. Systematic searches through the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science online databases were conducted for articles reporting AI techniques or methods applied to team sports athletes. Fifty-eight studies were included in the review with 11 AI techniques or methods being applied in 12 team sports. Pooled sample consisted of 6456 participants (97% male, 25 ± 8 years old; 3% female, 21 ± 10 years old) with 76% of them being professional athletes. The AI techniques or methods most frequently used were artificial neural networks, decision tree classifier, support vector machine, and Markov process with good performance metrics for all of them. Soccer, basketball, handball, and volleyball were the team sports with more applications of AI. The results of this review suggest a prevalent application of AI methods in team sports based on the number of published studies. The current state of development in the area proposes a promising future with regard to AI use in team sports. Further evaluation research based on prospective methods is warranted to establish the predictive performance of specific AI techniques and methods.

China is experiencing significant public health challenges related to social and demographic transitions and lifestyle transformations following unprecedented economic reforms four decades ago. Of particular public health concern is the fourfold increase in overweight and obesity rates in the nation’s youth population, coupled with the low prevalence of adolescents meeting recommended levels of physical activity. Improving the overall health of China’s more than 170 million children and adolescents has become a national priority. However, advancing nationwide health initiatives and physical activity promotion in this population has been hampered by the lack of a population-specific and culturally relevant consensus on recommendations for achieving these ends. To address this deficiency and inform policies to achieveHealthy China 2030goals, a panel of Chinese experts, complemented by international professionals, developed this consensus statement. The consensus was achieved through an iterative process that began with a literature search from electronic databases; in-depth reviews, conducted by a steering committee, of the resulting articles; and panel group evaluations and discussions in the form of email correspondence, conference calls and written communications. Ultimately, the panel agreed on 10 major themes with strong scientific evidence that, in children and adolescents aged 6–17, participating in moderate to vigorous physical activities led to multiple positive health outcomes. Our consensus statement also (1) highlights major challenges in promoting physical activity, (2) identifies future research that addresses current knowledge gaps, and (3) provides recommendations for teachers, education experts, parents and policymakers for promoting physical activity among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. This consensus statement aligns with international efforts to develop global physical activity guidelines to promote physical activity and health and prevent lifestyle-related diseases in children and adolescents. More importantly, it provides a foundation for developing culturally appropriate and effective physical activity interventions, health promotion strategies and policy initiatives to improve the health of Chinese children and adolescents.

We aimed to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 lock down on lifestyle in China during the initial stage of the pandemic. A questionnaire was distributed to Chinese adults living in 31 provinces of China via the internet using a snowball sampling strategy. Information on 7-day physical activity recall, screen time, and emotional state were collected between January 24 and February 2, 2020. ANOVA, χ² test, and Spearman’s correlation coefficients were used for statistical analysis. 12,107 participants aged 18–80 years were included. During the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, nearly 60% of Chinese adults had inadequate physical activity (95% CI 56.6%–58.3%), which was more than twice the global prevalence (27.5%, 25.0%–32.2%). Their mean screen time was more than 4 hours per day while staying at home (261.3 ± 189.8 min per day), and the longest screen time was found in young adults (305.6 ± 217.5 min per day). We found a positive and significant correlation between provincial proportions of confirmed COVID-19 cases and negative affect scores (r = 0.501, p = 0.004). Individuals with vigorous physical activity appeared to have a better emotional state and less screen time than those with light physical activity. During this nationwide lockdown, more than half of Chinese adults temporarily adopted a sedentary lifestyle with insufficient physical activity, more screen time, and poor emotional state, which may carry considerable health risks. Promotion of home-based self-exercise can potentially help improve health and wellness.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the conditions for competitive football around the globe dramatically. Several competitions and leagues have been cancelled or postponed. Players have firstly been forced to training in solitude. In a second stage, players start training in small groups with strict contact restriction and return to competitive play might occur after only few weeks of normal team training preparation. These special circumstances are likely to impact football performance and injury risk in the upcoming competitions. Thus, clubs, coaching and medical staff, as well as players are challenged on the prioritization of fitness and performance, which easily can create several “catch-22-dilemmas”. The present article presents views on fitness training, physical preparation and recovery during these uncommon conditions, and how elite football players can return to the competitive field well-prepared for post-crisis football endeavours around the world. Due to the multifaceted physiological demands in elite football, the long recovery requirements after match-play and an upcoming reality with many games within a short period, elite football players, managers and clubs may face extraordinary challenges associated with return to play under the current circumstances.