Background : In the last decades, children’s and adolescents’ obesity and overweight have increased in European Countries. Unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyle have been recognized to determine such an epidemic. Schools represent an ideal setting to modify harmful behaviors, and physical activity could be regarded as a potential way to avoid the metabolic risks related to obesity. Methods : A systematic review of the literature was carried out to summarize the evidence of school-based interventions aimed to promote, enhance and implement physical activity in European schools. Only randomized controlled trials were included, carried out in Europe from January 2000 to April 2014, universally delivered and targeting pupils aged between 3 and 18 years old. Results : Forty-seven studies were retrieved based either on multicomponent interventions or solely physical activity programs. Most aimed to prevent obesity and cardiovascular risks among youths. While few studies showed a decrease in BMI, positive results were achieved on other outcomes, such as metabolic parameters and physical fitness. Conclusion : Physical activity in schools should be regarded as a simple, non-expensive and enjoyable way to reach all the children and adolescents with adequate doses of moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Background: The use of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) has been proven useful in the management of gait disturbances associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Typically, the RAS consists of metronome or music-based sounds (artificial RAS), while ecological footstep sounds (ecological RAS) have never been used for rehabilitation programs. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a rehabilitation program integrated either with ecological or with artificial RAS. Methods: An observer-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted to investigate the effects of 5 weeks of supervised rehabilitation integrated with RAS. Thirty-eight individuals affected by PD were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (ecological vs. artificial RAS); thirty-two of them (age 68.2 ± 10.5, Hoehn and Yahr 1.5–3) concluded all phases of the study. Spatio-temporal parameters of gait and clinical variables were assessed before the rehabilitation period, at its end, and after a 3-month follow-up. Results: Thirty-two participants were analyzed. The results revealed that both groups improved in the majority of biomechanical and clinical measures, independently of the type of sound. Moreover, exploratory analyses for separate groups were conducted, revealing improvements on spatio-temporal parameters only in the ecological RAS group. Conclusion: Overall, our results suggest that ecological RAS is equally effective compared to artificial RAS. Future studies should further investigate the role of ecological RAS, on the basis of information revealed by our exploratory analyses. Theoretical, methodological, and practical issues concerning the implementation of ecological sounds in the rehabilitation of PD patients are discussed. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03228888.

Background and aims: Past research on the associations between psychopathological symptoms and technological-based addictions, i.e., Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Social Media Addiction (SMA), showed contradictory results in adolescents and adult populations. The present study investigated correlations between adolescents’ psychopathological risks and impulsivity, IGD and SMA. Methods: A sample of 656 participants (338 males; M_age = 16.32 years) was divided into three age groups (early, mid-, and late adolescence) and completed a battery of scales comprising the (i) Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short Form, (ii) Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, (iii) Barratt Impulsiveness Scale for Adolescents, and (iv) Symptom Checklist-90-R. Results: The significance of the correlations was not corroborated in the basic tables. Significant associations appeared only in the adolescent subgroups, sometimes for bivariate and sometimes for partial correlations and with different patterns of associations between males and females. Moreover, both technological addictions were correlated with impulsiveness in bivariate and partial correlations. Discussion and conclusions: Following a developmentally-oriented approach to determine the patterns of associations between technological behavioral addictions and psychopathology in the specific sub-phases of early-, mid- and late-adolescence, this exploratory research showed how these associations might change depending on the developmental phase and gender of the individual. Future research is needed to provide empirical evidence of specific emotional–psychopathological correlations.

Movement rehabilitation by means of physical therapy represents an essential tool in the management of gait disturbances induced by Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this context, the use of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) has been proven useful in improving several spatio-temporal parameters, but concerning its effect on gait patterns, scarce information is available from a kinematic viewpoint. In this study, we used three-dimensional gait analysis based on optoelectronic stereophotogrammetry to investigate the effects of 5 weeks of supervised rehabilitation, which included gait training integrated with RAS on 26 individuals affected by PD (age 70.4 ± 11.1, Hoehn and Yahr 1–3). Gait kinematics was assessed before and at the end of the rehabilitation period and after a 3-month follow-up, using concise measures (Gait Profile Score and Gait Variable Score, GPS and GVS, respectively), which are able to describe the deviation from a physiologic gait pattern. The results confirm the effectiveness of gait training assisted by RAS in increasing speed and stride length, in regularizing cadence and correctly reweighting swing/stance phase duration. Moreover, an overall improvement of gait quality was observed, as demonstrated by the significant reduction of the GPS value, which was created mainly through significant decreases in the GVS score associated with the hip flexion–extension movement. Future research should focus on investigating kinematic details to better understand the mechanisms underlying gait disturbances in people with PD and the effects of RAS, with the aim of finding new or improving current rehabilitative treatments.

Regular physical activity (PA) can enhance the physical and mental health of people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) because of its impact on muscular strength, mobility, balance, walking, fatigue, pain and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have hypothesized that the relationship between PA and HRQoL is mediated by self-efficacy. The aim of this research is to evaluate whether self-efficacy in goal setting and self-efficacy in the management of symptoms, mediate the relationship between PA and HRQoL, in a similar way to exercise self-efficacy. A sample of 28 participants with MS (18 females) and different levels of physical activity have been recruited and completed the following measures: (a) physical activity (GLTEQ); (b) health-related quality of life (SF-12); (c) self-efficacy in the management of Multiple Sclerosis (SEMS) and, (d) exercise self-efficacy (EXSE). The statistical analysis highlighted that self-efficacy in goal setting mediated the relationship between PA and mental health better than exercise self-efficacy. Our findings suggest that self-efficacy in goal setting can contribute to the adoption and maintenance of regular physical activity for long-lasting times, supporting and increasing the mental quality of life of people suffering from MS.

The metabolic syndrome (MS) has been associated with poor performances in multiple cognitive domains, as processing speed, visuo-spatial abilities, and executive functioning. Exercise is a critical factor for MS people’s vulnerability to cognitive dysfunction, because this may be beneficial to reduce cognitive impairment, but limited physical activity and impaired cerebral blood flow in response to exercise have been reported by individuals suffering from MS. Using an attentional interference test, the Bivalent Shape Task (BST), and metaboreflex, we analyzed cognitive performance and cerebral oxygenation (COX) in 13 MS people (five women), and 14 normal age-matched control (CTL, six women). Five different sessions were administered to all participants, each lasting 12 min: control exercise recovery (CER), post-exercise muscle ischemia (PEMI) to activate the metaboreflex, CER + BST, PEMI + BST, and BST alone. During each session, cognitive performance was assessed by means of response times and response accuracy with which participants make the decision and COX was evaluated by near infrared spectroscopy with sensors applied in the forehead. Compared to CTL, MS group performed significantly worse in all sessions (F = 4.18; p = 0.05; ES = 0.13): their poorest performance was observed in the BST alone session. Moreover, when BST was added to PEMI, individuals of the CTL group significantly increased their COX compared to baseline (103.46 ± 3.14%), whereas this capacity was impaired in MS people (102.37 ± 2.46%). It was concluded that: (1) MS affects cognitive performance; (2) people with MS were able to enhance COX during exercise, but they impair their COX when an attentional interference task was added.