Carla Santos

University of Porto | UP · Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D)

Children's fundamental movement skills (FMS) require planned and guided interventions to develop appropriately. We investigated the effect of a novel Physical Education (PE) method to develop children's object control, locomotor skills, and motor competence. Further, we examined children's trainability, i.e., their differential responses to the new...

Objective We aim (1) to examine secular trends in height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) among Peruvian children and adolescents living in the city of Junín and (2) to compare their growth status with the World Health Organization (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reference data. Methods The sample included 2874 P...

Purpose: To (1) describe secular trends in gross motor coordination (GMC) scores by sex and age; (2) investigate GMC trends adjusted for concomitant secular trends in height, weight, and overall physical fitness; and (3) examine trends in children's frequencies within different GMC categories. Method: The sample comprises 1562 Peruvian children...

Introduction: Meeting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) guidelines may not enough to counteract the negative cardiometabolic effects of prolonged sitting time. Athletes involved in diverse sports often comply with 60 minutes per day in MVPA guidelines proposed by World Health Organization, benefiting physical fitness (PF) levels. Howeve...

Introduction: Volleyball intervention benefits from an adequate understanding of how game-action execution indicators (EI), as well as skill-related physical fitness (PF), are associated with performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the association of player’s PF and game action’s EI with volleyball game-actions’ outcome. Methods: We...

Objective To investigate the relationship of biological characteristics (age, sex, and obesity), movement behaviors (physical activity and sedentary time), and family socioeconomic status with fundamental movement skills (FMS) in primary school children. Methods This cross‐sectional study sampled 1014 children (537 girls) aged 6 to 10 years from 2...

Objective The aim was to (1) estimate the relationship between physical fitness (PF) and object control fundamental movement skills (FMS), (2) identify child characteristics that relate with PF and FMS, and (3) examine associations between the school environment, PF, and FMS. Methods The sample included 1014 Portuguese children aged 6–10 years fro...

Objective This paper examines the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) using a multivariate multilevel approach and investigates the links between individual and school‐related correlates with children's BMI and CRF. Methods This cross‐sectional sample included 1014 children (6–10 years) from 25 Portuguese...

Foi apresentada uma referência histórica brevíssima do estudo da aptidão física focada na evolução da sua estrutura operacional com exemplos de propostas de vários autores. A sua importância está associada aos seguintes propósitos: 1. seleção e colocação em grupos de iniciação desportiva ou grupos distintos de desempenho; 2. diagnóstico; 3. prediçã...

INTRODUCTION: Higher physical activity levels decrease the risk of overweight and obesity in both adolescents and adults. Nonetheless, available evidence is unclear on whether sports programs protect youth from becoming overweight or obese. We aimed to: (1) identify the prevalence of overweight in Portuguese female volleyball players, and (2) a...

Physical activity is associated with a host of positive health outcomes and is shaped by both genetic and environmental factors. We aim to: (1) estimate sibling resemblance in two physical activity phenotypes [total number of steps∙day−1 and minutes for moderate steps per day (min∙day−1)]; and (2) investigate the joint associations of individual ch...

The physical fitness of children is an important marker of health, and monitoring its temporal changes provides important information for developing interventions. We aimed to: (1) describe secular trends in physical fitness across age, within each sex, in Peruvian schoolchildren; and (2) verify if these trends are also present when adjusted for ch...

De volta à ação depois da pandemia da COVID-19: o que as famílias, os professores de educação física e as comunidades precisam de saber sobre o estado de crescimento, desenvolvimento motor e comportamentos de saúde das crianças. Este artigo tem como finalidade apresentar aspetos importantes do projeto REACT, mais especificamente: -O seu significado...

A aptidão física pode ser definida como a capacidade de realizar tarefas diárias com vigor, sem fadiga indevida, com ampla energia para desfrutar de atividades de lazer e enfrentar emergências imprevistas. É atualmente reconhecida como um indicador de saúde. A avaliação e atribuição de significado aos níveis de aptidão física das crianças são taref...

Depois da "libertação" das crianças e dos jovens para retomarem as aulas presenciais, esta "nova vida" nem sempre foi fácil após tanto confinamento provocado pela COVID-19. Ninguém sabia ao certo em que estado estavam. Sobretudo as crianças do 1º ciclo do ensino básico, não obstante a enorme canseira, dedicação e criatividade do(a)s seus/suas profe...

Com certeza que os pais se lembram das primeiras consultas com a(o)s Pediatras do(a) s seu(ua)s filho(a)s, bem como do acompanhamento na Saúde Infantil e Pediátrica no seu Centro de Saúde. Entre outras "coisas", eram feitas três medições na criança-comprimento, peso e perímetro cefálico. De seguida os valores eram registados no respetivo boletim de...

Purpose To describe longitudinal trends in children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and to investigate associations with individual, familial and school characteristics. Methods A sample of 341 5-10 years old Portuguese children (173 girls) from 6 age-cohorts was followed over three years using a mixed-longitudinal design. Phy...

We estimated sibling resemblance in health-related physical fitness (PF) and examined how individual characteristics and shared natural environment accounted for sibling similarities. The sample comprised 656 sibling pairs and 102 triplets (6–15 years of age), from three geographical areas of Peru. PF components included morphological (waist circum...

We investigated the development of gross motor coordination (GMC) as well as its predictors in school-aged Azorean children. The sample included 181 children (90 girls), followed consecutively for 4 years from 6 to 9 years of age. GMC was assessed with the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder, and predictors included body mass index, standing long ju...

We aim to (1) estimate age of attainment of the peak mid-growth spurt in stature (age-at-peak MGS) in pre-adolescent boys and girls; (2) identify the timing, intensity, and sequences of physical fitness (PF) spurts aligned by the age-at-peak MGS; and (3) identify any sex differences in PF spurts aligned by age-at-peak MGS. The sample included 180 P...

Objective This study aims to (1) investigate differences in weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) among Peruvian children and adolescents living in three areas located at different altitudes; (2) compare age- and sex-specific height, weight, and BMI within each site with US reference data. Methods We sampled 8753 subjects (41...

This study investigated the associations between biological and environmental factors and gross-motor coordination (GMC) in Peruvian children and adolescents. The sample comprised 7401 boys and girls, aged 6–14 years, recruited from three geographical regions: sea-level, Amazon and high-altitude. Biological variables included age, sex, height, BMI,...

This study investigates the interplay between individual and natural environments, as well as the effects of school characteristics, on Peruvian children and adolescents’ gross motor coordination (GMC) problems. The sample comprises 7401 participants (4121 girls) aged 6–14 years from three geographical regions: sea-level, Amazon and high-altitude....

This study aimed to (1) estimate age‐at‐mid‐growth spurt (age‐at‐MGS) in Portuguese boys from two different regions—the Azores islands and Viana do Castelo, and (2) identify spurts in a variety of physical fitness (PF) components aligned by age‐at‐MGS in the two samples. A total of 176 (Azores, n = 91; Viana do Castelo, n = 85) boys aged 6 years ol...

We use a multivariate multilevel model to study the links between physical fitness (PF) and gross motor coordination (GMC) and investigate the influence of predictors affecting their levels across age. We sampled 7918 Peruvians, aged 6‐15 yrs, from sea‐level, Amazon region and high‐altitude. Composite markers of GMC and PF were derived (GMCz and PF...

Background: Gross motor coordination (GMC) is a potential correlate of lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes in childhood and adolescence. Aims: The aim of this study was to examine how sex, age, biological maturation, overweight, stunting, and physical fitness are associated with GMC in children and adolescents from Peru, and to examine asso...

Stunting, defined as linear growth retardation, is a serious public health problem in developing countries. We aimed to (1) describe the prevalence of stunting in Peruvian youth living in three geographical regions, and to (2) determine height and physical fitness (PF) differences between stunted and normal-growth children across age and sex. We sa...

Objective Children's differences in moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity levels are not at random. This study investigates the relevance of individual‐ and school‐level characteristics in explaining these differences. Methods In total, 307 children (154 girls) aged 5–10 years, from 19 Portuguese schools, were sampled. Height and weight were meas...

Objetive: To estimate the growth parameters of Peruvian children and adolescents living at different altitudes. Methods: The sample comprised 10 795 Peruvian children and adolescents (5781 girls, aged 6-7 years) from sea level, the Amazon region, and high altitude. Height was measured with standardized techniques. Mathematical and biological gro...

We report a summary of Portuguese families and siblings research under the umbrella of the Portuguese Healthy Family Project. Families lived in mainland Portugal, as well as in the Azores and Madeira islands. All samples comprise children and adolescents (9–20 years) and their parents (27–57 years). Recruitment procedures and phenotypes were detail...

Background and aim: Overweight prevalence in children and adolescents shows great variability which is related to individual-level and environmental-level factors. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with overweight in Peruvian children and adolescents living at different altitudes. Methods: 8568 subject...

Background: Children’s physical fitness is potentially influenced by biological, behavioural and environmental factors. Aim: To investigate the importance of individual-level and school-level characteristics in explaining variation in children’s physical fitness. Subjects and methods: The sample comprised 354 Portuguese children, aged 5-10 years. P...

Objective: Children's differences in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels are not at random. This study investigates the relevance of individual- and school-level characteristics in explaining these differences. Methods: In total, 307 children (154 girls) aged 5-10 years, from 19 Portuguese schools, were sampled. Height and weight were...