Cecilia Dorado

• professor
• Professor at University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Background and objectives Obesity and physical fitness are known to be influenced by various geographic factors and ethnicity in children. However, there is limited evidence on the level to which these factors can influence very early in life, at preschool age. This study aimed to describe and compare total and central obesity and physical fitness...

Strength training promotes a IIX-to-IIA shift in myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition, likely due to changes in sarcoplasmic [Ca2+ ] which are sensed by CaMKII. Sarcoplasmic [Ca2+ ] is in part regulated by sarcolipin (SLN) a small protein, that when overexpressed in rodents stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis and a fast-to-slow fibre type shift. Th...

The Nrf2 transcription factor is induced by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and is necessary for the adaptive response to exercise in mice. It remains unknown whether Nrf2 signalling is activated by exercise in human skeletal muscle. Here we show that Nrf2 signalling is activated by exercise to exhaustion with similar responses in normoxia (PI...

Background The use of Pilates in various fields of sport sciences and rehabilitation is increasing; however, little is known about the muscle adaptations induced by this training method. Hypothesis A standardized Pilates training program for beginners (9 months; 2 sessions of 55 minutes per week) will increase the muscle volume and reduce potentia...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of a relative age effect (RAE) on physical fitness of preschoolers. Anthropometry and physical fitness were assessed in 3147 children (3–5 years old) using the PREFIT battery. Based on the birth year, participants were divided into 3year groups (3-, 4- and 5-years). Within each year grou...

Prolonged or unusual exercise may cause exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). To test whether Zynamite®, a mango leaf extract rich in the natural polyphenol mangiferin, administered in combination with quercetin facilitates recovery after EIMD, 24 women and 33 men were randomly assigned to two treatment groups matched by sex and 5 km running perfo...

This study aimed to determine whether the measured resting energy expenditure (REE) in overweight and obese patients living in a temperate climate is lower than the predicted REE; and to ascertain which equation should be used in patients living in a temperate climate. REE (indirect calorimetry) and body composition (DXA) were measured in 174 patie...

Background: Little is known about the impact of long term participation in sports and subcutaneous fat volume in children. This study aimed at determining whether tennis participation is associated with lower subcutaneous adipose tissue volume (SATv) in the abdominal and upper extremities in children. Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was u...

Physical inactivity is recognized as a determinant of low physical fitness and body composition in preschool children, which in turn, are important markers of health through the lifespan. Objective methods to assess physical activity, physical fitness and body composition in preschool children are preferable; however, they have some practical limit...

This study aimed to analyse the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and fatness and fitness in preschoolers. 2,638 preschoolers (3–5 years old; 47.2% girls) participated. SES was estimated from the parental educational and occupational levels, and the marital status. Fatness was assessed by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC)...

Interleukin (IL)-15 stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis, fat oxidation, glucose uptake and myogenesis in skeletal muscle. However, the mechanisms by which exercise triggers IL-15 expression remain to be elucidated in humans. This study aimed at determining whether high-intensity exercise and exercise-induced RONS stimulate IL-15/IL-15Rα expression...

Compared to normoxia, during sprint exercise in severe acute hypoxia the glycolytic rate is increased leading to greater lactate accumulation, acidification, and oxidative stress. To determine the role played by pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activation and reactive nitrogen and oxygen species (RNOS) in muscle lactate accumulation, nine volunteers pe...

The aim of this study was to determine reactive oxygen species (ROS) could play a role in blunting Thr(172)-AMPKα phosphorylation in human skeletal muscle after sprint exercise in hypoxia and to elucidate the potential signaling mechanisms responsible for this response. Nine volunteers performed a single 30s sprint (Wingate test) in two occasions w...

Introduction: Androgens play a major role in fat oxidation; however, the effects of androgens depend, among other factors, on the intrinsic characteristics of the androgen receptor (AR). Lower repetitions of CAG and GGN polymorphism appear to have a protective effect on fat accumulation in the transition from adolescent to mid-twenties. Whether a...

El propósito del presente documento es proponer desde el grupo de expertos en ejercicio físico y salud de EXERNET (Red Española de Investigación en Ejercicio Físico y Salud) una serie de recomendaciones sobre la práctica de la actividad física y deportiva que a nivel individual, familiar e institucional ayuden a prevenir y tratar la obesidad infant...

The aim of this document (written by professionals in physical activity and health EXERNET - Red Española de Investigación en Ejercicio Físico y Salud-) is to propose a list of recommendations about the practice of the physical and sport activity that in an individual, familiar and institutional level, help to prevent and manage the obesity in chil...

To determine the influence of androgen receptor CAG and GGN repeat polymorphisms on fat mass and maximal fat oxidation (MFO), CAG and GGN repeat lengths were measured in 128 young boys, from which longitudinal data were obtained in 45 of them [mean ± SD: 12.8 ± 3.6 years old at recruitment, and 27.0 ± 4.8 years old at adult age]. Subjects were grou...

The effects of exercise on the core musculature have not been investigated in prepubescents. The main purpose of the present study was to determine the volume and degree of asymmetry of rectus abdominis, obliques and transversus abdominis, quadratus lumborum, iliopsoas, gluteus and paraverteb- ralis muscles in prepubescent tennis players and in unt...

We compared the effects of two resistance training (RT) programs only differing in the repetition velocity loss allowed in each set: 20% (VL20) vs 40% (VL40) on muscle structural and functional adaptations. Twenty-two young males were randomly assigned to a VL20 (n = 12) or VL40 (n = 10) group. Subjects followed an 8-week velocity-based RT program...

It is generally accepted that preadolescents have a limited capacity to develop muscle hypertrophy in response to exercise compared with older populations; however, studies are scarce and conflicting. The main aim of the present study was to assess if playing tennis is associated with the hypertrophy of dominant pectoralis muscles (PM) in professio...

Background: Shorter CAG and GGN androgen receptor (AR) repeat polymorphisms are associated with stronger androgen signaling, and therefore, could influence lean mass and exercise performance during growth. Methods: Physical fitness and body composition were measured by standardized procedures and the length of CAG and GGN repeats was determined...

INTRODUCTION the human androgen receptor (AR) gene possesses two trinucleotide polymorphic repeats, (CAG and GGN) that affect the amount of AR protein translated. In this study, we genotyped these polymorphic tracts in a representative sample of Caucasian children (Tanner ≤ 5), 152 boys (11.5 } 2.6 yrs) and 116 girls (10.1 } 3.2 yrs) from Spain a...

Background: The aim was to develop a unipedal stance test for the assessment of balance using a force platform. Methods: A single-leg balance test was conducted in 23 students (mean ± SD) age: 23 ± 3 years) in a standard position limiting the movement of the arms and non-supporting leg. Six attempts, with both the jumping (JL) and the contralate...

Objective:To analyse the effect of extracurricular physical activities on fat mass accumulation and physical fitness during growth in early pubertal males.Design:Longitudinal study.Subjects:A total of 42 male children (9.4±1.4 years, Tanner I–II and 12.7±1.5 years, Tanner III–IV, before and after the 3.3 years follow-up, respectively), randomly sam...

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of long-term professional golf participation on whole-body and regional bone mass and density. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was performed on 15 male professional golfers and 18 sedentary individuals, matched for sex, race, age (29 ± and 25 ± 1 years, respectively), body mass (79 ± 2 and 74 ± 2...

The extremely high energy demand elicited by sprint exercise is satisfied by an increase in oxygen consumption combined with a high glycolytic rate, leading to a marked lactate accumulation, increased AMP/ATP ratio, reduced NAD(+)/NADH.H(+) and muscle pH, which are accompanied by marked Thr(172)-AMPKα phosphorylation during the recovery period. To...

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a major mediator of the exercise response and a molecular target to improve insulin sensitivity. To determine if the anaerobic component of the exercise response, which is exaggerated when sprint is performed in severe acute hypoxia, influences sprint exercise-elicited Thr(172)-AMPKα phosphorylation, 10 volunt...

Lack of physical activity (PA) is a major risk for chronic disease and obesity. The main aims of the present study were to identify individual and environmental factors independently associated with PA and examine the relative contribution of these factors to PA level in Spanish adults. A population-based cross-sectional sample of 3,000 adults (18-...

To asses if tennis at prepubertal age elicits the hypertrophy of dominant arm muscles. The volume of the muscles of both arms was determined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 7 male prepubertal tennis players (TP) and 7 non-active control subjects (CG) (mean age 11.0 ± 0.8 years, Tanner 1-2). TP had 13% greater total muscle volume in the do...

The study's purpose was to analyze the effects of Pilates on the volume of the rectus abdominis (RA), obliques, and transversus abdominis, with the last two considered conjointly (OT). The volume of OT and RA were determined using magnetic resonance imaging in nine nonactive healthy women, before and after 36 wk of a standardized Pilates training p...

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the cont...

Androgen receptor (AR) CAG(n) (polyglutamine) and GGN(n) (polyglycine) repeat polymorphisms determine part of the androgenic effect and may influence adiposity. The association of fat mass, and its regional distribution, with the AR CAG(n) and GGN(n) polymorphisms was studied in 319 and 78 physically active nonsmoker men and women (mean ± SD: 28.3...

Aim of the present study was to test if training frequency determines physical fitness and fat mass accumulation in prepubertal male tennis players (TP). Body composition scans (DXA), jump performance (SJ and CMJ) and 30 m running speed tests were conducted in 24 TP (10.6 years) and 17 physically active boys. Tennis players were divided into two gr...

Excessive time in front of a single or several screens could explain a displacement of physical activity. The present study aimed at determining whether screen-time is associated with a reduced level of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in Spanish adolescents living in favorable environmental conditions. A multi-stage stratified random...

To determine the volume and degree of asymmetry of iliopsoas (IL) and gluteal muscles (GL) in tennis and soccer players. IL and GL volumes were determined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in male professional tennis (TP) and soccer players (SP), and in non-active control subjects (CG) (n = 8, 15 and 6, respectively). The dominant and non-domi...

Endurance exercise induces SUPPRESSOR of CYTOKINE SIGNALING 3 (SOCS3) mRNA expression in rodent skeletal muscle and endurance training overimposed on strength training blunts the hypertrophic response to strength training by an unknown mechanism. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a concurrent strength and endurance training on f...

To determine the volume and degree of asymmetry of the musculus rectus abdominis (RA) in professional tennis players. The volume of the RA was determined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 8 professional male tennis players and 6 non-active male control subjects. Tennis players had 58% greater RA volume than controls (P = 0.01), due to hyper...

Background: To determine if there is an association between physical activity assessed by the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness. Methodology/principal findings: One hundred and eighty-two young males (age range: 20-55 years) completed the short form of the IPAQ to...

Osteocalcin is a hormone produced by osteoblasts which acts as a negative regulator of fat mass, protecting against diet induced obesity and insulin resistance in rodents. To determine if an acute increase in osteocalcin concentration is associated with opposed changes in circulating leptin levels and insulin resistance we studied 15 middle and lon...

p>Estudiamos el rendimiento en el salto vertical y como podría verse afectado por lacomposición corporal en 13 niñas que practicaban gimnasia rítmica (GR; 10.4 ± 0.9 años) y13 niñas control (CO; 9.9 ± 0.7 años). La composición corporal fue determinada medianteantropometría y DXA. Se realizaron saltos con y sin contramovimiento (CMJ y SJ) sobre unap...

br /> RESUMEN Para determinar la influencia que tienen en los valores de DMO, el número, intensidad y duración de las cargas submáximas utilizadas para calcular la recta de economía, 6 varones acudieron al laboratorio en 8 ocasiones. Tras la familiarización, se determinó el VO₂ pico, y el el VO₂ a 80, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140...

div class="titulo1"> RESUMEN Para determinar la validez del déficit acumulado de oxígeno (DMOA) como índice de capacidad anaeróbica, en 29 varones, estudiantes de Educación Física, se determinó el DMOA, la concentración de lactato en sangre capilar al finalizar un test supramáximo al 120 % VO2max, la potencia media y máxima desarrolladas en el te...

Professional tennis players (TP) have marked inter-arm asymmetry in bone mass (BMC) and density (BMD). To determine if this asymmetry is influenced by training frequency and volume, we studied 24 young tennis players (mean age 10.6 years, Tanner 1-2), 17 physically active control boys (CG) and ten male professional tennis players. Young TP were div...

To determine whether androgen receptor (AR) CAG (polyglutamine) and GGN (polyglycine) polymorphisms influence bone mineral density (BMD), osteocalcin and free serum testosterone concentration in young men. Whole body, lumbar spine and femoral bone mineral content (BMC) and BMD, Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), AR repeat polymorphisms (PCR), osteoca...

In rodents, endurance training increases leptin sensitivity in skeletal muscle; however, little is known about the effects of exercise on the leptin signalling system in human skeletal muscle. Thus, to determine whether chronic muscle loading increases leptin receptor (OB-R170) protein expression, body composition dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry w...

To assess if exercise before puberty affects bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) we determined BMC and BMD in the dominant arm (DA) and non-dominant arm (NDA), lumbar spine and femoral neck in 25 tennis players (TP), 21 soccer players (SP) and 22 physically active controls (CG). All of them were under 12 years of age and prepu...

To assess the effect on the maximal oxygen deficit (MOD) of the intensity, the duration and the number of bouts utilized to calculate the submaximal VO2/intensity relationship, six males were tested on eight separate days. After familiarization, an incremental exercise test was used to assess the VO2peak an another three tests were performed to obt...

To assess the validity of the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) as a measure of the anaerobic capacity, the following variables were determined in twenty nine male Physical Education students: the DMOA, the blood lactate concentration at the end of a exhausting supramaximal bout 120 % VO2max, the maximal and the mean power attained during a...

to the editor: Martyn-St. James and Carroll ([5][1]) manifest that they are surprised because they say “we emphasize bone mineral outcomes after only a 9-wk intervention.” They think that we should have mentioned the “bone remodeling transient.” The remodeling transient describes a change in

The exon-1 of the androgen receptor (AR) gene contains two repeat length polymorphisms which modify either the amount of AR protein inside the cell (GGN(n), polyglycine) or its transcriptional activity (CAG(n), polyglutamine). Shorter CAG and/or GGN repeats provide stronger androgen signalling and vice versa. To test the hypothesis that CAG and GGN...

The effects of professional tennis participation on dominant and non-dominant upper extremity muscle volumes, and on fiber types of triceps brachii (lateral head) and vastus lateralis muscles were assessed in 15 professional tennis players. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, n=8) examination and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA, n=7) were used t...

Leptin and osteocalcin play a role in the regulation of the fat-bone axis and may be altered by exercise. To determine whether osteocalcin reduces fat mass in humans fed ad libitum and if there is a sex dimorphism in the serum osteocalcin and leptin responses to strength training, we studied 43 male (age 23.9 2.4 yr, mean +/- SD) and 23 female phys...

To determine if there is a gender dimorphism in the expression of leptin receptors (OB-R170, OB-R128 and OB-R98) and the protein suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) in human skeletal muscle, the protein expression of OB-R, perilipin A, SOCS3 and alpha-tubulin was assessed by Western blot in muscle biopsies obtained from the m. vastus lateral...

The aim of this study was to determine if gender differences in muscle mass explain the gender differences in running and cycling sprint performance. Body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), and running (30 and 300 m test) and cycling (Wingate test) sprint performance were assessed in 123 men and 32 women. Peak power (PP) output in the...

Human skeletal muscle expresses leptin receptor mRNA; however, it remains unknown whether leptin receptors (OB-R) are also expressed at the protein level. Fourteen healthy men (age = 33.1 +/- 2.0 yr, height = 175.9 +/- 1.7 cm, body mass = 81.2 +/- 3.8 kg, body fat = 22.5 +/- 1.9%; means +/- SE) participated in this investigation. The expression of...

We compared 35 prepubertal girls, 9 artistic gymnasts and 13 rhythmic gymnasts with 13 nonphysically active controls to study the effect of gymnastics on bone and muscle mass. Lean mass, bone mineral content and areal density were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and physical fitness was also assessed. The artistic gymnasts showed a de...

Strength training is usually associated with a reduction in fat mass and with muscle hypertrophy. The aim of the present study was to examine whether the serum free leptin index (FLI), measured by the molar excess of soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) over leptin, is increased by 6 weeks of strength training. Eighteen male, physical education students...

To analyse the effect of extracurricular physical activities on fat mass accumulation and physical fitness during growth in early pubertal males. Longitudinal study. A total of 42 male children (9.4+/-1.4 years, Tanner I-II and 12.7+/-1.5 years, Tanner III-IV, before and after the 3.3 years follow-up, respectively), randomly sampled from the popula...

To determine the independent effect of soft tissues on bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD), and how physical activity (PA) could affect these relationships, body composition by DXA, and the physical fitness (PF) were assessed longitudinally (3-yr) in 26 active and 16 non-active prepubertal boys. Significant advantage in the development of...

To determine the independent effect of soft tissues on bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD), and how physical activity (PA) could affect these relationships, body composition by DXA, and the physical fitness (PF) were assessed longitudinally (3-yr) in 26 active and 16 non-active prepubertal boys. Significant advantage in the development of...

Until there is an advancement in gene therapy; detection and manipulation of genes involved in excess weigh among children, it is only realistic to pursue prevention activities. Multidisciplinary approaches in prevention of obesity are necessary for successful outcomes. One of the principal strategies is to modify the children's behaviour involves...

To investigate to what extent bone mass accrual is determined by physical activity and changes in lean, fat, and total body mass during growth. Twenty six physically active and 16 age matched control boys were followed up for three years. All subjects were prepubertal at the start of the survey (mean (SEM) age 9.4 (0.3) years). The weekly physical...

The aim of this study was to find out whether the efficiency of concentric muscle contraction is impaired by eccentric squatting exercise. The study involved 25 male physical education students in two experiments. In the first experiment 14 subjects undertook cycling exercise at 65% VO(2)max until exhaustion on two occasions. During the experimenta...

This study evaluates the effect of physical activity on the bone content (BMC) and density (BMD) in 51 girls (14.2+/-0.4 yr). Twenty-four were placed in the handball group as they have been playing handball for at least 1 year (3.9+/-0.4). The other 27 who did not perform in any kind of regular physical activity other than that programmed during th...