Mireille van Poppel

• PhD
• Vice-Rector, Professor at University of Graz

Background Obesity during pregnancy is related to fetal overgrowth. Effective interventions that can mitigate this risk are needed. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the effect of a lifestyle intervention for pregnant women with obesity on fetal growth trajectories. Methods In the DALI trial, pregnant women with a body mass index ≥29.0 k...

Balance is a relevant indicator of physical fitness and correlates with intellectual abilities. Due to limited resources, however, balance tests are underrepresented in fitness checks. To develop an effective field test to assess static balance with minimal cost, little spatial requirement and short testing time, a cross-sectional pilot study was c...

Climbing is an activity involving many major muscle groups and, therefore, it is suitable for assessing general physical fitness. The Austrian pole climbing test (APCT) was developed as a reliable and valid test for the assessment of general fitness levels in children, adolescents, and young adults. In this cross-sectional pilot study, 677 particip...

Aim We review evidence for effects of physical activity before and during gestation on the course of pregnancy and ask if there are circumstances where physical activity can stress the fetus due to competition for oxygen and energy substrates. Results We first summarize physiological responses to exercise in nonpregnant people and known physiologi...

Background: Brief motivational coaching, integrated into health care, seem promising to address physical inactivity of people with serious mental illness (SMI). Aims: To test the impact of a self-determined health coaching approach (the ‘SAMI’ intervention) during outpatient mental health treatment on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)...

Gestational diabetes remains the most common medical disorder in pregnancy, with short-term and long-term consequences for mothers and offspring. New insights into pathophysiology and management suggest that the current gestational diabetes treatment approach should expand from a focus on late gestational diabetes to a personalised, integrated life...

This .zip file contains all Appendices (i.e., multimedia components) from: Holler et al. (2023). Development of the Perceived Physical Literacy Questionnaire (PPLQ) for the adult population, Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness, Volume 21, Issue 4, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2023.09.003.

STUDY QUESTION Are maternal levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time (ST) in obese pregnant women associated with placental structural adaptations for facilitating oxygen delivery to the fetus? SUMMARY ANSWER Higher maternal MVPA and ST are associated with a higher density of villi, a proxy measure of placental su...

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions are a promising approach to promote mothers' and fathers' health in the perinatal period. This may be particularly true for psychosocially burdened families who are poorly reached by current preventive services. Studies are needed that examine how user‐centered and evidence‐based mHealth interventions look like...

Pancreas agenesis is a rare condition underlying a variant of permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus. Neonates with this condition are born small for gestational age, but less is known about which components of growth are impacted, the timing of the growth restriction and potential sex differences. Our objective was to assess in which periods in gest...

Background Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are bioactive glycans first detected in human milk. Their presence in maternal blood during pregnancy suggests systemic functions. Dynamics and associations of the most abundant prenatal HMOs in relation to maternal BMI and serum lipids in a cohort of 87 pregnant women with either overweight or obesity...

Introduction : The postpartum period goes along with an increased risk of unhealthy weight gain and numerous physical and psychological challenges, which are associated with mental well-being and resilience. Given the individual circumstances and the accompanying time constraints, evidence-based mHealth interventions may be useful for flexible, spo...

Background/objective: In physical literacy (PL) research, instruments for the adult population covering all relevant domains are currently lacking in German language. Therefore, the Perceived Physical Literacy Questionnaire (PPLQ) was developed as an assessment instrument of PL for the adult population. The purpose of this study is to describe the...

An important barrier for a nationwide implementation of a daily physical activity (PA) at primary schools is the lack of spatial and human resources. Therefore, we developed a PA intervention that can be implemented without additional spatial resources or changes in school curricula. In the intervention group, children received a daily PA unit cons...

Citation: Weiser-Fuchs, M.-T.; Maggauer, E.; van Poppel, M.N.M.; Csapo, B.; Desoye, G.; Köfeler, H.C.; Groselj-Strele, A.; Trajanoski, S.; Fluhr, H.; Obermayer-Pietsch, B.; et al. Human Milk Oligosaccharides in Maternal Serum Respond to Oral Glucose Load and Are Associated with Insulin Sensitivity. Nutrients 2023, 15, 4042. https://doi. Abstract: (...

Detecting and quantifying surface densities of placental villi and their vasculature adds important information on the development of the placenta under different exposures and pathological conditions. Today, a larger number of samples and tissue areas can be examined using automated Artificial Intelligence-based approaches. Although each image ser...

Background/objectives: Obesity during pregnancy is associated with neonatal adiposity, which is a risk factor for childhood obesity. Maternal physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours during pregnancy might modify this risk. We therefore studied associations between maternal PA and sedentary time (ST) during pregnancy and neonatal anthropome...

The IOC made recommendations for recording and reporting epidemiological data on injuries and illness in sports in 2020, but with little, if any, focus on female athletes. Therefore, the aims of this supplement to the IOC consensus statement are to (i) propose a taxonomy for categorisation of female athlete health problems across the lifespan; (ii)...

Background The transition to parenthood represents a critical life period with psychosocial, and behavioral changes and challenges for parents. This often increases stress and leads to unhealthy weight gain in families, especially in psychosocially burdened families. Although universal and selective prevention programs are offered to families, spec...

In pregnancies of women with obesity or diabetes, neonates are often overgrown. Thus, the pregnancy period in these women offers a window of opportunity to reduce childhood obesity by preventing neonatal overgrowth. However, the focus has been almost exclusively on growth in late pregnancy. This perspective article addresses possible growth deviati...

Obesity is one of the most common health issues in pregnancy with short and long-term consequences for both mother and her offspring. Promoting moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and decreasing sedentary time (ST) could have a positive impact on weight and obesity management, and therefore adiposity-induced oxidative stress, inflammation...

Background The transition to parenthood represents a critical life period with psychosocial, and behavioral changes and challenges for parents. This often increases stress and leads to unhealthy weight gain in families, especially in psychosocially burdened families. Although universal and selective prevention programs are offered to families, spec...

Aims An important barrier for a nationwide implementation of a daily physical activity (PA) intervention at primary schools is the lack of spatial and human resources. Therefore, the aim was to develop an innovative PA intervention that can be implemented, without additional spatial and human resource requirements. The effects of this intervention...

Active commuting (e.g., walking and cycling to work) is beneficial for the population and environmental health and therefore can help to tackle current challenges of humanity, which are recognised in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For planning public health interventions and active travel policies, it is necessary to identify correlat...

Pregravid obesity is one of the major risk factors for pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and an increased risk of cardiovascular events in children of affected mothers. However, the biological mechanisms that underpin these adverse outcomes are not well understood. High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are antiatherogen...

The volume provides a unique view on multidimensional crises, their interplay, and possible resolutions for sustainable life patterns and is therefore broadly related to the Sustainable Development Goals. Traditional unidimensional and technocratic strategies often fall short. Ultimately, people, their behavior and their habits are at the source of...

Gestational hypertension (GHTN) is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk for mothers and their offspring later in life. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are anti-atherogenic by promoting efflux of cholesterol from macrophages and suppression of endothelial cell activation. Functional impairment of HDL in GHTN-complicated pregnancies may a...

Background: Previous studies have shown that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mitigation measures lead to reductions in health status and health-related fitness in children, whereas no data are currently available on the development of children after the removal of these mitigation measures. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the influence of di...

CISS welcomes and encourages articles addressing a broad range of topics across sport science which include but is not limited to genetic, biological, physical, physiological, psychological, pedagogical, sociological, environmental, policy among other aspects. In this editorial, we highlight several topics of interest for each of our sections withi...

Currently, there is consensus that maintaining light to moderate physical activity during an uncomplicated pregnancy has several benefits for the health of the woman and the fetus. Pregnancy provides good opportunities for promoting women’s health and an active lifestyle. The purpose of this chapter is to provide exercise and healthcare professiona...

The study of body composition is a fascinating branch of the biological sciences where research and clinical practice stimulate and complement each other. A strong theoretical background is needed to support the assessment and interpretation of body composition measurements, in order to have an impact and usefulness in the clinical setting, and cli...

Despite enormous progress in managing blood glucose levels, pregnancy in women with type 1 diabetes still carries risks for the growing fetus. While, previously, fetal undergrowth was not uncommon in these women, with improved maternal glycaemic control we now see an increased prevalence of fetal overgrowth. Besides short-term implications, offspri...

Background Interactions between polymorphisms of the melatonin receptor 1B gene (MTNR1B) and lifestyle intervention for gestational diabetes have been described. Whether these are specific for physical activity or healthy eating intervention is unknown. Objectives To assess the interaction between MTNR1B rs10830962 and rs10830963 polymorphisms and...

In this retrospective cohort study involving 614 secondary school students, the likelihood of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 in schools with different focus (sports focus vs. general branch; the only difference in the sports focus school was that PE was allowed at all times without restrictions) and different prevailing restrictions were compare...

Background: Active transport to school (ATS) is an effective health-promoting intervention to integrate physical activity into children’s everyday lives. While previous studies have examined environmental and behavioural determinants on ATS in urban areas, evidence on rural areas is rare. Method: This study examined whether environmental and psycho...

Vitamin D deficiency is a common finding in overweight/obese pregnant women and is associated with increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcome. Both maternal vitamin D deficiency and maternal obesity contribute to metabolic derangements in pregnancy. We aimed to assess the effects of vitamin D3 supplementation in pregnancy versus placebo on matern...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the association between early pregnancy maternal levels of plasma glycated CD59 (pGCD59) and neonatal hypoglycaemia (NH). MATERIALS and METHODS This is an observational study of pregnant women with a pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) ≥ 29 kg/m2 screened for eligibility to participate in the Vitamin D...

In addition to other mitigation measures, face masks have been used in schools worldwide as a precondition for allowing school attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The quality and habits of mask wearing have, however, not been evaluated thus far, leaving uncertainty about the efficacy of this measure. It was the aim of this study to assess the...

Background The challenging factors that elite athletes perceive for combining their sportive career with planning a pregnancy and motherhood need to be identified in order to develop supportive measures. Therefore, this phenomenological qualitative study aimed to explore challenges associated with planning a pregnancy among female, non-pregnant eli...

Studies on the relationship between vitamin D (VitD) and glucose homeostasis usually consider either total VitD or 25OHD3 but not 25OHD2 and epimers. We aimed to evaluate the cross-sectional association of VitD compounds with glucose homeostasis measurements in pregnant women with overweight/obesity participating in the Vitamin D And Lifestyle Inte...

Importance Different mitigation measures are mandated in schools worldwide to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The efficacy of most measures, however, has not been investigated thus far. Objective To investigate the usefulness of FFP-2 masks in classrooms to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Design A retrospective comparative cohort study of inf...

We evaluated the determinants of cognitive performance in children and adolescents. This is a longitudinal study, secondary analysis of the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) study. We assessed 502 children (51.6% girls) at middle childhood (range: 6.6 to 9.0 years), at late childhood, 437 children (51.0% girls, range: 8.8 to 11.2...

Background. The European Union defines a rare disease as a life-threatening or chronically debilitating disease, with a prevalence of less than 5 per 10,000 persons. Whilst individually rare, there are over 6172 different forms of rare diseases, which together affect at least 18–30 million people in Europe. Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is one of th...

*Lifelong Learning Standard (LLL) definition describes the essential, knowledge, skills, responsibility and autonomy written as Learning Outcomes, required to work in the European Fitness and Physical Activity Sector as a professional qualified in the relevant field e.g. pregnancy and postpartum exercise. Qualification against a Lifelong Learning S...

BACKGROUND In the industrialized world, between one and two per cent of adults worldwide are affected by Chronic Heart Failure (CHI) - i.e. in Austria, between 70,000 and 140,000 affected people can be assumed. OBJECTIVE The project aimed to identify the subjective needs and preferences of people affected by CHI in relation to interventions to emp...

Feasible interventions addressing unhealthy changes in energy balance-related behavior (EBRB) during pregnancy and early postpartum are needed. This study identified the needs and wishes of expecting and first-time parents concerning EBRB interventions during the transition to parenthood. Thirteen focus group discussions (n = 74) were conducted. Co...

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic not only impacted the health of school children directly through SARS-CoV-2 infections, but the associated closures of schools and sports facilities also resulted in long-term negative side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of COVID-19-related mitigation measures on the health and fitness st...

Background and Objectives Parental body composition, physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) have been linked with offspring body weight and health. However, independent contributions of body composition, PA and ST of both parents on growth trajectories of their offspring, taking into account sex differences, has not been investigated. Meth...

Regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and reduced sedentary time (ST) improve maternal glucose metabolism in pregnancy. More MVPA and less ST outside pregnancy increase antioxidant capacity, hence, are beneficial in preventing oxidative stress. The placenta is the first line of defense for the fetus from an adverse maternal environm...

The COVID-19-related closing of schools and sport facilities resulted in major changes to daily routines worldwide. It was the aim of this study to investigate the impact of COVID-19-related mitigation measures on the health and fitness status of primary school children in Austria. Seven hundred and eight primary school children (7–10 years old) pa...

Circulating non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) are important for placentation, but their expression profiles across gestation in pregnancies, which are complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), have not been fully established. Investigating a single time point is insufficient, as pregnancy is dynamic, involving several processes, including pla...

Background: The challenging factors that elite athletes perceive for combining their sportive career with planning a pregnancy and motherhood need to be identified in order to develop supportive measures. Therefore, this study aimed to explore challenges associated with planning a pregnancy among female, non-pregnant elite athletes. Methods: Semi-s...

Background The ramifications of COVID‐19 restrictions might accelerate the already rising proportion of children with overweight or obesity. Objectives To assess the association between COVID‐19 restrictions and changes in body mass index (BMI) and the proportion of children with overweight or obesity. Methods Cohort study with baseline measureme...

Maternal obesity is associated with adverse metabolic outcomes in her offspring, from the earliest stages of development leading to obesity and poorer cardiometabolic health in her offspring. We investigated whether an effective preconception lifestyle intervention in obese women affected cardiometabolic health of their offspring. We randomly alloc...

Monitoring of anthropometric and physical fitness parameters in primary school children is important for the prevention of future health problems. Many of the existing test batteries that are useful for monitoring require expensive test materials, specialized test administrators, and a lot of space. This limits the usefulness of such tests for wide...

(1) Background: Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are present in maternal serum during pregnancy and their composition is altered in gestational diabetes (GDM). HMOs are also in fetal cord blood and in contact with the feto-placental endothelium, potentially affecting its functions, such as angiogenesis. We hypothesized that cord blood HMOs are ch...

The design of the built environment in communities influences active transport and physical activity levels of citizens. Existing instruments for quantitatively assessing built environments were developed for use in urban areas and mainly by experts. Participative assessment of built environment modifications (PABEM) is a needs assessment tool that...

Objectives: To explore i) the association of sedentary time (ST) and physical activity (PA) during pregnancy with placental expression of genes related to glucose and lipid metabolism in obese pregnant women; ii) maternal metabolic factors mediating changes in these placental transcripts; and iii) cord blood markers related to these mRNAs mediatin...

Background: Interactions between polymorphisms of the melatonin receptor 1B gene (MTNR1B) and lifestyle intervention for gestational diabetes have been described. Whether these are specific for physical activity or healthy eating intervention is unknown. Objectives: The aim was to assess the interaction between MTNR1B rs10830962 and rs10830963 p...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197270.].

Maternal obesity in pregnancy is a pro-inflammatory condition exposing the fetus to an adverse environment. Here, we tested associations of maternal obesity (primary exposures: BMI, leptin) and metabolic parameters (secondary exposures: glucose, C-peptide, and insulin sensitivity) with total serum concentrations of fatty acids in the first trimeste...

Importance Previous studies have shown reductions in self-reported physical activity levels in children associated with implementation of COVID-19 mitigation measures, and data on objectively assessed health parameters are limited. Objective To examine the association of COVID-19 mitigation measures with changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF)...

The multidimensional concept of physical literacy is fundamental for lifelong physical activity engagement. However, physical literacy-based interventions are in their infancy, especially among adults. Therefore, the purpose of this pilot study was to assess the association of a physical literacy-based intervention with changes in self-reported phy...

Background: The onset and early warning signs of episodes of bipolar disorder are often realized late by those affected. The earlier an incipient episode is treated, the more prognostically favorable the course will be. Symptom monitoring via smartphone application (app) could be an innovative way to recognize and react to early warning signs more...

While the benefits of physical activity (PA) during and after pregnancy have been established, many women do not reach the recommended PA levels during this time. A major barrier found in the literature is a lack of counselling by healthcare providers (HCPs), which is partly caused by the limited knowledge on the topic. The aim of this study was to...

Importance: Previous studies showed reduced self-reported physical activity levels in children due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mitigation measures, whereas limited data is available for objectively assessed health parameters. Objective: To examine the influence of these measures on the longitudinal development of cardiorespiratory fi...

Most countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have repeatedly restricted public life in order to control the contagion. However, the health impact of confinement measures is unclear, hitherto. We performed a multinational survey investigating changes in mental and physical well-being (MWB/PWB) during the first wave of the pandemic. A total of 14...

Background: Sleep disturbances are common early warning signs of an episode of bipolar disorder, and early recognition can favorably impact the illness course. Symptom monitoring via a smartphone app is an inexpensive and feasible method to detect an early indication of changes such as sleep. The study aims were (1) to assess the acceptance of apps...

We evaluated possible mediators underlying lifestyle intervention effects on neonatal adiposity, assessed with sum of skinfolds and cord blood leptin. This is a secondary analysis of the DALI study, a randomised controlled trial in nine European countries. Pregnant women with a pre-pregnancy body mass index of ≥29 kg/m² were randomly assigned to co...

Governments have restricted public life during the COVID-19 pandemic, inter alia closing sports facilities and gyms. As regular exercise is essential for health, this study examined the effect of pandemic-related confinements on physical activity (PA) levels. A multinational survey was performed in 14 countries. Times spent in moderate-to-vigorous...

Obese pregnant women are at high risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which might be reduced by sufficient physical activity (PA) and reduced sedentary time (ST). We assessed whether PA and ST are longitudinally associated with the glucose-insulin axis in obese pregnant women. In this secondary analysis of the DALI (vitamin D And...

Early identification of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) aims to reduce the risk of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Currently, no circulating biomarker has proven clinically useful for accurate prediction of GDM. In this study, we tested if a panel of small non-coding circulating RNAs could improve early prediction of GDM. We performed...

Background and objective: The maternal glucose-insulin axis is central for metabolic adaptations required for a healthy pregnancy. Metabolic changes in obese mothers in early pregnancy have been scantly described. Here we characterized the glucose-insulin axis in the first trimester of human pregnancy and assessed the effect of maternal obesity and...

Aims: To describe the metabolic phenotypes of early gestational diabetes mellitus and their association with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis using data from the Vitamin D And Lifestyle Intervention for gestational diabetes prevention (DALI) trial conducted across nine European countries (2012-2014). In women...

Objective Little is known about the acute psychological stress responses caused by commuting. Evidence for the benefits of active commuting (e.g., walking, cycling) is usually based on studies without measurements in free-living environments and without consideration of daily variations in stress. This study investigated the association between com...