Patricio Solis-Urra

University of Granada | UGR · Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences

Objective: To investigate whether a 20-week aerobic and resistance exercise program induces changes in brain current density underlying working memory and inhibitory control in children with overweight/obesity. Methods: A total of 67 children (10.00 ± 1.10 years) were randomized into an exercise or control group. Electroencephalography (EEG)-bas...

Background: One of the pathological hallmarks distinguishing Alzheimer's disease from other dementias is the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ). Higher physical activity is associated with decreased dementia risk, and one potential path could be through Aβ levels modulation. We aimed to explore the relationship between physical activity and Aβ in m...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): - HEARTY-BRAIN - Effects of Exercise on Brain in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: The Heart-Brain Connection. Andalusian Plan for Research Development and Innovation (PAIDI). University of Granada. Funding: 116.000 €. PI: F. Ortega...

Alzheimer’s disease is currently the leading cause of dementia and one of the most expensive, lethal and severe diseases worldwide. Age-related decline in executive function is widespread and plays a key role in subsequent dementia risk. Physical exercise has been proposed as one of the leading non-pharmaceutical approaches to improve executive fun...

Muscular strength has been positively associated with better brain health indicators during childhood obesity. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the positive impact of muscular strength in brain health are poorly understood. We aimed to study the association of muscular strength with neurology‐related circulating proteins in plasma in ch...

Objective: We investigated the association of anthropometric neonatal data (birth length and birth weight) and breastfeeding practices (exclusive and any breastfeeding) with hippocampal functional connectivity and its academic implication in children with overweight/obesity. Methods: Ninety six children with overweight/obesity aged 8-11 years (10.0...

Background Emerging research supports the idea that exercise positively affects neurodevelopment. However, the mechanisms linking exercise with brain health are largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the effect of exercise on (a) blood biomarkers selected based on previous evidence (brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB...

Protein-energy malnutrition is a state of disordered catabolism resulting from metabolic derangements or starvation. It is associated with chronic disease, hypoglycemia, hypothermia, serious infections, and even an increased prevalence of morbidity and mortality in countries with poor socioeconomic or environmental factors. Adequate food administra...

It is estimated that one in 100 children worldwide has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with ASD frequently suffer from gut dysbiosis and gastrointestinal issues, findings which possibly play a role in the pathogenesis and/or severity of their condition. Physical activity may have a positive effect on the composition of...

Importance: Pediatric overweight and obesity are highly prevalent across the world, with implications for poorer cognitive and brain health. Exercise might potentially attenuate these adverse consequences. Objectives: To investigate the effects of an exercise program on brain health indicators, including intelligence, executive function, academi...

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare academic achievement, cognitive performance, playtime, bullying, and discrimination in adolescents according to traditional uniforms (TUs) and sports uniforms (SUs) worn at school, while simultaneously exploring the influence of the school vulnerability index. Methods: A total of 988 Chilean adolescen...

Background Emerging research supports that exercise positively affects neurodevelopment. However, the mechanisms linking exercise with brain health are largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the effect of exercise on (i) blood biomarkers selected based on previous evidence (brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), cathep...

The main objective of the current study was to analyze how parents' sociodemographic characteristics, mode of commuting and physical activity (PA) act as indicators of active commuting to school (ACS) in their children and adolescents. A total of 684 paired parents (52.8% mothers) and their respective offspring (33.7% girls) were included. The part...

Objectives To investigate the effects of exercise on intelligence, executive functions, academic performance and brain outcomes in children with overweight/obesity. In secondary analyses, we explored potential mediators and moderators of the exercise effects. Methods A total of 109 children (8-11.9y) with overweight/obesity were randomized (intent...

The aims of this study were; 1- Analyze the mode of commuting of the school children to school, the weight and type of school bags they were carrying and musculoskeletal pain separately by sex. 2- Analyze the association between weights of school bags with mode of commuting to school. A total of 76 children (8.8 ± 0.3 years, 50% children) participa...

Background Alzheimer’s disease is the main cause of dementia in the world. Particularly, amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques are the primary hallmarks of this disease. Previous research has shown that higher levels of physical activity might be associated with lower levels of Aβ accumulation. However, a synthesis of evidence is needed to confirm or refute th...

Physical activity, exercise, or physical fitness are being studied as helpful nonpharmacological therapies to reduce signaling pathways related to inflammation. Studies describing changes in intestinal microbiota have stated that physical activity could increase the microbial variance and enhance the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes, and both acti...

Background & aims Exposure to a suboptimal environment during the fetal and early infancy period’s results in long-term consequences for brain morphology and function. We investigated the associations of early life factors such as anthropometric neonatal data (i.e., birth length, birth weight and birth head circumference) and breastfeeding practice...

The first aim was to compare differences between school vulnerability groups, fitness levels, and their combination in adolescent cognitive performance. The second aim was to determine the mediation role of fitness in the association between school vulnerability and cognitive performance. A total of 912 Chilean adolescents aged 10–14 years particip...

Background : Physical fitness and fatness converge simultaneously modulating cognitive skills, which in turn, are associated with children and adolescents’ socioeconomic background. However, both fitness components and fat mass localization are crucial for understanding its implication at the cognitive level. Objective : This study aimed to determi...

Este libro expone las evidencias científicas actuales sobre el papel de la actividad física, el ejercicio y el deporte en la promoción y mantención de la salud, así como el tratamiento, control y rehabilitación de algunas enfermedades crónicas en la infancia y la adolescencia. El texto está organizado en 27 capítulos que abordan los siguientes tema...

Background: Street workout (SW) is an urban sport based on calisthenic exercises. Injury profiles and risk factors are widely explored in various sport disciplines. However, because of the lack of research in SW, injury profiles have not yet been established. Purpose: To investigate the characteristics and prevalence of injuries and variables that...

In the last years the nervous and cardiovascular response to exercise has taken on an important relevance, both in sport and health field. In this line, accelerating cardiovascular appears to play a key role in various sports fields. The study aims to examine and compare the acute effect of whole-body vibration (WBV) on cardiac autonomic response a...

This study aimed to establish the association and differences in a diversity of cognitive domains according to cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscular fitness (MF), and speed-agility fitness (S-AF) level in a large sample of Chilean schoolchildren. 1,171 Chilean schoolchildren aged 10-14 years participated. CRF, MF, and S-AF were assessed through...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasing cause of chronic liver illness associated with obesity and metabolic disorders, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, or type 2 diabetes mellitus. A more severe type of NAFLD, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is considered an ongoing global health threat and dramatically increases the ri...

Liver disease encompasses pathologies as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, alcohol liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, viral hepatitis, and autoimmune hepatitis. Nowadays, underlying mechanisms associating gut permeability and liver disease development are not well understood, although evidence points to the inv...

Nuestro Proyecto: "Cogni-Acción: Actividad Física como mediador del desarrollo cognitivo en escolares” es un proyecto financiado por el Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT) adjudicado el año 2016 por el investigador de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Dr. Carlos Cristi-Montero (código 11160703). Fundame...

The present study aims (i) to examine the association of physical fitness components (i.e., cardiorespiratory fitness, speed-agility, and muscular fitness) with brain current source density during working memory; and (ii) to examine whether fitness-related current density was associated to working memory performance and academic achievement. Eighty...

Effect of High-Intensity whole body vibration on blood lactate removal and heart rate after an all-out test in active young men Efecto de las vibraciones de alta intensidad de cuerpo completo sobre la remoción del lactato sanguíneo y la frecuencia cardiaca luego de una prueba máxima en hombres activos jóvenes Abstract. Speed up recovery is fundamen...

Background Children with overweight/obesity have poorer sleep and smaller gray matter volume (GMV) than normal‐weight children. No studies have investigated the associations of objectively‐assessed sleep and GMV in children with overweight/obesity, or their implications for academic and cognitive outcomes. Objectives To explore the associations of...

The aim of this study was to examine the associations of sedentary behaviour, physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and body composition parameters with risk of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) in children with overweight/obesity. One-hundred and nine children (10.0 ± 1.1 years old, 45 girls) with overweight (n = 27) and obesi...

Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) is a novel biomarker related to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and physical activity (PA) have an inverse relationship with the AIP, while sedentary time (ST) and fatness present a positive association. This study aimed to determine the combined and independent association of CRF, PA,...

Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) is a novel biomarker related to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and physical activity (PA) have an inverse relationship with the AIP, while sedentary time (ST) and fatness present a positive association. This study aimed to determine the combined and independent association of CRF, PA,...

Background: Best-practice early interventions to increase physical activity (PA) in children with overweight and obesity should be both feasible and evidence based. Walking is a basic human movement pattern that is practical, cost-effective, and does not require complex movement skills. However, there is still a need to investigate how much walkin...

We investigated the associations of different sedentary behaviors (SB) with gray matter volume and we tested whether SB related to gray matter volume is associated with intelligence. Methods: 99 children with overweight or obesity aged 8-11 years participated in this cross-sectional study. SB was measured using the Youth Activity Profile-Spain qu...

The aims of this cross-sectional study were (i) to determine the association of educational level attained with cognitive impairment and (ii) to investigate the mediating effect of different self-report physical activity (PA) patterns in a large sample of older Chileans. A sample of 1571 older adults from the National Chilean Survey (2016–2017) was...

Whereas numerous studies have investigated the relationship of cardiorespiratory fitness with inhibition and neuroelectric activity, the role of other physical fitness components and physical activity (PA) intensities in this relationship remain unclear, especially in children with obesity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate th...

Background: The relationship of obesity with grey and white matter volumes has been examined in several studies, and the results are decidedly mixed. Objective: To investigate the associations of body mass index (BMI), fat mass index (FMI) and lean mass index (LMI) with total and regional grey and white matter volumes. Methods: This is a cross...

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate associations of objectively measured and self-reported physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior with white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity. Methods: In a sample of 103 participants (10.02±1.15 years old; 42 girls) from the ActiveBrains project, we assessed PA and sedentar...

Purpose: To investigate the effect of a 13-week exercise program, based on "movement quality" and "multigames" work, on plantar pressure during walking in children with overweight/obesity (OW/OB). Method: Seventy children (10.8 ± 1.2 years, 58.5% girls) with OW/OB, as defined by the World Obesity Federation, were assigned to either a 13-week exe...

Early life factors may influence brain and academic outcomes later in life, especially during childhood. Here we investigate the associations of early life factors (i.e., birth weight, birth length, and breastfeeding) with gray matter volume, adjusted for body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness, and ii) we test whether early-life factor-relat...

Background: Education and health are crucial topics for public policies as both largely determine the future wellbeing of the society. Currently, several studies recognize that physical activity (PA) benefits brain health in children. However, most of these studies have not been carried out in developing countries or lack the transference into the...

Introduction: Chronic inflammation plays an important role on the pathogenesis of several cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as on brain function and behaviour. The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between inflammatory biomarkers and a wide range of brain health indicators (i.e., academic performance, executive...

BACKGROUND Best practice early interventions to increment physical activity in children with overweight/obesity should be both feasible and evidence-based. Walking is a basic human movement pattern that is practical, cost-effective and does not require complex movement skills. However, there is still a need to investigate how much walking is perfor...

Cardiac autonomic function can be quantified through mean heart rate (HR) or heart rate variability (HRV). Numerous studies have supported the utility of different HRV parameters as indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). However, HR has recently shown to be a stronger predictor of CRF than HRV in healthy young adults, yet these findings nee...

New microbiome sequencing technologies provide novel information about the potential interactions among intestinal microorganisms and the host in some neuropathologies as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The microbiota-gut-brain axis is an emerging aspect in the generation of autistic behaviors; evidence from animal models suggests that intestinal...

Resumen. Introducción: La condición física (CF) es un importante predictor de salud en niños y adolescentes, sin embargo, hasta la fecha se desconoce su posible efecto «protector» frente a periodos críticos vinculados a riesgo de obesidad. Objetivo: Evaluar a través de un diseño longitudinal y ecológico la influencia de la CF y su interacción con l...

The aim was to investigate the associations between different physical activity (PA) patterns and sedentary time (ST) with vitamin D deficiency (<12 ng/mL) in a large sample of Chilean women. In this cross-sectional study, the final sample included 1245 adult and 686 older women. The PA levels, mode of commuting, ST, and leisure-time PA were self-r...

Background: Fitness is an important predictor of health in children and adolescents; however, to date has not been demonstrated the protective effect against critical periods related to obesity. Objective: To evaluate the influence of fitness on body composition parameters during national holidays, comparing the 1-year effects with and without the...

The results indicate differences among the REST, S+V and S-V conditions at both 10 and 20 min. However, no differences were found between the S+V and S-V conditions at 10 and 20 min (Figure 2). Comparing HR, there were significant effect during the active 10 min (resting period not included) (p = 0.050; F= 5.14). Differences were found when compari...

Hamstring muscle injuries are one of most frequent injuries in team sports. Whole-body vibration (WBV) has an important effect on flexibility that could prevent shortening of the hamstrings. To investigate both acute and residual effect of a single bout of WBV on hamstring flexibility in a group of university athletes from team sports 70 athletes (...

Background: A high percentage of Chilean university students are inactive. Aim: To determine differences in physical activity (PA) levels and energy expenditure in a group of university students according to their length of stay in the university. Material and Methods: We studied 56 students aged 22 ± 2 years (29 women). They wore a triaxial accele...

Introducción: diversos programas de salud pública están siendo implementados para combatir la obesidad infantil en el mundo. No obstante, el impacto de la Ley chilena n.o 20.606 que regula la venta y publicidad de alimentos altos en nutrientes críticos ("Ley Súper 8") sobre un periodo crítico en el aumento de peso corporal en escolares, como son la...

El continuum de 24h permitió establecer que el comportamiento de mayor riesgo es el tiempo que los escolares destinan a estar sentados y no el tiempo destinado a la actividad física. El tiempo de sueño también es un comportamiento que se debiera mejorar.

Introduction: The university stage is a determining process when consolidating people’s habits of life, where students are forced to change most of their habits favoring a poor diet, poor organization of time and less physical activity, which at the same time, has an impact on the condition and physical structure and can significantly affect the he...

The body mass index (BMI) provides one of the indices used to determine the nutritional status of the population worldwide, where despite the existence of clear recommendations for interpretation and de ned as gender, age, race, etc. usually their classi cation, independent of the variables is standardized, increasing the error in the result and cl...

Purpose: To determine any changes in body composition, physical activity and caloric intake during NAH. Methods: A total of 46 schoolchildren (24 boys, age 10.5 ± 0.5; BMI 21.7 ± 4.7) participated. Measurements were performed 2 days before and after the NAH (9 days). Weight was measured and fat percentage was established using the Slaughter form...

Objective: the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of training and the consequences of detraining, comparing an aerobic training (AT) protocol with a resistance training (RT) in people with type-II Diabetes Mellitus (DMII). Methods: a total of 30 individuals participated in the study, with ages ranging from 45 to 50 years, all d...

Introducción: Los universitarios son un grupo particular, quienes por diversos motivos son vulnerables a una mala nutrición y a un bajo nivel de ejercicio físico. Objetivo: Determinar el estado nutricional y algunos componentes que definen el estilo de vida en este grupo de estudiantes. Métodos: Se evaluaron 323 estudiantes universitarios perteneci...