The Impact of School Bullying on Physical Activity in Overweight Youth: Exploring Race and Ethnic Differences

Move and Thrive: Development of an Adolescent Friendly and Inclusive Online Fitness Resource

While physical activity (PA) is a strong protective factor for adolescents, many youth experience discrimination and intimidation in traditional fitness spaces. This is especially true for youth of color, youth in larger bodies, and transgender youth. This manuscript describes the development of Move and Thrive, an online resource for PA promotion designed specifically for adolescents prioritizing inclusivity and diversity. Working with Community and Youth Advisory Boards, we developed guiding principles of Move and Thrive: to create resources that are 1) youth and community driven; 2) inclusive of diverse representation; 3) body and weight neutral; 4) trauma informed; and 5) accessible. We developed a guide for PA instructors to use trauma informed approaches; avoid mention of weight talk or physical appearance; use gender inclusive language; and offer multiple options to improve accessibility. Specific care was taken to hire instructors diverse in body size, race, ethnicity, and gender identity. The first iteration of Move and Thrive was launched in March 2021, and the current resource contains 72 PA videos. Over the course of 12 months, the site had more than the site had over 9,000 views in over 40 countries, including six continents. Users have reported high levels of satisfaction with Move and Thrive, and physicians have responded enthusiastically to sharing Move and Thrive as a free resource for adolescents. University of Minnesota Move and Thrive Project is currently available on an ad-free YouTube Channel. We believe that Move and Thrive has the potential to reach populations historically excluded from PA resources.

Reasons and promotion strategies of physical activity constraints in obese/overweight children and adolescents

To explore the reasons for low levels of physical activity in obese/overweight children and adolescents and to propose appropriate strategies to promote their physical activity (PA). This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines by searching and analyzing the literature of studies related to physical activity in obese/overweight children and adolescents published between January 2003 and January 2023 in Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases. A total of 31 relevant studies were included for analysis, of which 16 were quantitative and 15 qualitative. According to these studies, the PA of obese/overweight children and adolescents is mainly constrained by negative factors: Individual, interpersonal, and environmental. Among these factors, low levels of individual motivation and psychological sensitivity and vulnerability, lack of family support, negative social feedback, insufficient protection from government policies, and inadequate support from the built environment are the main reasons that constrain their PA. The promotion of PA in obese/overweight children and adolescents, who are subject to more constraints at all levels, requires a system of security that involves the government, the community, the school, and the family to address the problems they encounter and enhance the sustainability of engagement in PA.

Physical Activity and Related Factors in Pre-Adolescent Southern African Children of Diverse Population Groups

Tailored obesity management includes understanding physical activity (PA) and its context, ideally in childhood before the onset of health risk. This cross-sectional study determined, by sex and population, the PA of Southern African pre-adolescent urban primary school children. PA was measured objectively (step count: pedometer) and subjectively (Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children [PAQ-C]), taking confounders (phenotype, school-built environment, and socio-economic environment) into account. Body composition was measured with multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (Seca mBCA). PA was adjusted for phenotypic confounders (body size and composition) using multivariate regression. Sex and population differences in PA were determined with two-way ANOVA. Ninety-four healthy pre-adolescents (60% girls, 52% black) with a similar socio-economic status and access to PA participated. Amidst phenotypic differences, average steps/day in girls (10,212) was lower than in boys (11,433) (p = 0.029), and lower in black (9280) than in white (12,258) (p < 0.001) participants. PAQ-C scores (5-point rating) were lower for girls (2.63) than boys (2.92) (p < 0.001) but higher for black (2.89) than white (2.58) (p < 0.001) participants. Objective and subjective measurements were, however, not significantly (r = −0.02; p = 0.876) related and PAQ-C failed to identify reactive changes in the step count. Objectively measured PA of black participants and of girls was consistently lower than for white participants and boys. Target-group specific interventions should therefore be considered.

Are Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Mental Health Related During Childhood, Preadolescence, and Adolescence? 11-Year Results From the German Motorik-Modul Longitudinal Study

Mental health (MH) and behavioral health are fundamental to a good quality of life. Only a few studies have investigated the association between behavioral health (e.g., physical activity (PA), screen time (ST)) and MH from childhood to adolescence. Therefore, we investigated the relationships of PA and ST with MH by sex in an 11-year longitudinal cohort study of German schoolchildren during 2003-2017. A subsample (n = 686; 55.2% female) of participants from the German Motorik-Modul (MoMo) Longitudinal Study who participated in all 3 measurement phases (mean ages: time 1 (baseline; 2003-2006), 5.57 (standard deviation (SD), 1.00) years; time 2 (wave 1; 2009-2012), 11.85 (SD, 1.03) years; time 3 (wave 2; 2014-2017), 16.86 (SD, 1.04) years) were analyzed with regard to PA, ST, and MH (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, prosocial behavior, and overall strengths and difficulties). Path panel prediction models were fitted with time 1, time 2, and time 3 PA, ST, and MH indicators. PA predicted less television (TV)/video watching in females, and TV/video watching predicted personal computer (PC)/Internet use in both sexes. Behavior and MH results suggested that, for females, higher TV/video watching and PC/Internet use was related to higher MH challenges over the course of maturation. Some preadolescent males' MH challenges increased ST (TV/video watching and PC/Internet use) in adolescence. Researchers should explore innovative and effective methods for reducing childhood ST, especially among females with early signs of MH issues, and addressing preadolescent males' MH challenges.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Bullying: Review and Implications for Intervention

Despite increased research on bullying over the past few decades, researchers still have little understanding of how bullying differentially affects racial and ethnic minority and immigrant youth. To facilitate efforts to better evaluate the impact of bullying among racial and ethnic minority youth and improve interventions, we integrated research from multiple disciplines and conducted a systematic search to review relevant cross-cultural research on the prevalence of bullying, risk and protective factors, and differences in behaviors and outcomes associated with bullying in these populations. Studies measuring differences in bullying prevalence by racial and ethnic groups are inconclusive, and discrepancies in findings may be explained by differences in how bullying is measured and the impact of school and social environments. Racial and ethnic minorities and immigrants are disproportionately affected by contextual-level risk factors associated with bullying (e.g., adverse community, home, and school environments), which may moderate the effects of individual-level predictors of bullying victimization or perpetration (e.g., depressive symptoms, empathy, hostility, etc.) on involvement and outcomes. Minority youth may be more likely to perpetrate bullying, and are at much higher risk for poor health and behavioral outcomes as a result of bias-based bullying. At the same time, racial and ethnic minorities and immigrants may be protected against bullying involvement and its negative consequences as a result of strong ethnic identity, positive cultural and family values, and other resilience factors. Considering these findings, we evaluate existing bullying interventions and prevention programs and propose directions for future research.

Bullying among Teens: Are Ethnicity and Race Risk Factors for Victimization? A Bibliometric Research

Bullying is a problematic situation that negatively affects thousands of children and adolescents in today’s world. The multicultural society resulting from globalization has caused different reactions throughout society. In the school context, some authors indicate that ethnicity and race are risk factors for being victims of bullying. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to analyze the scientific production on racial or ethnic bullying with the greatest impact at present, considering nine variables: Publication date, authors, organizations, countries, journals, type of document, area of research, language, and reference with more impact (cites). We conducted a bibliometric study through systematic review, documentary quantification, and data visualization techniques. We analyzed 831 documents, with a notable increase in recent years (2011–2019), highlighting the production from Dewey Cornell (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA). On the other hand, the results showed that ethnic identity constitutes a differential factor in harassment appearing, accompanied by very poor socio-economic and cultural levels favoring depressive tendencies and drug consumption in the ethnic harassed. In short, bullying has a negative impact both physically and psychologically on the victims. For this reason, we must continue to work from the school context to eradicate the situation that is affecting more and more people.