Physical fitness and nutritional anthropometric status of children from disadvantaged communities in the Nelson Mandela Bay region

X as a proxy for tackle safety culture? Sentiment analysis of social media posts on red-carded and yellow-carded tackles during the 2019 Rugby World Cup

Objectives

This study analysed the overall sentiment of attitudes, opinions, views and emotions expressed in posts on X related to red-carded and yellow-carded tackles during the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC).

Methods

Sentiment analysis was conducted on posts on X about red or yellow cards issued at the 2019 RWC. Posts were classified as 'agree', 'disagree' and 'neutral'. The frequency of posts, red cards, yellow cards, all injuries, tackle injuries and total number of tackles per match were also synced to the 45-match playing schedule.

Results

Five tackle-related red cards were issued during the 2019 RWC, and 15 tackle-related yellow cards, with 337 and 302 posts identified for each card decision, respectively. For red cards, 42% of posts (n=158/377) agreed with the referee's decision, 19% (n=71/377) disagreed and 40% were neutral. For yellow cards, 24% (n=73/302) agreed with the referee's decision, 33% (n=99/302) disagreed and 43% were neutral.

Conclusions

For red cards, posts were 2.2 times more likely to agree with the referee's decision than disagree. Posts that agreed with a red card decision were also more likely to be shared (reposted) than posts that disagreed with a red card decision. In contrast, sentiments expressed for yellow card decisions were mixed. This may be related to interpreting the degree of danger and whether mitigation is applied. Within the ecosystem of rugby, sharing sentiments on social media plays a powerful role in creating a positive player welfare narrative.

Associations between soil-transmitted helminth infections and physical activity, physical fitness, and cardiovascular disease risk in primary schoolchildren from Gqeberha, South Africa

BACKGROUND/AIM

School-aged children in low- and middle-income countries carry the highest burden of intestinal helminth infections, such as soil-transmitted helminths (STH). STH infections have been associated with negative consequences for child physical and cognitive development and wellbeing. With the epidemiological transition and rise in cardiovascular disease (CVD), studies have shown that helminth infections may influence glucose metabolism by preventing obesity. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the association of STH infections in schoolchildren from Gqeberha, focusing on physical activity, physical fitness, and clustered CVD risk score.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 680 schoolchildren (356 girls and 324 boys; mean age 8.19 years, SD±1.4) from disadvantaged communities in Gqeberha (formerly, Port Elizabeth), South Africa. Stool samples were collected and examined for STH infections using the Kato-Katz method. Physical activity (accelerometer) and physical fitness (grip strength, 20 m shuttle run) were measured using standard procedures. Furthermore, anthropometry, blood pressure, as well as glycated haemoglobin and lipid profile from capillary blood samples were assessed. We employed one-way ANOVAs to identify the associations of STH infections in terms of species and infection intensity with physical activity, physical fitness, and clustered CVD risk score.

RESULTS

We found a low STH infection prevalence (7.2%) in our study, with participants infected with at least one intestinal helminth species. In comparison to their non-infected peers, children infected with STH had lower mean grip strength scores, but higher mean VO2max estimation and higher levels of MVPA (p < .001). When considering type and intensity of infection, a positive association of A. lumbricoides infection and MVPA was found. In contrast, light T. trichiura-infected children had significantly lower grip strength scores compared to non and heavily-infected children. VO2max and MVPA were positively associated with light T. trichiura infection. No significant association between the clustered CVD risk score and infection with any STH species was evident.

CONCLUSIONS

STH-infected children had lower grip strength scores than their non-infected peers, yet, achieved higher VO2max and MVPA scores. Our study highlights that the type and intensity of STH infection is relevant in understanding the disease burden of STH infections on children's health. The findings of our study must be interpreted cautiously due to the low infection rate, and more research is needed in samples with higher prevalence rates or case-control designs.