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Abstract Purpose In the digital age, engaging users in health-promoting activities through online platforms has become increasingly important. These platforms facilitate the easy sharing of accessible information, thereby mitigating the information gap regarding physical and sports activities for the young population. This project aimed to engage users in sharing their favourite activities on an online platform named RETO! Project Description The hybrid application, RETO!, accessible at retoKids.org, is a website dedicated to promoting physical and sports activities among children and adolescents. It aims to serve as a prime example of how digital platforms can effectively engage individuals interested in these activities. The initial step of development involved identifying online platforms that offer specific physical and sports activities for children and adolescents in Spain. Access to this information is primarily through generic search engines like Google, which presented numerous options, making it challenging to pinpoint activities tailored to this specific population. To develop the platform, consultation was sought from the Active Healthy Kids Spanish Network, which comprises scientists and practitioners from various fields related to paediatric health. Several members offered insights on the features of the activities to be added. Subsequently, a technology company was engaged to develop the hybrid app. Upon completion, the app was distributed among the Active Healthy Kids Spanish Network for further dissemination among their contacts. The platform has 54 registered users, who uploaded information about only 8 activities across 3 different Spanish cities. Launched in 2022, the platform has been promoted in various academic forums, with plans underway to extend its dissemination to other stakeholders, including primary and secondary school teachers, as well as parents. Conclusions The hybrid app RETO! has demonstrated limited success among the target population. It is imperative to explore and implement new dissemination strategies to enhance its effectiveness. This experience could be useful for new projects about online platforms in other countries trying to promote physical and sports activities among the young population.

Frailty resulting from the loss of muscle quality can potentially be delayed through early detection and physical exercise interventions. There is a demand for cost-effective tools for the objective evaluation of muscle quality, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal assessments. Literature suggests that quantitative analysis of ultrasound data captures morphometric, compositional, and microstructural muscle properties, while biological assays derived from blood samples are associated with functional information. This study aims to assess multiparametric combinations of ultrasound and blood-based biomarkers to offer a cross-sectional evaluation of the patient frailty phenotype and to track changes in muscle quality associated with supervised exercise programs. This prospective observational multicenter study will include patients aged 70 years and older who are capable of providing informed consent. We aim to recruit 100 patients from hospital environments and 100 from primary care facilities. Each patient will undergo at least two examinations (baseline and follow-up), totaling a minimum of 400 examinations. In hospital environments, 50 patients will be measured before/after a 16-week individualized and supervised exercise program, while another 50 patients will be followed up after the same period without intervention. Primary care patients will undergo a 1-year follow-up evaluation. The primary objective is to compare cross-sectional evaluations of physical performance, functional capacity, body composition, and derived scales of sarcopenia and frailty with biomarker combinations obtained from muscle ultrasound and blood-based assays. We will analyze ultrasound raw data obtained with a point-of-care device, along with a set of biomarkers previously associated with frailty, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Additionally, we will examine the sensitivity of these biomarkers to detect short-term muscle quality changes and functional improvement after a supervised exercise intervention compared with usual care. At the time of manuscript submission, the enrollment of volunteers is ongoing. Recruitment started on March 1, 2022, and ends on June 30, 2024. The outlined study protocol will integrate portable technologies, using quantitative muscle ultrasound and blood biomarkers, to facilitate an objective cross-sectional assessment of muscle quality in both hospital and primary care settings. The primary objective is to generate data that can be used to explore associations between biomarker combinations and the cross-sectional clinical assessment of frailty and sarcopenia. Additionally, the study aims to investigate musculoskeletal changes following multicomponent physical exercise programs. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05294757; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05294757. DERR1-10.2196/50325.

Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are increasingly common problems in the general population, which can lead to overweight, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and decreased motor and cognitive capacity among children and adolescents. Establishing healthy habits in childhood on the basis of the World Health Organization's 2020 Physical Activity Guidelines is essential for proper physical, motor, and cognitive development. The primary aim of this study is to describe the level of physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and sleep of the child and adolescent population from 6 to 17 years of age in the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC). Our secondary aim is to establish a starting point for future research and intervention protocols to improve the existing reality. This cross-sectional study aims to recruit 1111 children and adolescents, aged 6 to 17 years from the BAC in a representative random sample. Participants will wear the ActiGraph WGT3X-BT triaxial accelerometer for 7 consecutive days in their nondominant wrist, and fill out a habit diary log of PA, mobility, and sleep routine. PA intensities, sedentary behavior, and sleep parameters (total bedtime, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency) will be calculated from raw accelerometer data using SPSS (IBM Corp). Participants will be randomly selected. The results of this study intend to demonstrate significant differences in PA levels in different age and gender groups since the volume of school PA in the BAC decreases as the age of the schoolchildren increases. The total study sample includes 1111 participants. In April 2021, up to 50% of the sample size was reached, which is expected to increase to 100% by April 2022. This sample will allow us to analyze, discuss, compare, and assess the reality of the school population, in a sensitive period of adherence to behavior patterns, using data from the geographical and administrative area of the BAC. This study will provide a realistic insight into PA levels among children and adolescents in the BAC. It will also offer scientific contributions on the positive relationship between PA levels and sleep quality in this population. This study might highlight the need for the promotion of cross-sectional policies so that children and adolescents may increase their levels of PA, thus improving both the school environment and positive healthy behavior. ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN65573865; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN65573865. DERR1-10.2196/31325.

Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative supervised exercise programme to mitigate the loss of lean body mass, functional capacity and quality of life in people with head and neck cancer, as well as to identify the optimal moment to apply it, before or after radiotherapy treatment, compared with the prescription of a physical activity plan carried out autonomously. Methods Patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck ( n  = 144), treated with radiotherapy, will be randomly assigned to one of 3 comparison groups: pre-radiotherapy supervised exercise, post-radiotherapy supervised exercise and autonomous exercise, stratifying by human papillomavirus infection and previous surgery. The exercise programme will be carried out in 36 sessions over 12 weeks, combining moderate and high intensity strength and aerobic exercises. The main outcome variable is the change in lean body mass at 6 months measured by bioimpedance, while secondary variables are functional capacity, symptoms, quality of life and adverse effects. Longitudinal generalised mixed models will be used for the analyses of the repeated measurements at 3, 6, and 12 months after baseline. Conclusions The pilot study supports the feasibility and safety of the project. However, as the programme progressed, attendance at the sessions decreased. Strategies will be necessary for increasing attendance, as well as involving the patient in their recovery and other incentives. Follow-up after treatment to assess acute/late toxicity will enable us to know the response to both the exercise programme and its adherence. Trial registration NCT04658706 Date and version identifier: March 1, 2023. Version 1.1

There is strong evidence to support the association between daily physical activity and sleep parameters in children and adolescents. Physical activity and outdoor play are favourably associated with most sleep outcomes in school children. The aim is to find out the levels of physical activity and the quality of sleep in Basque schoolchildren aged between six and seventeen and to analyse the possible differences between those who carry out some kind of physical sports activity and those who do not. The sample consisted of 1082 schoolchildren (50.1% male and 49.9% female). Differences between groups were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test (2 samples) and Kruskal–Wallis one-factor ANOVA (k samples). A total of 723 (66.94%) of the participants said they practiced some physical sports activity. The accelerometers obtained significant differences in all levels of physical activity, as well as in sleep efficiency, with higher levels of physical activity (sedentary p = 0.001; light p = 0.017; moderate p = 0.009; vigorous p = 0.001 and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity p = 0.002) and better sleep efficiency (p = 0.002) in those schoolchildren who perform some type of physical sports activity. A significant difference in time spent in sedentary activities was also observed between primary and secondary school pupils of both sexes and regardless of the degree of physical sports activity completion.