Chia, Michael

Ramadan fasting increases subjective feelings of fatigue and reduces self- motivation during exercise. Exercising in the Ramadan fasted state leads to a quality of training that is lower than normal due to a reduction in exercise intensity and/or physical efforts. This field investigation examined the impact of Ramadan fasting on perceived exercise intensity during high intensity training sessions and its impact on maximal aerobic performance, in elite-level youth soccer players. The National Under-18 squad was organized into a fasting (FAS) and a non-fasting (control, CON) groups. During the Ramadan month, in addition to the normal soccer-specific training, both FAS and CON underwent six specific conditioning sessions consisting of high-intensity aerobic and anaerobic interval running. There were no significant differences between groups' post-exercise ratings of perceived exertion in all sessions. There were no significant differences between groups for Beep test performances at pre- and post-Ramadan. There was no adverse effect of fasting on perceived exercise intensity in Ramadan fasted players, and also no impact on their maximal aerobic performance post-Ramadan.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a preventable threat to livelihood and longevity in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and insufficient physical activity (PA) is a primary cause of NCDs. A PRISMA based systematic review of measurement methodologies used to assess PA was conducted. 564 studies published between 1978 and 2020 were reviewed. The majority of the PA measurement employed subjective methodologies and were observational and cross-sectional, with disproportionately fewer studies conducted in economically-challenged member nations, except for Brunei. PA research in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar constituted 0.4–1.1% while Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia contributed 12–37% of all PA research within ASEAN. A decision matrix can be used to determine the measurement methodology of choice to assess PA. Joint research across ASEAN using a common assessment or measurement template that is co-curated by ASEAN researchers that incorporates multi-level and whole-of-society criteria in terms of PA enablers is a recommendation. This could be co-led by more experienced and better resourced countries so as to produce a unified and universal ‘report card’ for PA measurement within ASEAN.

Developing effective exercise programmes for the paediatric population is a strategy for decreasing obesity and is expected to help in eventually limiting obesity-associated long-term health and societal impact. In this study, the effects of a 12-week twice weekly additional exercise training, which comprised a combination of circuit-based resistance training and aerobic exercises, in additional to typical physical education sessions, on aerobic fitness, body composition and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and lipids were analysed in 13- to 14-year-old obese boys contrasted with a control group. Materials and Methods: Both the exercise group (EG, n = 12) and control group (CG, n = 12) participated in the typical2 sessions of 40-minute physical education (PE) per week in schools, but only EG participated in additional2 sessions per week of 45 to 60 minutes per session of exercise training, which comprised a combination of circuit-based resistance training and aerobic exercises maintained at 65% to 85% maximum heart rate (HRmax = 220- age).

Body composition was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Fasting serum CRP and blood lipids were analysed pre- and postexercise programme. Aerobic fitness was measured by an objective laboratory submaximal exercise test, PWC170 (Predicted Work Capacity at HR 170 bpm). ~:Exercise training significantly improved lean muscle mass, body mass index, fitness, resting HR, systolic blood pressure and triglycerides in EG. Serum CRP concentrations were elevated at baseline in both groups, but training did not result in a change in CRP levels. In the CG, body weight increased significantly at the end of the 12-week period.
Conclusion: This study supports the value of an additional exercise training programme, beyond the typical twice weekly physical education classes, to produce physiological benefits in the management of obesity in adolescents, including prevention of weight gain.

The overall activity pattern of soccer is that of intermittent high-intensity (Int-HINT) type and elite players have a greater repeated high-intensity running capability. Since soccer involves rapidly changing work intensities in an unpredictable manner, tests simulating overall activity pattern in a cyclical sequence have limited practical usefulness in testing of soccer fitness. The primary aim of this study was to develop a laboratory-based protocol to specifically assess the Int-HINT running capability in soccer players. University team games athletes (n=8, Mean ± SD; age 22.30 ± 1.65 years, stature 1.73 ± 0.04 m, body mass 69.36 ± 6.04 kg) participated in the reliability study and male youth professional soccer players (n=20, Mean ± SD age, 17.5 ± 0.3 yrs; stature, 1.73 ± 0.04 m; body mass, 67.2 ± 7.5 kg) participated in the validity study. The players performed on the NIE Intermittent High-intensity (NIE Int-HINT) Running Test during the preseason, early in-season and end mid-season phases of the soccer season. Performance was measured as total distance covered on the treadmill. The participants also performed the YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 2 (YoYo IRT L2) during each phase of the competition season. The NIE Int-HINT test was found to be of high reliability (ICC, 0.98; CV, 2.1%; ratio limits of agreement (rLOA) 0.99 ×/÷ 1.03). A positive and significant correlation (p< 0.05) was found between the performance in the NIE Int-HINT test and the YoYo IRT L2 performance (r = 0.68-0.77) during different phases of the soccer season. The NIE Int-HINT test provided a reliable measure of intermittent high-intensity running capability and a valid and sensitive method of estimating soccer-specific fitness in youth professional soccer players. Further studies are needed to evaluate the applicability of this test in adult elite soccer players and other intermittent team game athletes.

Purpose: The purpose of the research was to investigate the sport-specific performance effect of a brief afternoon nap on high-level Asian adolescent student-athletes that were habitually short sleepers. Methods: In the studies, participants were randomly assigned to a nap or non-nap (reading) condition. In the first study, 12 male shooters (13.8 ± 1.0 yrs) performed a shooting assessment (20 competition shots) with heart rate variability monitored during the assessment. In the second study, 19 male track & field athletes (14.8 ± 1.1 yrs) performed a 20m sprint performance assessment. Subjective measures of sleepiness and alertness were obtained in both studies. Results: The brief nap had no effect on any measure of shooting performance (p > 0.05) and autonomic function (p > 0.05) in shooters. However, fastest 20m sprint times increased significantly (p < 0.05) from 3.385 ± 0.128 sec to 3.411 ± 0.143 sec, with mean 2m times trending towards significance (p < 0.1) amongst the track & field athletes. No significant differences were observed in any other measures. Conclusions: The results of the research indicate varying effects of naps between sport-specific performance measures. Napping had no effect on shooting performance while a negative effect existed in 20-m sprint performance, potentially due to sleep inertia. Considering these findings, some caution is warranted when advocating naps for adolescent athletes.

An investigation was done to determine the acceptability of the Lactate Pro LT -1710( blood lactate analyser while using a multiple-tester approach by assessing its accuracy, consistency, reliability and validity by comparing it to the YSI 2300 STAT PlusTM as the reference blood lactate analyser. The study was conducted in three phases separated seven days apart. The participants (n=9) completed the Bruce protocol on the motorised treadmill in the phase 1 and 2 and an all-out 30 s sprint on the non-motorised treadmill in the third phase. Pre and post-exercise capillary blood samples were collected from the finger-tip of the participants. Blood lactate data for all the three test days were pooled to determine the overall comparative agreement between the two analysers over a range of blood lactate values 0-16.2 mmol.L-1). A significant and high correlation was obtained for the combined pooled data (r=0.994, p<0.05). The ratio limits of agreement for pooled pre-exercise, pooled post-exercise and combined data were 00400.91, 0.61-0.84 and 0.53-0.90 respectively indicating the consistency of the blood lactate analysis by the Lactate Pro 1710(r) over a range (1-16.2 mmol.L-1) of blood lactate values. This study found the Lactate Pro 1710 blood lactate analyser to be acceptably accurate, consistent, reliable and valid to be used under varied exercise and training situations, especially when multiple testers are likely to be involved in the analysis.

Sleep quality is a crucial concern, particularly among youth. The integration of health coaching with question-answering (QA) systems presents the potential to foster behavioural changes and enhance health outcomes. This study proposes a novel human-AI sleep coaching model, combining health coaching by peers and a QA system, and assesses its feasibility and efficacy in improving university students’ sleep quality. Methods In a four-week unblinded pilot randomised controlled trial, 59 university students (mean age: 21.9; 64% males) were randomly assigned to the intervention (health coaching and QA system; n = 30) or the control conditions (QA system; n = 29). Outcomes included efficacy of the intervention on sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; PSQI), objective and self-reported sleep measures (obtained from Fitbit and sleep diaries) and feasibility of the study procedures and the intervention. Results Analysis revealed no significant differences in sleep quality (PSQI) between intervention and control groups (adjusted mean difference = −0.51, 95% CI: [−1.55–0.77], p = 0.40). The intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in Fitbit measures of total sleep time (adjusted mean difference = 32.5, 95% CI: [5.9–59.1], p = 0.02) and time in bed (adjusted mean difference = 32.3, 95% CI: [2.7–61.9], p = 0.03) compared to the control group, although other sleep measures were insignificant. Adherence was high, with the majority of the intervention group attending all health coaching sessions. Most participants completed baseline and post-intervention self-report measures, all diary entries, and consistently wore Fitbits during sleep. Conclusions The proposed model showed improvements in specific sleep measures for university students and the feasibility of the study procedures and intervention. Future research may extend the intervention period to see substantive sleep quality improvements.

Digital media engagement in families in Singaporean society is increasing at an unprecedented pace. Limited research in the last five years in Singapore shows that young children experience significant amounts of screen time from television, computers and other forms of mobile digital devices, even before primary school. For children, digital media use can aid with learning, but its overuse has inimical effects on learning and health. As digital media use in children increases faster than research on its impact, it is essential to develop a tool that can monitor changes in digital media habits of children over time. This study aimed to develop an online questionnaire for parents to report on the digital media habits of children. An online questionnaire bundle, Surveillance of digital-Media hAbits in earLy chiLdhood Questionnaire (SMALLQ™), organized into sections ((I) Digital-media use of parent and child, (II) Non-digital media behaviour of the child, (III) Parent and child information) was developed for the purpose of charting digital media use and changes over three years (2018, 2019, and 2020). The results showed that SMALLQ™ has face and content validity and was practicable for Singapore. Furthermore, based upon a similar methodology for developing the SMALLQ™, the development of Child-SMALQ (Surveillance of digital MediA use in chiLdhood questionnaire) and Adolescent-SMALQ (Surveillance of digital MediA use in adoLescence questionnaire) are directions for future research.

Studies show that the quality of life (QoL) of preschoolers is closely related to physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB), and sleep (SL). Yet many researchers looked at these 24-h movement behaviours as behaviours that are independent of one another when examining the association of QoL with these behaviours. The main purpose of the present study was to describe the temporal trends in PA, SB, and SL in preschoolers and the concomitant association with QoL of children. Annual cross-sectional data on QoL and 24-h movement behaviours of 8045 Singaporean preschoolers were collected from 2018 to 2021. Compositional analysis, linear regression, and isotemporal replacement approaches were used to examine changes in PA, SB, and SL from 2018–2021 and how these changes were associated with QoL. Temporal trends in movement behaviours showed that PA and SL decreased after 2020. During 2018–2021, the association of PA and QoL in preschoolers was characterised by a ‘U’ curve (βPA-2018 = 3.06, p < 0.001; βPA-2019 = 1.43, p < 0.05; βPA-2020 = −0.43, p > 0.05; βPA-2021 = 2.82, p < 0.001), while SL and QoL were characterised by an inverted ‘U’ curve (βSL-2018 = −2.39, p < 0.001; βSL-2019 = −0.27, p > 0.05; βSL-2020 = 2.00, p < 0.01; βSL-2021 = −0.21, p > 0.05). SB was significantly and negatively associated with QoL after 2020, with 2020 identified as the inflection point for the change in SB (βSB-2018 = 0.67, p > 0.05; βSB-2019 = −1.16, p > 0.05; βSB-2020 = −1.56, p < 0.01; βSB-2021 = −2.61, p < 0.01). Using a time re-allocation technique to treat the 2021 data, reallocating time from SB to PA or to SL predicted improvements in QoL of preschoolers (Pall < 0.05). The study provided useful information on the temporal trends in PA, SB, SL, and QoL of preschoolers over four years. Additionally, these data provided insights into how changes in QoL are predicted by changes in duration in the 24-h movement behaviours.