Chia, Michael

This study aimed to determine verbal memory performance differences between obese and normal-weight adolescents among high academic achievers as measured by a computerised version of Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. 58 normalweight and 47 obese adolescents were recruited from two Secondary Schools (aged 13 to 16 years) and one Junior College (aged 17 to 18 years) in Singapore. Eight trials of word recall and memory test scores, the sum of total number of words correctly recalled for Trials 1 to 5 [Total Learning (TL)], and difference in word recall between Trial 5 and Trial 1 [Learning Rate (LR)] were measured. Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by the summative ranking of the housing category and the educational levels of the parents. Obese participants recalled significantly lesser words in all trials and TL memory category. There was no significant difference between normal-weight and obese participants on the indicators of housing category, father’s education, mother’s education, overall SES, and LR memory category. Obese adolescents had poorer verbal memory performance as compared to the normal-weight participants. The role of SES could not adequately account for the memory difference between both groups. This finding suggested difficulty in memory acquisition and retrieval ability in the obese group.

The purpose of the study was to examine the reliability and validity of school-based pedometer step counts in Singaporean children. Participants were 10 boys and 10 girls aged 10-11 years old. School-based physical activity was monitored over a five-hour period using an electronic pedometer (PCB 147PDO) and a tri-axial accelerometer (RT3), fastened securely at the waist. Test-retest measurements of physical activity revealed no significant differences in step count (21.86.1 vs. 22.16.3 steps/min, p>0.05) and vector magnitude (580.470.9 vs. 581.189.4 vm!mln, p>o.o51. The girls' physical activity measurements were 77.5 % and 87.4 % that of boys'for pedometer and accelerometer readings. Typical error (TE) expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV) for repeated measurements were 9.6% for pedometry compared to 4% for accelerometry. Intra-class correlations (ICC) were 0.90 for step count and 0.92 for vector magnitude, while Bland and Altman plots showed a similar spread of activity readings for the pedometer and accelerometer. Significant correlations were established between accelerometer readings and pedometer readings (r>0.75, p<0.05). Data from the study showed that the electronic pedometer was a reliable and valid motion sensor for assessing the school-based physical activity of Singaporean children, using a variety of reliability indicators. With the reliability and validity of pedometers established, future research should focus on the efficacy of intervention programs to curtail sedentary behaviours and heighten the attractiveness of active behaviours in the context of school.

Singapore, a developed city state of four million people is experiencing the pitfalls that come with rapid modernisation and economic progress-elevated disease risk factors among adults and young people. Weekly compulsory physical education classes of 70 minutes in schools and the associated sports activities after classes are inadequate to meet emergent physical activity guidelines of a daily accumulation of at least 90 minutes of physical activity of at least moderate intensity. Daily play sessions that are exclusive of an active daily recess, physical education classes taught by trained specialists and after-school sport sessions, can provide many developmental and holistic health benefits that may carry over into adulthood. A school environment that is play-encouraging, play-enabling and play-inviting can be a useful, innovative and natural way of inculcating a love for movement and help redress a serious trend of physical activity insufficiency while youngsters engage electronic gaming activities. Pilot initiatives for the PRIDE (personal responsibility in daily effort) for PLAY (participation in lifelong activity for youths) programme is a radicalised approach in a number of primary schools in Singapore to infuse daily physical play of between 20 to 45 minutes during curriculum hours. The hope is that PRIDE for PLAY will reap benefits of improved holistic health of youngsters- better physical, social, emotional and mental attributes. While PRIDE for PLAY is no panacea to all of the ills of modernisation, it will go some way in helping the students of tomorrow to be physically healthy, socially more engaged and tolerant of others, mentally more apt to problem solve and emotionally more proficient to embrace working life in adulthood.

Inadequate hydration before, during and after exercise puts the safety and well-being of Singaporean youths at risk especially when sports training and Physical Education (PE) lessons are conducted outdoors, under the hot and humid weather conditions of Singapore. The study examined the exercise knowledge of youth athletes in Singapore schools: 586 youth athletes from four primary schools, four secondary schools and one junior college. All participants completed a validated exercise hydration knowledge quiz that was developed based upon the consensus statements and position stands of two international sports associations. An average knowledge score of 44.7±14.0% (range 0–87.1%) was obtained, which was significantly below the minimum competence score of 80%. Post-exercise hydration knowledge was lacking when compared to pre-exercise and during-exercise hydration knowledge. Overall, exercise hydration knowledge gaps were identified, in particular for post-exercise hydration; still the majority of participants from all schooling levels did not attain the competence score of at least 80%. Coach education and PE training programmes should specifically target and ameliorate these knowledge deficiencies to empower youth athletes to take personal responsibility for their safe participation and training in sports.

Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise contributes to oxidative stress by generation of free radicals. The human body is well equipped with both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defence system. Soccer predominantly involves aerobic exercise with repeated bouts of anaerobic activities. The response of the different antioxidants to exercise might be sports-specific and hence the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) provides a better appraisal of the different antioxidant mechanisms of the body. TAC is the sum of the activities of antioxidants present in the material studied. The objective of the present study was to assess the urinary TAC (uTAC) in professional soccer players in different phases of the playing season and to compare the uTAC between professional, amateur and recreational soccer players. 21 professional, 20 amateur and 18 recreational players participated in the study. Results showed that the uTAC in the professional soccer players during pre-season (phase -1), early in-season (phase -2) and during the start of the end-season (phase - 3) was (mean ± SD) 3.13 ± 0.09, 2.73 ± 0.37 and 2.99 ± 0.41 mmol·L-1 respectively. The uTAC of the amateur and the recreational players during the start of end-season phase was 2.89 ± 0.44 and 1.77 ± 0.66 mmol·L-1 respectively. Repeated Measures ANOVA revealed significant difference (p <0.05) in the uTAC between phase-1 and phase-2 while no significant difference was detected between the other phases in the professional soccer players. One-way ANOVA revealed significant difference (p < 0.05) between the uTAC of the recreational players and the amateur and professional players while there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the uTAC between amateur and professional players. In conclusion, the present study found that the uTAC in professional soccer players changes through the course of the competitive season especially at the start of the early in-season period. Further, this study also found that the uTAC in both amateur and professional was higher than in the recreational soccer players. Further research is required to determine the response of the specific antioxidants to soccer training and performance during the different phases of the season and at different levels of participation.

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.

Obesity has reached global epidemic proportions over the past 10 years. As countries become more affluent, their populations tend to adopt caloric balance problems that have plagued the USA and Western Europe. Obesity is classified as the second most serious reversible health problem, after smoking in the world today. The relationship between obesity and cardiovascular diseases is well documented. The increase in obesity in Asian countries is remarkable. In 2004, the prevalence of obesity in the adult population in Singapore increased upto 16% (high risk category: ≥ 27.5kg/m2) and prompted many forms of government action, encouraging collaboration between businesses, the educational system and non-governmental organizations. This paper reviews the rise of obesity in Singapore and some of the approaches being implemented to address this concern. Singapore, a multiethnic country, with Chinese, Indian and Malay populations, has to address diversity in customs, diet and religions to combat obesity. The collaborative efforts of various organizations such as the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) have successfully improved the health status of Singaporeans. The fact that the rise in obesity in Singapore is lower than in other neighboring Asian countries attests to the partial success of the collaborative efforts.