An 11-week school-based “health education through football” programme improves musculoskeletal variables in 10–12-yr-old Danish school children
Malte Nejst Larsen,
Alessia Terracciano,
Trine Kjeldgaard Møller,
Charlotte Sandager Aggestrup,
Pasqualina Buono,
Peter Krustrup,
Carlo Castagna
Affiliations
Malte Nejst Larsen
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Corresponding author at: Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark.
Alessia Terracciano
Department of Human Movement Sciences and Wellbeing DISMeB, Parthenope University, Naples, Italy; CEINGE-biotecnologie avanzate “Franco Salvatore” s.r.l., Napoli, Italy
Trine Kjeldgaard Møller
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Charlotte Sandager Aggestrup
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Pasqualina Buono
Department of Human Movement Sciences and Wellbeing DISMeB, Parthenope University, Naples, Italy; CEINGE-biotecnologie avanzate “Franco Salvatore” s.r.l., Napoli, Italy
Peter Krustrup
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Sport and Health Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom; Department of Physical Education and Sports Training, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai (SUS), China; Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark
Carlo Castagna
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Fitness Training and Biomechanics Laboratory, Italian Football Federation, Technical Department, Coverciano (Florence), Italy; Department of Biomolecular Sciences, School of Exercise and Health Sciences, Carlo Bo Urbino University, Urbino, Italy
Purpose: To investigate the effects of the “11 for Health” programme on musculoskeletal fitness. Methods: A total of 108 Danish children aged 10–12 years participated in the study, with 61 children in the intervention group (IG, 25 girls and 36 boys) and 47 children in the control group (CG, 21 girls and 26 boys). Measurements were conducted before and after an 11-week intervention consisting of twice-weekly 45-min football training sessions for IG or continuation of normal Physical Education program for CG. Whole-body dual X-ray absorptiometry was conducted for evaluation of leg and total bone mineral density as well as bone, muscle and fat mass. Standing Long Jump and Stork balance tests were employed to assess musculoskeletal fitness and postural balance. Results: During the 11-week study period, leg bone mineral density as well as leg lean body mass increased more (p < 0.05) in the intervention group (IG) compared to the control group (CG) (0.021 ± 0.019 vs 0.014 ± 0.018 g/cm2 and 0.51 ± 0.46 vs 0.32 ± 0.35 kg, respectively). Moreover, body fat percentage decreased more in IG than in CG (−0.6 ± 0.1 vs 0.1 ± 0.1 %-points, p < 0.05). No significant between-group differences were found in bone mineral content. Stork balance test performance increased more in IG than in CG (0.5 ± 2.6 vs −1.5 ± 4.4 s, p < 0.05), whereas no between-group differences were found in jump performance. Conclusions: The school-based football programme, 11 for Health, with twice-weekly 45-min training sessions over 11 weeks improves various, but not all evaluated parameters related to musculoskeletal fitness in 10–12-yr-old Danish school children.
