Abstract Aim: To compare muscular and cardiorespiratory parameters between Brazilian professional futsal athletes from different competitive levels (national versus regional). A secondary aim was to explore the correlation of physical fitness variables between both competitive levels. Methods: Twenty-two futsal players (24.7 ± 3.7 years), 11 from a regional team and 11 from a national team, were evaluated with countermovement jump test (lower limbs muscle power), square test (the speed with change direction), RSSA (anaerobic power), and YOYOIR1 (aerobic power). Tests were performed in the middle of the season for both teams. Results: The speed with change direction (p = 0.001) and mean anaerobic power (p = 0.04) were higher for national than the regional players. Sprint performance decreased similarly for national and regional level players (p < 0.001), but the latter had poorer performance (p = 0.044). From the fourth sprint on, sprints for the national level players were slower than the first three, while for the regional level players, each sprint speed was slower than the subsequent. A significant correlation was found between anaerobic power with jump height (r = −0.50; p = 0.01), speed with change direction (r=0.65; p = 0.001) and distance covered in the YOYOIR1 (r = −0.54; p = 0.01). Conclusion: National-level athletes were more agile and presented a higher mean anaerobic power than regional ones. Moreover, national-level athletes presented better performance along with repeated sprint tests, maintaining this performance for a longer time during the test.

Abstract This study aimed to describe the effects of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health, chronic disease management, and economic situation in adults from a southern Brazilian state. Data from the baseline of the PAMPA (Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health) cohort, a population-based, longitudinal study is presented. An online-based questionnaire was used to assess the variables pre- and during social distancing. Most of the respondents (N=2,321) were women (76.7%), white (90.6%), had at least university degree (66.7%), and were overweight or obese (53.3%). Nearly 40% were not able to work from home and 45.3% had monthly income reduced during social distancing. Moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression and anxiety increased 7.3x and 8.4x from before to during social distancing. Three quarters reported low back pain (74.2%; 95%CI: 71.9%, 76.3%) during the same period while the prevalence of physical inactivity increased 31.2%. Managing chronic conditions was harder during social distancing for 28.5% of the participants. Roughly 40% reported that did not seek medical assistance even when necessary during this period. COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the health of adults from a southern Brazilian state in several aspects.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact in several areas, and in scientific research was not different. Researchers are working from their homes since research facilities and universities were closed, and face-to-face interaction where limited to stop the virus spread. This brought a lot of changes in observational studies, especially in epidemiology research. Since most studies are being conducted through internet-based assessments, researchers are facing different challenges regarding data collection and participants recruitment, for example. In this paper, we share some of the challenges faced in a population-based study conducted in Southern Brazil, as well as possible alternatives to help researchers to overcome these issues.

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a concordância entre diferentes formas de se estimar o nível de atividade física de adolescentes. Um questionário foi aplicado aos pais e outros dois aos adolescentes. O estudo foi transversal aninhado ao acompanhamento de 2004-2005 da coorte de nascimentos de 1993 em Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Pais ou responsáveis responderam à questão: "Comparando com a maioria das crianças da mesma idade, o(a) Sr(a). diria que o seu filho faz mais exercícios que elas, menos exercícios que elas ou a mesma quantidade que elas?". Questão análoga foi aplicada aos adolescentes. Os adolescentes também responderam a um questionário mais detalhado sobre a prática de atividades físicas. A concordância entre os questionários foi avaliada pelo teste kappa ponderado. Um total de 4.254 adolescentes e responsáveis responderam aos questionários. Os valores de kappa indicaram concordância baixa para quaisquer das comparações (kappa < 0,33 para todas as análises). A mensuração de atividade física em adolescentes é complexa e os instrumentos disponíveis devem ser validados antes do uso.

The aim of this study was to verify the agreement between different approaches for estimating levels of physical activity in adolescents. One questionnaire was administered to parents and two were administered to the adolescents. This was a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in the 2004-2005 follow-up of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study. Parents or guardians answered the following question: "Compared to most children the same age, would you say that your child exercises more, less, or the same amount?" A similar question was addressed to adolescents, as was a detailed questionnaire on physical activity. Agreement between the questionnaires was measured by the weighted kappa statistic. A total of 4,254 adolescents and parents/guardians answered the questionnaires. Kappa values indicated low agreement for all comparisons (kappa < 0.33 for all analyses). Measurement of physical activity in adolescents is complex, and available instruments should be validated prior to their use.

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a concordância entre diferentes formas de se estimar o nível de atividade física de adolescentes. Um questionário foi aplicado aos pais e outros dois aos adolescentes. O estudo foi transversal aninhado ao acompanhamento de 2004-2005 da coorte de nascimentos de 1993 em Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Pais ou responsáveis responderam à questão: "Comparando com a maioria das crianças da mesma idade, o(a) Sr(a). diria que o seu filho faz mais exercícios que elas, menos exercícios que elas ou a mesma quantidade que elas?". Questão análoga foi aplicada aos adolescentes. Os adolescentes também responderam a um questionário mais detalhado sobre a prática de atividades físicas. A concordância entre os questionários foi avaliada pelo teste kappa ponderado. Um total de 4.254 adolescentes e responsáveis responderam aos questionários. Os valores de kappa indicaram concordância baixa para quaisquer das comparações (kappa < 0,33 para todas as análises). A mensuração de atividade física em adolescentes é complexa e os instrumentos disponíveis devem ser validados antes do uso.

The aim of this study was to verify the agreement between different approaches for estimating levels of physical activity in adolescents. One questionnaire was administered to parents and two were administered to the adolescents. This was a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in the 2004-2005 follow-up of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study. Parents or guardians answered the following question: "Compared to most children the same age, would you say that your child exercises more, less, or the same amount?" A similar question was addressed to adolescents, as was a detailed questionnaire on physical activity. Agreement between the questionnaires was measured by the weighted kappa statistic. A total of 4,254 adolescents and parents/guardians answered the questionnaires. Kappa values indicated low agreement for all comparisons (kappa < 0.33 for all analyses). Measurement of physical activity in adolescents is complex, and available instruments should be validated prior to their use.