Sometimes, especially during or soon after treatment, you may not feel like eating. You may be uncomfortable or tired. You may find that foods do not taste as good as they used to. In addition, the side effects of treatment (such as poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, or mouth sores) can make it hard to eat well. Your doctor, dietitian, or other health care provider can suggest ways to deal with these problems. Also, the NCI booklet Eating Hints for Cancer Patients has many useful ideas and recipes.

Nutrition and physical activity

An appeal has been issued to the scientific community to investigate physical, mental and emotional states, and pro-social behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, this study aims to investigate adolescents’ self-concept before and during a lockdown period in relation to gender and type/amount of physical activity or sports. The pre-lockdown sample of 366 adolescents were aged 13–17 years (M = 15.51 ± 0.65), of whom 192 (52.5%) were females and 174 (47.5%) were males. During the lockdown, the age range of the sample was 13–17 years (M = 14.57 ± 1.47), of whom 82 (60.3%) were females, and 54 (39.7%) were males. The Form-5 Self-concept Questionnaire (AF-5) was used to measure adolescents’ self-concept. There was a reduction in adolescents’ overall self-concept during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was positively associated with emotional well-being, with family and peers being essential factors in the development of an appropriate self-concept. Furthermore, girls’ self-concept, especially academic self-concept, was higher than that of boys during the lockdown. However, both physical and emotional self-concept were higher for boys than girls before the COVID-19 lockdown, although no differences were found during the lockdown. The findings reveal that physical activity was positively correlated to self-concept before and during the COVID-19 lockdown.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/18/7792/pdf

Analysis of Self-Concept in Adolescents before and during COVID-19 Lockdown: Differences by Gender and Sports Activity

Lifespan is increasing globally as never before, and leading to an aging world population. Thus, the challenge for society and individuals is now how to live these years in the best possible health and wellbeing. Despite the benefits of physical activity for both are well documented, older people are not active enough. Physical self-concept is correlated with high levels of sports practice, although its evolution across one’s life span is not clear. The aim of this research has been to analyze the physical self-concept in older adults and its relationship with emotional intelligence, motivation and sports habits. The sample of 520 adults aged between 41 and 80 was clustered in ranges of age; 70.96% were men (n = 369; 57.34 years (SD: 7.97)) and 29.04% women (n = 151; age = 55.56 years (SD: 9.12)). Questionnaires adapted to Spanish were used to measure physical self-concept (Physical Self-Perception Profile), motivation (Sport Motivation Scale), and emotional intelligence (Trait Meta-Mood Scale). Regarding physical self-concept, the youngest group obtained the highest mean values and the oldest group the lowest. Physical self-concept correlated positively with emotional regulation and intrinsic motivation. Initiation to sports in childhood, the practice of sports activities for more than 150’ per week, and the practice of three or more sports, were associated with a higher score of physical self-concept. The findings reveal that physical self-concept declines in older adults, slightly at first, and sharply between 71 and 80 years, being intrinsic motivation, emotional regulation, and sports habits, factors to consider in favoring a positive physical self-concept and adherence to sporting activities.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1711/pdf

Physical Self-Concept Changes in Adults and Older Adults: Influence of Emotional Intelligence, Intrinsic Motivation and Sports Habits.

The COVID-19 lockdown has negatively affected individuals’ welfare. However, there has been no research published heretofore about the levels of self-concept (SC) in adolescents, nor how having practised martial arts (MA) or any physical activity (PA) before the lockdown may have influenced the SC in that time. Hence, this study aimed to analyze some demographic, physical, and psychosocial parameters in Spanish adolescents throughout the COVID-19 quarantine through a cross-sectional investigation, establishing correlations among these factors. Methods: The present study had a descriptive, comparative, and cross-sectional design. The sample comprised of 54 (39.7%) male and 82 (60.3%) female Spanish adolescents aged 12–18 (M = 14.49; SD = 1.80). An ad-hoc questionnaire collected sociodemographic data; the self-concept Form 5 (AF5) questionnaire obtained data on SC dimensions. Results: There were some differences among the SC dimensions, with family and academic dimensions having higher values than the physical and emotional ones. Females’ academic SC was higher than that of males (p = 0.019). The practice of PA before the lockdown was positively associated with physical (p 0.050). Conclusions: the findings suggest that the COVID-19 lockdown negatively affected Spanish adolescents by decreasing their total SC and some dimensions of it, although PA may buffer psychological harmfulness in adolescents.

/pdf/cross-sectional-study-of-self-concept-and-gender-in-relation-50a0o3400w.pdf

Cross-sectional study of self-concept and gender in relation to physical activity and martial arts in Spanish adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown

Based on the Cumulative Risk Model, a single risk factor cannot play a decisive role, but the cumulative ecological risks may have complex superposition effects on adolescents' problem behaviors. However, although many studies have investigated the specific influences of single external risk factors on problem behaviors, the effect of cumulative ecological risk on problem behaviors and especially the underlying mechanisms therein have been under-investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the effect of cumulative ecological risk on adolescents' problem behaviors, and the mediating effects of core self-evaluation and basic psychological needs satisfaction therein. To achieve this, 1,080 adolescents in secondary vocational schools were surveyed with the questionnaires of cumulative ecological risk, basic psychological need satisfaction, core self-evaluation, externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. Results showed that: (a) cumulative ecological risk was positively related with both internalizing problem behavior and externalizing problem behavior; (b) core self-evaluation and basic psychological need satisfaction not only respectively but also sequentially mediated the relationship between cumulative ecological risk and two sorts of problem behaviors. These results provide some pivotal implications for the precaution and intervention of the adolescent problem behaviors.

/pdf/cumulative-ecological-risk-and-problem-behaviors-among-5bn19ju2sh.pdf

Cumulative Ecological Risk and Problem Behaviors Among Adolescents in Secondary Vocational Schools: The Mediating Roles of Core Self-Evaluation and Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction

The contribution of this research lies in its dual approach to the question of physical activity (PA) among adolescents, combining objective measurement of PA by teenagers and a comparison of psychological satisfaction through physical activities involving differing degrees of autonomy (i.e., organized or unstructured). Using the conceptual framework of Self-Determination Theory, the analysis also examines the relationship between levels of PA among adolescents and physical self-concept and satisfaction of basic psychological needs during exercise. The study surveyed 129 first-year higher secondary education students from schools in the city of A Coruna. Satisfaction of basic psychological needs during organized and unstructured physical activities was measured using the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale. PA levels were assessed based on step count per day for a week as measured by an accelerometer. The results show that the daily step average recorded by students (7,400) is below the minimum recommended levels of PA for this age group, that students are more active on weekdays than at the weekend, and that there is no significant difference in PA levels between male and female subjects (T = 0.23, p 0.05, η2 = 0.08, observed power = 0.66). Basic psychological needs show significant positive interrelation between them and a significant positive relationship between them and physical self-concept, as expected based on previous literature.

/pdf/basic-psychological-needs-physical-self-concept-and-physical-598svu4wjq.pdf

Basic Psychological Needs, Physical Self-Concept, and Physical Activity Among Adolescents: Autonomy in Focus.

This article examines the impact of gender and family educational background on the leisure satisfaction of Spanish secondary school-age students (12-16 years). The research design consisted of a q...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02673843.2021.1970595

The influence of gender and family educational background on leisure satisfaction among Spanish adolescents

Introduction: The effect of school day is a major factor in everyday rhythms during childhood and adolescence. The relevance of Physical Activity (PA) in school-aged children raises the need to: (a) analyse whether Primary School pupils achieve the recommended levels of daily PA; (b) find out the impact of school day and, specifically, Physical Education (PE) classes on levels of PA compared to weekends; and (c) explore the differences according to sex in daily PA at these ages. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out, using a sample of 126 participants (aged 10.2±0.48 years; 51.6% girls, 48.4% boys) from primary schools. Data on the steps taken by pupils during a week were recorded with an ADXK362 three-axis accelerometer integrated into a wristband. Descriptive (means and standard deviation) and inferential analyses (Student’s T-Test) were performed, assuming a 95% confidence interval (p<0.05). The magnitude of the difference was quantified with power (1-β), α=0.05 (bilateral). Results: The average of steps was lower than the minimum recommended, revealing a weekly pattern in which, the most active children were so throughout the week and vice versa. Significant variations were found depending on the days of the week (r=0.40, p<0.001, d= 0.63) or whether they had PE classes (r=0.65, p<0.001, d= 0.79). School day contributed significantly to greater activity and families were less physically active on weekends (t=6.62, p<0.001, d=0.70). Girls had a lower level of PA than boys, and more difficulty reaching the recommended levels of daily PA (t=-4.05, p<0.001, d=0.96), except on weekends. Conclusion: Pupils do not reach the minimum recommended daily steps for their age, with a well-established gender gap in favour of boys. School day (especially when PE is taught) increases their daily PA more than at weekends.

Miriam Carretero-García

Papers

Basic Psychological Needs, Physical Self-Concept, and Physical Activity Among Adolescents: Autonomy in Focus.

The influence of gender and family educational background on leisure satisfaction among Spanish adolescents

Promoting active lifestyles in schools. Effect of school day on daily physical activity levels