The overall goal of the HAY (Healthy Active Youth) project is to collect medical and psychological data and to evaluate health promoting concepts of different countries.
Specifically, this study will:
1. Provide policy makers with information regarding the inter-relationships between physical activity, fitness and health in European and other nations' children.
2. Establish normative values of fitness, physical activity and health measures in
children by country and geographical region.
3. Develop a novel educational tool to address the topic of health, fitness
and well-being.
4. Develop further an activity tracking electronic tool with central data processing.
Another major aim of the HAY project is to promote young scientists/post graduate students in their career by attending a high quality, interdisciplinary scientific education which will lead to a PhD and MD respectively. Therefore, an international network of WFR Centres of Research Excellence was established – consisting of different health-related subjects, eg paediatrics, sports medicine, exercise physiology, coaching science, prevention and rehabilitation, psychology and nutrition science.
In the second step an international study will be undertaken, involving England, Scotland, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Brazil and the United States of America. Furthermore, a permanent collaborative research and science educational system is to be initiated on the basis of the above-mentioned network. Regarding the scientific originality of the HAY project, recent single country pilot studies have revealed an association between physical activity and health outcomes in children. However, this data is not representative. This is partially due to methodological and conceptual considerations. To date, no European collaborative work has been conducted to investigate these relationships in youth. We therefore wish to investigate the inter-relationship of physical activity, fitness, health and academic performance in youth (aged 10-18) in a cross-sectional study.
Laboratory measures will be used alongside more traditional field motor tests. The laboratory tests will enable our scientists to validate and more precisely define the fitness and health attributes of children. Additionally, the development and refinement of adequate and economic field motor tests will be possible, which could be used subsequently in schools across Europe and other participating nations. Measures will include anthropometry, resting heart rate, blood pressure, lung function, hormonal assays, cardio-respiratory performance, blood lipids, strength, motor skills and a psychological profile, eg stress coping ability, aggression etc. These tests will be performed in each country to determine national norms and international trends.
The WRIGHT Foundation Research international collaborative network has extensive experience in testing motor capacities of children. Existing instrumentation will be refined in collaboration with a technology and engineering company to develop a European standard of testing equipment. The outcomes of this unique study will help to revise health and education policies in European member countries and possibly initiate the introduction of an optimised movement-centred health promoting concept to be realised in all school systems including internationally. On the basis of this proposal we therefore look to lifting the HAY pilot project to a higher International level by initiating a cross-sectional and longitudinal follow-up study. This would offer young scientists of the future career perspectives and would bring about synergy effects in all countries involved.