Johanna Beckmann

University of Basel | UNIBAS · Departement of Sport, Exercise and Health

Childhood undernutrition is a major issue in low-and middle-income countries, affecting the health, well-being, and educational outcomes of schoolchildren. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of stunting, wasting, and underweight among schoolchildren in peri-urban areas in the southeastern part of Tanzania. A cross-sect...

Background/Aim: School-aged children in low- and middle-income countries carry the highest burden of intestinal helminth infections, such as soil-transmitted helminths (STH). STH infections have been associated with negative consequences for child physical and cognitive development and wellbeing. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the ass...

Background: Appropriate availability of macro- and micronutrients has an important impact on cognitive performance, mood and mental health. Although the critical role of nutrition for elite athletes’ performance was recognized early on, little is known about whether consumption of specific macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fat) predict the d...

Abstract Background A balanced nutrition is important for children’s physical and cognitive development; yet, remains a challenge in many parts of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Early detection of nutritional deficiency and metabolic syndrome in school-aged children is necessary to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in later life....

Background: Over the past decades, childhood overweight has increased in many African countries. We examined the relationship between sedentary behaviour, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and body composition in South African primary schoolchildren living in peri-urban settings. Methods: MVPA was measured via 7-day accelerometry and b...

Executive functions (EFs) are essential for optimal academic development. Appropriate nutrition and physical activity (PA) have been shown to facilitate optimal cognitive development. Therefore, this study examined whether a 12-week school-based PA and multi-micronutrient supplementation (MMNS) intervention would improve cognitive and academic perf...

Objectives: Muscular strength represents a specific component of health-related fitness. Hand grip strength (HGS) is used as an indicator for musculoskeletal fitness in children. HGS can also be used as a marker of cardiometabolic risk, but most available HGS data are derived from Western high-income countries. Therefore, this study examines whethe...

Background The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing among African children potentially predisposing them to greater obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adulthood. This risk may be higher among growth-impaired children who may have greater fat mass. Therefore, we examined the effects of school-based physical activity (PA) p...

Being physically active contributes to the development of physical competence and fitness as well as to the child’s cognitive, social and emotional development. Physical Education (PE) plays a crucial role in the holistic education and development of children. Yet, in many schools from marginalised neighbourhoods, PE is not given the recognition an...

Background: Physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are independent cardiovascular risk factors among children, but have rarely been investigated concurrently in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity (PA) and CRF of primary schoolchildren living in Côte d'Ivoire (CI), South Africa (ZA), a...

(1) Background: Early childhood malnutrition may result in increased fat mass (FM) among school-aged children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We explored whether South African children with shorter stature have greater overall and abdominal FM compared to normal stature children. (2) Methods: Baseline assessments of body composition an...

Background: Little is known whether physical activity (PA)-promoting environments are equally accessible to children with divergent socioeconomic status (SES) in low-/middle-income countries. The authors, therefore, examined whether South African children from poorer versus wealthier families living in marginalized communities differed in moderate...

Background Adequate nutrition is essential for good health and active life. However, diets in most low and middle-income households lack diversity, especially in settings where people eat predominantly starchy foods. In this study, we assessed the associations between socio-economic status and household dietary diversity in families living in South...

Background Cardiovascular fitness has been associated with both executive function and academic achievement in multiple cohort studies including children and adolescents. However, research is scarce among children from low- and middle-income countries. Hence, this paper focuses on South African primary schoolchildren living in marginalized areas an...

Childhood stunting can have negative long-term consequences on cognitive development, academic achievement, and economic productivity later in life. We determined the prevalence of stunting and examined whether stunting and associated risk factors (low dietary diversity, insufficient hemoglobin, food insecurity, and soil-transmitted helminth (STH)...

The coexistence of multiple cardiovascular risk factors has been reported in school-aged children from the age of nine years, but most evidence stems from high-income countries. This cross-sectional study aimed at describing the cardiovascular health risk, physical activity (PA) behavior and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels of South African p...

Physical Education (PE) is a part of a balanced holistic curriculum in schools. There is scientific evidence that PE contributes to the healthy development of learners, improves their academic performance and promotes their joy of life in the school setting. The main goals of this project here are closely connected to UNESCO’s sustainable developme...

While neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) do not feature prominently in the burden of disease statistics of South Africa, some NTDs are common in disadvantaged populations, especially in children growing up in poor neighborhoods. Moreover, the general wellbeing of primary schoolchildren from poor neighbourhoods may also be affected by lack of nutrit...

Physical Education (PE) plays a critical role in the education of a child and schools can make a meaningful contribution to the goal of achieving the recommended daily physical activity WHO guidelines by incorporating PE lessons into the school curriculum. The KaziKidz toolkit (with open access on https://kazibantu.org/kazikidz/) is a holistic educ...

Physical Education (PE) plays a critical role in holistic childhood education and development. To be physically active contributes to the development of physical competence and fitness, as well as to the cognitive, social and emotional development of the child. PE plays a critical role in the education of a child, whereas schools can make a meaning...

Background: In low- and middle-income countries, infectious diseases remain a key public health issue. Additionally, non-communicable diseases are a rapidly growing public health problem that impose a considerable burden on population health. One way of addressing this dual disease burden is to incorporate (lifestyle) health promotion measures with...