Manuela Costa

Manuela Costa serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport at Lusófona University of Porto since 2019, with concurrent Invited Professor positions at the Higher Institute of Educational Sciences of Douro and Invited Adjunct Professor role at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto's School of Education since 2020.

Her academic credentials include a PhD in Physical Activity and Health (2018), Master's in Teaching Physical Education (2010), and Bachelor's in Sport Sciences (2009), all from the University of Porto's Faculty of Sport.

Dr. Costa's research program investigates physical activity dynamics within school settings, with particular emphasis on how physical education classes contribute to adolescents' daily physical activity requirements. Her work examines cardiorespiratory fitness correlations with academic performance, gender-specific exercise preferences in gym contexts, and BMI influences on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels during classes. She employs objective measurement tools like accelerometry to assess activity patterns in Portuguese youth populations.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2015-2024) reveals consistent focus on school-based interventions, with increasing attention to class duration effects on activity outcomes and gender differences in exercise tolerance. Her work bridges sports science, public health, and educational policy through empirical studies conducted in Porto-area schools.

She secured a doctoral research grant (SFRH/BD/79980/2011) from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (2012-2016) to investigate determinants of physical activity intensity in physical education classes, demonstrating sustained research productivity through 28 documented works including peer-reviewed articles and conference presentations.