Suchergebnisse

Purpose. To examine whether the stages of change of exercise adoption appropriately address strenuous, moderate, and mild intensities of physical activity. Design and Setting. Secondary analysis of four data sets investigating transtheoretical model (TTM) constructs for exercise adoption. Subjects. Four samples of differing age groups (adolescents, n = 400; college students, n = 240; adults, n = 346; seniors, n = 504). Measures. Stage of change algorithm for exercise adoption and self-reported physical activity. Results. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) results showed that stages of change were distinguished by strenuous and moderate but not mild exercise in the adolescent, college student, and adult sample. In the senior sample, stage differences were found in the frequency of exercising (equivalent for moderate to strenuous exercise) and the frequency of walking (equivalent for mild exercise). Bivariate correlation coefficients as well as sensitivity, specificity, and related quality indices decreased respectively from strenuous to moderate to mild exercise and from exercising to walking. Conclusions. Results provide additional support for the construct validity of the stages of change for strenuous and moderate intensities of physical activity. Development of a new stage assessment instrument for mild intensities of physical activity is recommended. Limitations include use of a different validation measure of exercise behavior in the senior sample.

Purpose.To identify impact of an online nutrition and physical activity program for college students.Design.Randomized, controlled trial using online questionnaires and on-site physical and fitness assessments with measurement intervals of 0 (baseline), 3 (postintervention), and 15 months (follow-up).Setting.Online intervention delivered to college students; a centralized Web site was used for recruitment, data collection, data management, and intervention delivery.Subjects.College students (18–24 years old, n = 1689), from eight universities (Michigan State University, South Dakota State University, Syracuse University, The Pennsylvania State University, Tuskegee University, University of Rhode Island, University of Maine, and University of Wisconsin).Intervention.A 10-lesson curriculum focusing on healthful eating and physical activity, stressing nondieting principles such as size acceptance and eating competence (software developer: Rainstorm, Inc, Orono, Maine).Measures.Measurements included anthropometrics, cardiorespiratory fitness, fruit/vegetable (FV) intake, eating competence, physical activity, and psychosocial stress.Analysis.Repeated measures analysis of variance for outcome variables.Results.Most subjects were white, undergraduate females (63%), with 25% either overweight or obese. Treatment group completion rate for the curriculum was 84%. Over 15 months, the treatment group had significantly higher FV intake (+.5 cups/d) and physical activity participation (+270 metabolic equivalent minutes per week) than controls. For both groups, anthropometric values and stress increased, and fitness levels decreased. Gender differences were present for most variables. First-year males and females gained more weight than participants in other school years.Conclusion.A 10-week online nutrition and physical activity intervention to encourage competence in making healthful food and eating decisions had a positive, lasting effect on FV intake and maintained baseline levels of physical activity in a population that otherwise experiences significant declines in these healthful behaviors.