Search

Empirical evidence shows that physical behavior positively impacts human health. Recently, researchers have started to differentiate between physical activity and sedentary behavior showing independent effects on somatic health. However, whether this differentiation is also relevant for mood dimensions is largely unknown. For investigating the dynamic relationships between sedentary behavior and mood dimensions in daily life, ambulatory assessment (AA) has become the state‐of‐the‐art methodology. To investigate whether sedentary behaviors influence mood dimensions, we conducted an AA study in the everyday life of 92 university employees over 5 days. We continuously measured sedentary behavior via accelerometers and assessed mood repeatedly 10 times each day on smartphone diaries. To optimize our sampling strategy, we used a sophisticated sedentary‐triggered algorithm. We employed multilevel modeling to analyze the within‐subject effects of sedentary behavior on mood. Sedentary time (15‐minute intervals prior to each e‐diary assessment) and sedentary bouts (30‐minute intervals of uninterrupted sedentary behavior) negatively influenced valence and energetic arousal (all Ps < 0.015). In particular, the more participants were sedentary in their everyday life, the less they felt well and energized. Exploratory analyses of the temporal course of these effects supported our findings. Sedentary behavior can be seen as a general risk factor because it impacts both somatic and mental health. Most importantly, physical activity and sedentary behavior showed independent effects on mood dimensions. Accordingly, future studies should consider the two sides of the physical behavior coin: How should physical activity be promoted? and How can sedentary behavior be reduced? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine whether a gender-tailored weight loss maintenance (WLM) program could reduce men's weight regain following weight loss.Methods: Ninety-two men who lost at least 4 kg during a 3-month weight loss phase were randomized to receive: (i) a 6-month WLM program (WL + WLM; n = 47) or (ii) no resources (WL-only; n = 45). The WLM program included written materials and messages (SMS, video email) plus other resources (e.g., pedometer, Gymstick™). The primary outcome was weight change in the first year post-randomization. Participants were assessed at "-3 months" (preweight loss), "0 months" (randomization into the WLM Phase), "6 months," "1 year," and "3 years."Results: Before randomization, participants lost a mean (SD) of 7.3 kg (2.5). Retention was 83% at 6 months and 1 year and 71% at 3 years. Intention-to-treat analysis detected a significant group × time difference in weight regain favoring the intervention group at 6 months (-1.9 kg, 95% CI -3.7 to -0.1) but not at 1- or 3-year follow-up. Three years after completing the original weight loss program the WL-only and WL + WLM groups had maintained 59% and 51% of their initial weight loss, respectively.Conclusions: Men with overweight/obesity demonstrated clinically meaningful WLM 3 years after successfully losing weight. An additional WLM program contributed to enhanced WLM effects in the short term only. (ACTRN12612000749808). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the effect of a gender-tailored, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)-based weight loss maintenance (WLM) intervention on men's physical activity and healthy eating cognitions and behaviours in the 12 months after completing a weight loss programme.Design: A two-phase, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial.Methods: Ninety-two overweight/obese men (mean [SD] age: 49.2 years [10.1], BMI: 30.7 [3.3] kg/m(2) ) who lost at least 4 kg after completing the 3-month SCT-based SHED-IT Weight Loss Program were randomly allocated to receive (1) the SCT-based SHED-IT WLM Program; or (2) no additional resources (self-help control group). The 6-month gender-tailored SHED-IT WLM Program was completely self-administered and operationalized SCT behaviour change principles to assist men to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and decrease energy-dense, nutrient-poor (discretionary) food consumption after initial weight loss. After randomization (WLM baseline), men were reassessed at 6 months (WLM post-test) and 12 months (6-month WLM follow-up). SCT cognitions (e.g., self-efficacy, goal setting), MVPA, and discretionary food consumption were assessed with validated measures.Results: Following significant improvements in cognitions, MVPA and discretionary food consumption during the weight loss phase, intention-to-treat, linear mixed models revealed no significant group-by-time differences in cognitions or behaviours during the WLM phase. Initial improvements in MVPA and some cognitions (e.g., goal setting, planning, and social support) were largely maintained by both groups at the end of the study. Dietary effects were not as strongly maintained, with the intervention and control groups maintaining 57% and 75% of the Phase I improvements in discretionary food intake, respectively.Conclusions: An additional SCT-based WLM programme did not elicit further improvements over a self-help control in the cognitions or behaviours for MVPA or discretionary food intake of men who had lost weight with a SCT-based weight loss programme. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject?Weight regain after weight loss (WL) is common. As successful weight loss maintenance (WLM) requires sustained improvements in cognitions and behaviours, health psychology can contribute to intervention development. However, little research has examined the utility of psychological theory in the context of a WLM randomised controlled trial. What does this study add? A theory-based WL program improved men's physical activity and dietary behaviours and cognitions. Men who also received a theory-based WLM program did not show further improvements in physical activity or dietary cognitions and behaviours compared to those that did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented which discusses a pilot study on the efficacy of behavior change intervention and supervised physical activity (PA) program in kidney cancer survivors.

Aims The aim of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of an adolescent single-item physical activity measure by comparing it with the existing Oxford Physical Activity Questionnaire ( OPAQ) and accelerometer output. Methods Participants were 123 adolescents (14.7 ± 0.5 years) from three secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia. To determine reliability, participants completed both questionnaires on two occasions separated by 2 weeks. To assess validity, participants wore Actigraph GT3 X+ accelerometers for a 7-day monitoring period and completed both physical activity questionnaires. Bivariate correlations between self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ( MVPA) and accelerometer MVPA min/day were calculated. Results The single-item (intra-class correlation coefficient ( ICC) = 0.75, 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 0.64-0.83, P < 0.001) ) and the OPAQ ( ICC = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.69-0.86, P < 0.001) were both found to have moderate-to-strong reliability. Correlations between self-reported and objectively measured MVPA were similar for the single-item measure ( r = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.24-0.63, P < 0.001) and the OPAQ ( r = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.30-0.65, P < 0.001). Conclusions These findings suggest the single-item measure can provide a reliable and valid assessment of youth physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Participation in physical activity can improve the health outcomes of breast cancer survivors. To impact public health, broad-reaching sustainable interventions that promote physical activity are needed. Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of two distance-based interventions for promoting physical activity among breast cancer survivors compared with a standard recommendation control. Methods: Breast cancer survivors who had finished 'active' cancer treatment were eligible to participate. Participants (n = 330) were randomly assigned to receive one of the following maildelivered interventions: three computer-tailored newsletters, a previously developed breast cancerspecific physical activity booklet or a pamphlet detailing the public health recommendations for physical activity (control). Primary outcomes were self-reported moderate to vigorous aerobic activity and participant's self-reported resistance training activity at 4 months post-baseline. Secondary outcomes were pedometer step counts, whether or not participants were meeting the physical activity guidelines, time spent in sedentary behaviour, fatigue and health-related quality of life. Results: Participants randomised into the tailored-print intervention group were three times more likely to commence resistance training and meet the resistance-training guidelines immediately after the intervention than participants allocated to the control group. There were no other significant intervention effects. Conclusion: Computer-tailored newsletters may be an effective strategy for enhancing resistancebased physical activity among breast cancer survivors. The null findings relating to other outcomes may be due to ceiling effects (in the case of aerobic activity, fatigue and health-related quality of life) or the sensitivity of the measure used (in the case of sitting time). These issues require further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The aim of this analysis is to establish if dietitians have the knowledge, skills and attitude to provide support to other health professional ( HP) groups in the provision of weight management advice to overweight/obese patients. Methods A secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey of HPs was undertaken to perform a gap analysis with regard to practices, knowledge, confidence and attitudes in the provision of weight management advice. Survey responses and additional measures (practice, knowledge, confidence and attitude scores) were compared between dietitians and other HPs. Descriptive statistics were undertaken, and differences between group χ2 tests were performed for nominal data and the Wilcoxon rank sum test for ordinal and non-parametric data. Results About 100% of dietitians had received initial weight management training and 85% had participated in professional development training, compared with 18 and 19% of HPs, respectively, although 70% believed it was within their scope of practice to provide evidence-based advice. Dietitian respondents achieved a higher median score (maximum 10) in the following areas (practice = 6.5, knowledge = 8.0, confidence = 8.3) when compared with HP respondents (practice = 4.2, knowledge = 7.0, confidence = 5.4). The median attitude score for both groups was 6.0. Conclusions HPs are receptive to providing evidence-based weight loss messages to overweight/obese clients in their current practice. However, weight management training is required to enhance HPs' knowledge and skills in order to increase confidence and improve practice skills. Dietitians can assist HPs to ensure that clear, consistent, evidence-based messages are delivered to overweight clients throughout the health-care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Theory-based interventions to promote physical activity ( PA) are more effective than atheoretical approaches; however, the comparative utility of theoretical models is rarely tested in longitudinal designs with multiple time points. Further, there is limited research that has simultaneously tested social-cognitive models with self-report and objective PA measures. The primary aim of this study was to test the predictive ability of three theoretical models (social cognitive theory, theory of planned behaviour, and protection motivation theory) in explaining PA behaviour. Methods Participants were adults with type 2 diabetes ( n = 287, 53.8% males, mean age = 61.6 ± 11.8 years). Theoretical constructs across the three theories were tested to prospectively predict PA behaviour (objective and self-report) across three 6-month time intervals (baseline-6, 6-12, 12-18 months) using structural equation modelling. PA outcomes were steps/3 days (objective) and minutes of MET-weighted PA/week (self-report). Results The mean proportion of variance in PA explained by these models was 6.5% for objective PA and 8.8% for self-report PA. Direct pathways to PA outcomes were stronger for self-report compared with objective PA. Conclusions These theories explained a small proportion of the variance in longitudinal PA studies. Theory development to guide interventions for increasing and maintaining PA in adults with type 2 diabetes requires further research with objective measures. Theory integration across social-cognitive models and the inclusion of ecological levels are recommended to further explain PA behaviour change in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To investigate the utility of the protection motivation theory (PMT) for explaining physical activity (PA) in an adult population with type I diabetes (TID) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Design. Cross-sectional and 6-month longitudinal analysis using PMT. Methods. Two thousand three hundred and eleven individuals with TI D (N = 697) and T2D (N = 1,614) completed self-report PMT constructs of vulnerability, severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and intention, and PA behaviour at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Multi-group structural equation modelling was conducted to: (I) test the fit of the PMT structure; (2) determine the similarities and differences in the PMT structure between the two types of diabetes; and (3) examine the explained variance and compare the strength of association of the PMT constructs in predicting PA intention and behaviour. Results. The findings provide evidence for the utility of the PMT in both diabetes samples (χ2/df = 1.27 - 4.08, RMSEA = .02-.05). Self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of intention (β = 0.64-0.68) than response efficacy (β = 0.14-0.16) in individuals with TI D or T2D. Severity was significantly related to intention (13 = 0.06) in T2D individuals only, whereas vulnerability was not significantly related to intention or PA behaviour. Self-efficacy (β's = 0.20-0.28) and intention (β's = 0.12-0.30) were significantly associated with PA behaviour. Conclusions. Promotion of PA behaviour should primarily target self-efficacy to form intentions and to change behaviour. In addition, for individuals with T2D, severity information should be incorporated into PA intervention materials in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Two different theories of health behaviour have been chosen with the aim of theory integration: a continuous theory (protection motivation theory, PMT) and a stage model (transtheoretical model, TTM). This is the first study to test whether the stages of the TTM moderate the interrelation of PMT-variables and the mediation of motivation, as well as PMT-variables' interactions in predicting stage transitions. Design. Hypotheses were tested regarding (1) mean patterns, stage pair-comparisons and nonlinear trends using ANOVAs; (2) prediction-patterns for the different stage groups employing multi-group structural equation modelling (MSEM) and nested model analyses; and (3) stage transitions using binary logistic regression analyses. Method. Adults (N = 1,602) were assessed over a 6 month period on their physical activity stages, PMT-variables and subsequent behaviour. Results. (1) Particular mean differences and nonlinear trends in all test variables were found. (2) The PMT adequately fitted the five stage groups. The MSEM revealed that covariances within threat appraisal and coping appraisal were invariant and all other constrains were stage-specific, i.e. stage was a moderator. Except for self-efficacy, motivation fully mediated the relationship between the social-cognitive variables and behaviour. (3) Predicting stage transitions with the PMT-variables underscored the importance of self-efficacy. Only when threat appraisal and coping appraisal were high, stage movement was more likely in the preparation stage. Conclusions. Results emphasize stage-specific differences of the PMT mechanisms, and hence, support the stage construct. The findings may guide further theory building and research integrating different theoretical approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to test the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; Bandura, 2004 ) for explaining physical activity (PA) in a large population sample of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Study objectives: (1) test the fit of the SCT structure in the total sample, and the diabetes sub-types; (2) determine the SCT structural invariance between the type 1 and type 2 groups; and (3) report explained variance and compare strength of association for the SCT constructs in predicting PA for both type 1 and type 2 groups. In all, 2,311 individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes were assessed on their self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, impediments, social support, goals, and physical activity at baseline and 1,717 (74.5%) completed these assessments again at 6 months. Multi-group Structural Equation Modeling was conducted. The findings provide evidence for the utility of the SCT in the diabetes samples. The SCT fits individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes except for SCT impediments, which appear to be obstructing goal-setting in individuals with type 2 diabetes only. Promotion of health behavior should target self-efficacy to set goals and change behavior. Outcome expectancies and social support are also important factors for setting goals and behavior performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the benefits of physical activity (PA), a significant proportion of youth remains inactive. Studies assessing differences in the correlates of PA among urban and rural youth are scarce, and such investigations can help identify subgroups of the population that may need to be targeted for special intervention programs. The purpose of this study was to assess differences in the correlates of PA between Canadian urban and rural youth. Methods: The sample consisted of 1398 adolescents from 4 urban schools and 1290 adolescents from 4 rural schools. Mean age of the participants was 15. 6 ± 1. 3 years. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the association between self-reported PA and a number of demographic, psychological, behavioral, and social correlates. Results: Common correlates between the 2 locations included gender (with girls being less active than boys) perceptions of athletic/physical ability, self-efficacy, interest in organized group activities, use of recreation time, and friends’ and siblings’ frequency of participation in PA. Active commuting to school and taking a physical education class were unique correlates of PA at the multivariate level in urban and rural students, respectively. Variance explained in PA ranged from 43% for urban school students to 38% for rural school students. Conclusions: Although more similarities than discrepancies were found in the correlates of PA between the 2 geographical locations, findings from this study strengthen the policies that argue for a coordinated multisector approach to the promotion of PA in youth, which include the family, school, and community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To predict exercise stage transitions over two consecutive 6-month periods using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). It was hypothesized that different social cognitive constructs would predict different stage transitions. Design. Prospective and longitudinal in order to predict multiple stage transitions over time. Assessments were made at baseline, 6 months and 1 year. Method. Participants were a randomly selected population-based sample of 683 adults who completed two telephone interviews (baseline and 6 months) that assessed exercise stage, intention, perceived behavioural control, attitude, subjective norm, and social support, and a mailed survey (1 year) that assessed exercise stage. Results. Progression from pre-contemplation was predicted by intention, attitude and subjective norm; progression/regression from contemplation was predicted by intention, perceived behavioural control, attitude, and social support; progression/ regression from preparation was predicted by intention and attitude; and regression from action/maintenance was predicted by intention, attitude and social support. Conclusions. Different social cognitive constructs predicted different stage transitions, which indicates that exercise behaviour change may be represented by a series of stage transitions. Moreover, the TPB may be a useful model for highlighting the key social cognitive constructs that are important for exercise stage transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]