Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Towards An Understanding Of Salient Neighborhood Boundaries: Adolescent Reports Of An Easy Walking Distance And Convenient Driving Distance, Natalie Colabianchi, Marsha Dowda, Karin A. Pfeiffer, Dwayne E. Porter, Maria João C. A. Almeida, Russell R. Pate

Faculty Publications

Numerous studies have examined the association between the surrounding neighborhood environment and physical activity levels in adolescents. Many of these studies use a road network buffer of Euclidean distance buffer around an adolescent's home to represent the appropriate geographic area for study (i.e., neighborhood). However, little empirical research has examined the appropriate buffer size to use when defining this area and there is little consistency across published research as to the buffer size used. In this study, 909 12^th grade adolescent girls of diverse racial and geographic backgrounds were asked to report their perceptions of an easy walking distance …

Special Article: Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, And Cardiovascular Risk Factors In Childhood, Samuel S. Gidding

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

In adults, physical activity and exercise training are associated with reduced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, a reduced likelihood of developing adverse cardiovascular risk factors, and improved insulin sensitivity. In childhood, participation in appropriate physical activity may prevent the development of cardiovascular risk factors in the future and complement treatment of existing cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, and overweight. Exercise in children can also significantly improve insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss. These e fects are mediated in overweight children by increases in lean body mass relative to fat mass and associated improvements in inflammatory mediators, endothelial function, and the …

Associations Among Physical Activity, Health Indicators, And Employment In 12th Grade Girls, Marsha Dowda, Karin A. Pfeiffer, Rod K. Dishman, Russell R. Pate

Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study compared physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and other health indicators between 1381 employed and nonemployed 12th grade girls.

Methods: The girls were from 22 high schools in South Carolina (2002-2003); 56% of the girls were African American, and the mean age was 17.7 (0.6) years. Physical activity and sedentary behaviors were measured using the 3-Day Physical Activity Recall (3DPAR). Fitness, depressive symptoms, and smoking behavior were assessed.

Results: Fifty percent of the girls were employed, and on average, employed girls worked 9.6 30-minute blocks per day. Girls who worked reported significantly (p≤0.001) higher average total metabolic …

Long-Term Effects Of A Physical Activity Intervention In High School Girls, Russell R. Pate, Ruth P. Saunders, Rod K. Dishman, Cheryl L. Addy, Marsha Dowda, Dianne S. Ward

Faculty Publications

Background - Physical activity decreases during childhood and adolescence, and physical activity levels are significantly lower in females than males, particularly during adolescence. Schools are attractive settings in which to implement interventions designed to promote physical activity in girls and young women, but few studies have tested the sustained effects of such interventions.

Design - Cross-sectional. Data were collected in 2002-2003 and analyzed in 2006-2007.

Setting/Participants - 1594 adolescent girls in 22 high schools.

Intervention - The intervention, Lifestyle Education for Activity Program (LEAP), was designed to increase physical activity in 9^th grade girls through two channels: changes in …

Physical Activity And Public Health In Older Adults: Recommendation From The American College Of Sports Medicine And The American Heart Association, Miriam E. Nelson, W. Jack Rejeski, Steven N. Blair, Pamela W. Duncan, James O. Judge, Abby C. King, Carol A. Macera, Carmen Castaneda-Sceppa

Faculty Publications

Objective - To issue a recommendation on the types and amounts of physical activity needed to improve and maintain health in older adults.

Participants - A panel of scientists with expertise in public health, behavioral science, epidemiology, exercise science, medicine, and gerontology.

Evidence - The expert panel reviewed existing consensus statements and relevant evidence from primary research articles and reviews of the literature. Process: After drafting a recommendation for the older adult population and reviewing drafts of the Updated Recommendation from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA) for Adults, the panel issued a …

Agreement Between Student-Reported And Proxy-Reported Physical Activity Questionnaires, Marsha Dowda, Russell R. Pate, James F. Sallis, Patty S. Freedson, Wendell C. Taylor, John R. Sirard, Stewart G. Trost

Faculty Publications

Parents and 531 students (46% males, 78% white) completed equivalent questionnaires. Agreement between student and parent responses to questions about hypothesized physical activity (PA) correlates was assessed. Relationships between hypothesized correlates and an objective measure of student's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a subset of 177 students were also investigated. Agreement between student and parent ranged from r=.34 to .64 for PA correlates. Spearman correlations between MVPA and PA correlates ranged from -.04 to .21 for student report and -.14 to .32 for parent report, and there were no statistical differences for 8 out of 9 correlations between parent …

Obesity And The Built Environment In Twenty-Six Rural Georgia Counties: An Analysis Of Physical Activity, Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, And Environmental Factors., Kathleen Elizabeth Sobush

Public Health Theses

This study assesses environmental factors in the exercise and food environment, demographic factors, physical activity behavior, and fruit and vegetable consumption in 26 rural Georgia counties. The purpose of the study is to identify environmental indicators of physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption; to see what agencies in Georgia, if any, are collecting these types of data systematically throughout the state; and, to analyze potential relationships between environmental factors and health behaviors. Physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption were derived from the Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005). Demographic data were from the …

Wellness Program Effect On The Health Parameters Of Female Employees Aged 25 To 60 Years Of Age Targeting Physical Activity And Nutrition Therapy., Adrienne J. Poag

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine if the health parameters of female employees would improve, as measured in the posttest data, following the completion of a 12-week employee wellness program. The participants included 17 female employees from the Carter County Health Department located in Elizabethton, Tennessee. The principle investigator assessed the changes in the pretests and posttests and analyzed the data using SPSS. The results showed on average an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption and in the number of days exercised per week as well as improved diastolic blood pressure and triglyceride levels. The employees who experienced …

Objectively Measured Physical Activity And Fat Mass In A Large Cohort Of Children, Andy R. Ness, Sam D. Leary, Calum Mattocks, Steven N. Blair, John J. Reilly, Jonathan Wells, Sue Ingle, Kate Tilling, George Davey Smith, Chris J. Riddoch

Faculty Publications

Background: Previous studies have been unable to characterise the association between physical activity and obesity, possibly because most relied on inaccurate measures of physical activity and obesity.

Methods and Findings: We carried out a cross sectional analysis on 5,500 12-year-old children enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Total physical activity and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were measured using the Actigraph accelerometer. Fat mass and obesity (defined as the top decile of fat mass) were measured using the Lunar Prodigy dual x-ray emission absorptiometry scanner. We found strong negative associations between MVPA and …

The Causal Effect Of Recent Leisure-Time Physical Activity On All-Cause Mortality Among The Elderly, Oliver Bembom, Mark J. Van Der Laan, Ira B. Tager

Oliver Bembom

We analyze data collected as part of a prospective cohort study of elderly people living in and around Sonoma, CA, in order to estimate, for each round of interviews, the causal effect of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) over the past year on the risk of mortality in the following two years. For each round of interviews, this effect is estimated separately for subpopulations defined based on past exercise habits, age, and whether subjects have had cardiac events in the past. This decomposition of the original longitudinal data structure into a series of point-treatment data structures corresponds to an application of …

Family Support For Physical Activity In Girls From 8th To 12th Grade In South Carolina, Marsha Dowda, Rod K. Dishman, Karin A. Pfeiffer, Russell R. Pate

Faculty Publications

Objective - To examine the relationship between perceived family support and other selected correlates of physical activity (PA) with changes in PA over time.

Methods - A total of 421 girls in South Carolina completed questionnaires at 8th, 9th and 12th grades (1998-2003). Family support for PA, PA self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control, attitudes, availability of equipment, and PA were measured.

Results - Growth curve analysis showed that family support, perceived behavioral control, and self-efficacy were independently related to age-related changes in PA as reflected by a total METs. Girls who reported lower family support at the 8th grade measure had …

Physical Activity And Physical Activity Adherence In The Elderly Based On Smoking Status., Theodore V. Cooper, M. R. Resor, C. J. Stoever, P. M. Dubbert

Theodore V. Cooper

No abstract provided.

How Do I Feel About The Behavior? The Interplay Of Affective Associations With Behaviors And Cognitive Beliefs As Influences On Physical Activity Behavior, Marc T. Kiviniemi, Amy M. Voss-Humke, April L. Seifert

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Individuals have affective associations with health behaviors. In other domains such associations have been shown to influence behavior, but affective associations with health behaviors are not included in current health decision-making models. The authors examined whether affective associations with exercise predicted individuals’ activity behavior and, if so, how they interfaced with other decision-making constructs to influence behavior. Adult participants (N = 433) reported their current physical activity behavior and affective associations with physical activity. Health belief model and theory of planned behavior constructs were also assessed. More positive affective associations with activity significantly predicted greater activity behavior. Moreover, the …