Journal of Physical Activity & Health

BACKGROUND: Multi-component school-based interventions are considered to be an effective method of improving fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency levels and physical activity (PA) among youth. This study aimed to evaluate if the Youth-Physical Activity Towards Health (Y-PATH) intervention can improve FMS proficiency in a randomised controlled trial among adolescents. METHODS: Participants were 482 adolescents aged 12-13 years from twenty schools. For one academic year, participants in ten schools received the Y-PATH intervention...

OBJECTIVE: This report summarizes a (first to the best of our knowledge) study of the association between emotional intelligence (EI) and physical activity (PA) levels in a sample of generally healthy adults. METHODS: An online snowball sample of 110 generally healthy adults took part in this study and filled out measures of EI, PA, and background variables. RESULTS: Analysis of structural equating modeling supported a path of positive association between EI and PA ranging from ...

BACKGROUND: Poor adaptive learning behaviors (i.e. distractibility, inattention, disruption) are associated with behavior problems and underachievement in school, as well as indicating potential attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Strategies are needed to limit these behaviors. Physical activity (PA) has been suggested to improve behavior in school-age children, but little is known about this relationship in preschoolers. This study examined the effects of a PA intervention on classroom behaviors in preschool-aged children...

BACKGROUND: The relationship between exercise and long-term weight loss is definitive. However, in deconditioned individuals, the basis of that relationship beyond minimal energy expenditures is unclear. Effects emanating from exercise's proposed association with changes in emotional eating and its psychosocial correlates were tested. METHODS: Women with Class 1 (n = 67) and Class 2 (n = 53) obesity, participating in a new community-based weight-loss treatment based on tenets of social cognitive theory, were assessed at baseline and Months 3, 6, 12, and 24 on weight and measures of exercise outputs, emotional eating, eating self-regulation, and negative mood...

BACKGROUND: Insufficient physical activity [PA] is a risk factor for several noncommunicable diseases [NCDs]. The World Health Organisation stresses the need for national PA trend data to help inform strategies to arrest NCD incidence. The Active Australia Survey [AAS] questionnaire quantifies leisure-time physical activity [LTPA]. Despite being used repeatedly in large population surveys, these data have never been analysed as a single dataset. This study established temporal trends for aerobic PA sufficiency prevalences in the Australian adult [18-75+ years] population, 2002-2012, based on LTPA...

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins increase with ageing, promoting a chronic low-grade inflammation. Studies have shown a positive effect of exercise on inflammatory markers in older persons. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are the main biomarkers investigated. However, it is unclear if exercise could decrease all these biomarkers. PURPOSE: The aim was to analyze the effect of chronic exercise on IL-6, TNF-α and CRP levels in older persons...

BACKGROUND: Associations between the built environment and physical activity (PA) may vary by socio-demographic factors. However, such evidence from international studies is limited. This study tested moderating effects of socio-demographic factors on associations between perceived environment and self-report total PA among adults from the International Prevalence Study. METHODS: Between 2002-2003, adults from nine countries (N=10,258) completed surveys assessing total PA (IPAQ-short), perceived environment, and socio-demographics (age, gender, and education)...

BACKGROUND: There is growing urgency for higher quality evidence to inform policy. This study developed geographic information systems (GIS) spatial measures based on land use and transport policies currently used in selected Australian states to assess which, if any, of these measures were associated with walking for transport. METHODS: Overall, 6,901 participants from 570 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia were included. Participants reported their minutes of walking for transport in the previous week...

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to explore the effect of time and long-termed tracking on pedometer-determined physical activity (PA) from early adolescent to the thirties. METHODS: PA was measured with pedometers (Yamax™ (SW-200)) during 2000 (Time 1), 2003 (Time 2), 2005 (Time 3), 2010 (Time 4), and 2016 (Time 5). Anthropometric data was collected during Time 1. Data from 59 participants (n=32 males) were analyzed from early adolescent (Time 1) to the thirties (Time 5)...

BACKGROUND: Few studies have quantified cardiorespiratory fitness among individuals seeking bariatric surgery. Treadmill testing allows researchers to determine exercise capacity through metabolic equivalents (METs). These findings can assist clinicians in understanding patients' capabilities to carry out various activities of daily living. The purpose of this study was to determine exercise tolerance, and the variables associated with fitness, among individuals seeking bariatric surgery...

BACKGROUND: Sedentary behavior is associated with increased risk of poor outcomes in breast cancer survivors but underlying mechanisms are not well understood. This pilot study explored associations between different aspects of sedentary behaviors (sitting, prolonged sitting, sit-to-stand transitions, and standing) and breast cancer risk-related biomarkers in breast cancer survivors (n=30). METHODS: Sedentary behavior variables (sitting, prolonged sitting, sit-to-stand transitions) were measured objectively with thigh-worn activPALs...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze the effect of a behavior change program, called Vida Ativa Melhorando a Saúde (VAMOS), on physical activity, eating habits and quality of life in patients with hypertension. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was carried out with 90 patients with hypertension (57.8 ± 9.9 years). They were randomly assigned to two groups: VAMOS (n = 45) and control group (n = 45). The VAMOS group participated in a behavioral change program aimed at motivating changes in physical activity and nutrition behavior during 12 weeks...

BACKGROUND: Yoga may provide a strategy for healthy weight management in young adults. This study examined prevalence and characteristics of young adults' yoga practice and associations with changes in body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Surveys were completed by 1830 young adults (31.1±1.6 years) participating in Project EAT-IV. Cross-sectional and five-year longitudinal analyses were conducted stratified by initial weight status. RESULTS: Two-thirds (66...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of intermittent physical activity (2-minute bouts of varying intensities) on psychological mood and enjoyment in elementary school-age children and to examine the effect of weight status on these psychological outcomes. METHODS: Thirty-nine children [healthy weight (HW), n=26; overweight/obese (OW/OB), n=13] completed four experimental conditions in random order which consisted of 8 hours of sitting interrupted with 20, 2-minute low-, moderate- or high-intensity activity breaks or 20, 2-minute screen-time breaks...

BACKGROUND: Temperament activity level can serve as proxy for non-deliberate activity, and an important part of overall energy expenditure. However, little is known about any association between temperament activity level and children's levels of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). We examined whether temperament activity level in young children is associated with MVPA later in childhood and mid-adolescence. We also assessed if parenting behaviors moderate any association...

Background Aim of the study was to test the 12-month effects of a multicomponent physical activity (PA) intervention at schoolyards on morning recess PA levels of 6(th) and 7(th) grade children in primary schools, using accelerometry and additional GPS data. Methods A quasi-experimental study design was used with 20 paired intervention and control schools. GPS confirmatory analyses were applied to validate attendance at schoolyards during recess. Accelerometer data from 376 children from 7 pairs of schools were included in the final analyses...

BACKGROUND: Gender differences in physical activity trajectories during adolescence are well-documented, yet little research has examined whether the determinants of these trajectories vary by child's gender. This study is one of few prospective examinations of gender differences in the influences of psychosocial and socioenvironmental factors on changes in objectively measured PA. METHODS: Students and parents from elementary and middle schools located in two school districts in South Carolina were enrolled in a prospective cohort study of changes in children's PA from elementary to middle school...

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BACKGROUND: Recess and physical education time continues to diminish, creating a need for additional physical activity opportunities within the school environment. The use of school gardens as a teaching tool in elementary science and math class has the potential to increase the proportion of time spent active throughout the school day. METHODS: Teachers from four elementary schools agreed to teach one math or science lesson per week in the school garden. Student physical activity time was measured with ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers on three garden days and three no garden days at each school...

BACKGROUND: This investigation sought to determine how accelerometer wear 1) biased estimates of sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA), 2) affected misclassifications for meeting Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAGA), and 3) impacted the results of regression models examining the association between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and a clinically-relevant health outcome. METHODS: One-hundred participants (age: 20.6±7.9 years) wore an Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer for 15...