Suchergebnisse

Purpose: This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA), a real-time self-report strategy, to examine (1) whether dog owners were more likely to be physically active when they were with their dogs and (2) whether being with a dog amplifies positive and dampens negative affective response during physical activity. Design: Electronic EMA surveys for 12 days. Setting: Free-living. Participants: Seventy-one adult dog owners. Measures: The EMA survey included 1 question about current activity, 3 questions about positive affect (Cronbach α = .837), 4 questions about negative affect (Cronbach α = .865), and 1 question about the presence of dog. Analysis: Multilevel modeling. Results: The company of a dog did not increase the likelihood of being active versus sedentary at any given EMA prompt. However, greater positive affect during physical activity was reported in the company of a dog. Negative affect did not differ between active and sedentary activity, regardless of being with a dog or not. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the utility of electronic EMA as a promising methodology to study dog-accompanied physical activity. Future studies may use EMA to collect further contextual information about dog-accompanied activity to inform the development of innovative physical activity interventions.

Purpose. Examine the reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a physical activity and nutrition curriculum for middle-school students. Design. Nonexperimental pilot evaluation of a statewide dissemination trial. Setting. California middle schools during the 2006 to 2007 school year. Subjects. Sixteen classes (N = 668 students and 16 teachers) sampled from the statewide pool who used the program. Intervention. An eight-lesson nutrition and physical activity curriculum, "Exercise Your Options" (EYO), including a teacher guide, video clips, a student activity booklet, and ancillary materials was made available to teachers. Measures. Program records, classroom observations, teacher surveys, and student presurveys and postsurveys (assessing physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and dietary intake). Analysis. Descriptive statistics and multilevel random-coefficient modeling. Results. The EYO program reached 234, 442 middle-school students in California. During the program, total physical activity increased (p ≤ .001), whereas watching TV/DVDs and playing electronic games/computer use decreased (p ≤ .05). Intake of dairy products increased (p < .05), whereas consumption of sugars/sweets decreased (p < .001). Forty-two percent of eligible middle-school classrooms ordered the program materials. Eighty-six percent of sampled teachers implemented all of the lessons. Over the past 5 years, 51% of all middle-school students in California were exposed to the program. Conclusions. The EYO program showed its potential for moderate to high public health impact among California middle-school students.

Purpose. To examine whether residing in a community designed to promote physical activity moderates the relationship between parent perceptions of the neighborhood and general physical activity or active commuting to school in their children. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. San Bernardino County, California. Subjects. Three hundred sixty-five families (one parent and one child in grades four through eight). Eighty-five reside in a smart growth community designed to be more conducive to physical activity. Measures. Parent perceptions assessed using the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS). General child physical activity was measured using accelerometers, and active commuting was self-reported by children. Analysis. Two sets of regressions were performed: one for general physical activity, and one for active commuting. Separate models were run in the two sets for each of the 14 NEWS factors, while controlling for demographics. Results. For general physical activity, walking infrastructure, lack of cul-de-sacs, and social interaction had significant main effect associations (p ≤ .05). No factors were moderated by community. The relationships between active commuting to school and perceived crime, traffic hazards, hilliness, physical barriers, cul-de-sac connectivity, aesthetics, and walking infrastructure were significant for those in the smart growth community only (p ≤ .05). Conclusions. Living in an activity-friendly environment is associated with positive relationships between parent perceptions and active commuting behaviors in children. Future interventions should account for both the perceived neighborhood environment and available physical activity infrastructure.