Introduction: Pedometers are increasingly used as a self-monitoring aid for achieving and increasing daily physical activity. Older pedometers had varied levels of accuracy ranging from 0 to 45% difference and were needed to be positioned in a certain way (on the waist). Newer models can be placed anywhere on the body but its accuracy is unknown when they are placed at different bodily sites. Purpose: We determined the accuracy of various newer pedometers under controlled laboratory and free walking conditions. Method: A total of 40 subjects (20 male and 20 female) varying widely in age (18-61 years) and BMI (18-38 kg/m²) were studied. The pedometers, including Omron HJ-320, Omron HJ-324U, Lifesource XI-25, Fitbit Ultra, and Virgin Health Miles, were placed at waist, at chest, in a pocket, and on an armband. The number of steps recorded with the pedometers was compared against those counted with a hand tally counter while the subjects walked on the treadmill at 54, 80, 107, 134, and 161 m/min and on paved ground outside at a self-selected pace. Results: With the exception of one, all the pedometers were accurate (within ±5% of the criterion measure) at moderate walking speeds (80 and 107 m/min). The results were similar no matter where the pedometers were placed on the body and where the walking was performed. There were general tendencies for the accuracy to decrease at slower and faster walking speeds in most pedometers. The mean difference scores increased particularly when the pedometers were placed in the pockets or in the purse. Conclusions: Most of the pedometers examined were accurate when they were placed at waist, chest, and armband no matter what walking speed or what terrain they exercised. But some pedometers did not register accuracy when they were put in the pocket or in the purse particularly at a slow and fast walking speed. / text

Syftet med studien var att undersöka om vårdpersonal använder fysisk aktivitet på recept(FaR) som behandling till personer med depression. Frågeställningar: Ordinerar vårdpersonal FaR som behandling till personer med depression? Arbetar vårdpersonalen utifrån Socialstyrelsens Nationella riktlinjer (2010) gällande patienter med depression? Metod Studien är gjord utifrån en kvalitativ metod och analyserad utefter en innehållsanalys. Intervjumetoden är av semistrukturerad art med en frågeguide på elva öppna frågor som underlag. Av de fyrtio kontaktade verksamhetschefer som i sin tur gick ut och frågade sina anställda om de var någon som ville ställa upp så intervjuades fyra stycken respondenter. Alla fyra informanterna var utbildade läkare inom allmänmedicin eller psykiatri som antingen arbetade inom primärvården (3) eller som specialist inom psykiatrin (1). Resultat Resultaten visar att alla intervjupersoner var positivt inställda till fysisk aktivitet som del i behandling till personer med depression. Även om själva FaR metoden ansågs som ett trubbigt och komplicerat verktyg så tyckte informanterna ändå att det gav positiva resultat för deras patienter att komma igång och aktivera sig. Det framkom att enklare budskap till vårdpersonal gällande de nationella riktlinjerna möjligen kan öka användningen av FaR för deprimerade inom hälso- och sjukvården, och på så sätt bidra till att fler patienter uppnår en förbättrad psykisk hälsa. I analysen framkom att de flesta hade många års erfarenhet av att arbeta med deprimerade. Slutsats Det kan rekommenderas att se över bristande rutiner i uppföljning med FaR för patienter som har depression samt en förenkling av journalinförandet och det digitala receptet. Med grund i denna studies resultat kan man dra slutsatsen att Socialstyrelsens nationella riktlinjer gällande personer med depression behöver lyftas fram och implementeras ytterligare i den svenska hälso- och sjukvården.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of resistance training, designed to prevent the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) based on the Framingham Risk Assessment (FRA) score. Twenty-five healthy sedentary men with low CHD risk were assigned to participate in a 16-week (three days per week) resistance training programme (n = 13) or non-exercising control group (CG) (n = 12). Resistance training was performed using eight whole-body exercises for three sets of 15 repetitions at 60% of one-repetition maximum. Resistance training did not significantly (p > 0.05) reduce the number of cigarettes smoked daily (p > 0.133) or TC (p > 0.917), while significant improvements were found in SBP (p < 0.003), HDLC (p < 0.005) and FRA score (p < 0.021); thus improving absolute 10-year risks for CHD. The CG subjects were found to have had no significant changes in number of cigarettes smoked daily (p > 0.831), TC (p > 0.678), HDLC (p > 0.672) or FRA score (p > 0.504), but SBP increased significantly (p < 0.030). These data indicate that resistance training can effectively reduce the predicted risk of developing CHD, even in men with already low risk.

Abstract Despite the clear benefits that resistance training might have in weight management the effects of resistance training on adiposity in sedentary individuals are unsubstantiated. As such, the aim of the study was to determine the effect of resistance training on anthropometric measures of total, central and abdominal adiposity. Twenty-five healthy, sedentary males not on an energy-restricted diet were assigned to a non-exercising control group (CON) (n = 12) or a resistance training group (RES) (n = 13) to determine the effect of 16 weeks of resistance training on anthropometric measures of total, centrally located and abdominal adiposity. Resistance training was prescribed three times weekly using eight exercises for three sets of 15 repetitions at 60% of one-repetition maximum. Resistance training decreased three of the six anthropometric measures of total adiposity and increased body mass and body mass index (BMI). Resistance training had no impact on the measures of centrally located and abdominal adiposity. Body mass and BMI should be used with caution in risk calculations and measures of total adiposity in individuals engaging in resistance training due to this mode of training increasing lean mass (and thus body mass and BMI). Resistance training reduced total adiposity but did not provide an effective stimulus to lower centrally located and abdominal adiposity.

Modern sedentary lifestyles, an increase in the consumption of nutrient dense foods and declining levels of participation in physical activity progressing from childhood to adulthood have been implicated in the occurrence of many hypokinetic diseases including obesity and coronary artery disease (CAD). Despite this quality health and physical education (PE) programmes are not employed as a proactive preventative measure to address this issue. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate, using qualitative methods, the perceptions of grade 10 learners with regard to PE at schools and make recommendations thereon. Informal focus group interviews were conducted with 68 Grade 10 learners (n = 39 males and 29 females) from different high schools in Gauteng, South Africa. The interviews were conducted outside the formal classroom situation and PE lesson to access information regarding the perceptions of learners with regard to physical education (PE). Several underlying themes which included value, enjoyment, support, preferred PE activities and obstacles to involvement in physical activity emerged from the study. The descriptive information demonstrated that future physical education educators should be adequately prepared to guide their learners in the process of becoming physically active and healthy for a lifetime by focusing on lifetime activities and health-enhancing behaviors linked to health concepts and skills such as healthy eating, safety and stress management with less emphasis on athletic skills.

11 pp. / The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that over two million Americans are using USDA’s SuperTracker (Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; March 27, 2013). SuperTracker is an online, interactive tool with which users can create customized healthy dietary and physical activity plans. It can help users analyze their dietary trends and assess whether they are achieving their dietary and physical activity goals. In addition to users’ planning, assessment, and analysis, SuperTracker offers personal goal setting and journaling – recording daily events. This article walks you through the basics of SuperTracker.

More than 60% of the adult population in the United States is overweight, and obesity has reached epidemic proportions in this country. Childhood obesity has more than doubled since 1990, and the health consequences are reflected in the rising cost of health care. There has also been a significant drop in physical activity across the country and physical education is no longer required in middle schools. The lack of physical activity and issues of weight can compromise the ability of the individual who is blind or visually impaired to maneuver through the environment safely and efficiently. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of itinerant teachers of students with visual impairments about the importance of physical activity for their students with visual impairments and its effect on academic success and social relationship.Data was gathered from 175 teachers of students with visual impairments concerning their perceptions regarding the importance of physical activity and obesity and their relationship with academic success and social relationships. The teachers indicated that physical activity for their students is very important. They described a multitude of barriers that account for a lack of involvement in the general physical education classes in which they were enrolled.Teachers reported on their own personal physical activity levels in relationship to the importance they placed on their students' need to be active. The teachers did not indicate that being overweight was a particular issue with their visually impaired students, but they acknowledged that being overweight and a lack of physical activity create additional barriers for academic success and appropriate social relationships.The teachers also reported that the same barriers in physical education classes and access to recreation activities in the community that have been listed in past research studies were still in existence, and these barriers were also part of their dilemma in creating positive physical activity experiences for their students who are visually impaired. This study validated the necessity of further research to find the effective intervention strategies and programs to increase physical activity of students with visual impairments.

The Heart Healthy Kids (H2K) program examines peer mentoring and physical activity of grades 4, 5, and 6 students (n=808 children from 10 schools). This sub-study qualitatively explored the peer mentoring experience, using the social ecological model to examine the experience from multiple perspectives. A qualitative description design was used, with a phenomenological approach to data analysis. Three focus groups were conducted with 17 children (5 male, average age: 10.6 years) at 3 of the H2K intervention schools. Six additional individual interviews were conducted with 1 parents and 1 teacher from each focus group school (all female). Thematic analysis was conducted. Emergent themes included that peer mentors were perceived as “encouragers of physical activity”, “helpers and supporters”, “organizers and administrators”, and “expanders of social networks”. Results suggest that reframing physical activity programs to promote physical activity in the context of fun, unstructured, social engagement, especially those that employ peer mentoring, may be more successful. This research contributes to development of future programs and research, and knowledge of the applicability of peer mentoring in influencing child physical activity levels.

Studies examining descriptive norms in the activity area have demonstrated that an individual’s perceptions of others’ behaviour were related to (Priebe & Spink, 2011; Spink, Crozier, & Robinson, 2013), and influenced (Priebe & Spink, 2012, 2014) individual behaviour. Guided by focus theory of normative conduct (Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren, 1990), the purposes of the studies examined in this thesis were three-fold: (1) to assess whether norms are related to an intention that is not a direct reflection of the norm, (2) to add to the examination of the relationship between norms and self-reported activity to include both descriptive (i.e., perceptions about others’ behaviour) and injunctive (i.e., perceptions about others’ approval) norms, and (3) to use a construct from another theory (i.e., positive outcome expectations from social cognitive theory, Bandura, 1986) to strengthen the predictions from focus theory of normative conduct to individual’s physical activity. In Study 1, which was concurrent in design, the relationship between descriptive norms reflecting prosocial behaviour and an individual’s intention to return to the group in youth sport camp participants was examined. A positive relationship emerged wherein individuals were more likely to intend to return to their group in the future when they also perceived that more group members provided encouragement, congratulations, positive and constructive feedback (i.e., prosocial) to other group members. Study 2 was an experimental field study, where the influence of normative (descriptive, injunctive) and non-normative (personal, team) motivational messages on self-reported frequency of maximal effort in adult volleyball athletes was examined. Individuals exposed to the normative messages about others exerting effort reported significantly higher frequencies of maximal effort compared to those exposed to messages highlighting personal reasons for exerting effort (i.e., to improve athletic ability). However, no differences emerged between normative messages about the effort levels of others and those who received messages about working hard for the team. In Study 3, an online experimental study, exposure to messages differing in levels of descriptive norms and positive outcome expectations was examined in relation to the exercise patterns of university students during a final exam period. All students reported decreases in their activity from their typical levels during the exam period. However, between-group differences emerged between the two groups exposed to the message that many others were active during exams (high descriptive norm). When that message was coupled with a high positive outcome expectation, individuals reported significantly greater levels of moderate and vigorous physical activity than when the normative message was accompanied with a low positive outcome expectation. Results from these three studies suggested the following: (1) a descriptive norm surrounding one class of behaviours related to an individual’s perceptions regarding an intention to return in the future to that setting, (2) normative messages influenced an individual’s perceptions of how often he/she exerted maximum effort more than non-normative personal messages in sport, and (3) a message highlighting that many others were active during an exam period (high descriptive norm) influenced self-reported individual physical activity differently depending on the level (high, low) of positive outcome expectation provided.

No description available.