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Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Daily Physical Activity (DPA) is one component of Ontario’s Healthy Schools strategy. This case study of two schools in geographically and culturally diverse contexts explores DPA implementation according to the focus areas of the Ministry of Education. The conceptual framework of Clune (1990) was employed to explore implementation according to three perspectives, revealing disconnects between the policy mandate and educational contexts, as well as potential improvements to the current policy. It was found that time constraints are the most prominent barrier to DPA implementation, and that the primary focus of DPA for educators is often provision, but not quality, of daily physical activities. It was also found that teachers’ perceptions of policy importance are a stronger predictor of implementation than a supportive school administration, given there is no conflict with other school policies. Recommendations for policy revisions are provided based on the findings.

Tyrimo aktualumas Pastaraisiais metais pastebimas vis didesnis moterų susidomėjimas įvairiomis fizinio aktyvumo formomis, jų poveikiu sveikatai, kūno įvaizdžiui. Moterų nepasitenkinimas savo fiziniu aktyvumu, kūnu, kūno įvaizdžiu didėja Todėl labai svarbu yra išanalizuoti skirtingoms fizinio aktyvumo formoms prioritetą teikiančių moterų lavinimosi siekius, motyvus, galimybes. Tyrimo objektas. Moterų organizuotos ir savarankiškos fizinės saviugdos raiška bei jos plėtojimo ypatumai. Tyrimo tikslas. Išanalizuoti laisvalaikiu organizuotai ir savarankiškai sportuojančių moterų fizinės saviugdos raišką bei plėtojimo galimybes. Tyrimo metodologinį pagrindas: humanistinės psichologijos nuostatos, sveikatos ugdymo, .judesių išmokimo, adaptacijos bei raidos teorijų esminiai teiginiai. Tyrime dalyvavo moterys (n=152), realizavusios švelniojo fitneso (n=58). kultūrizmo (n=36), aerobikos (n=58) organizuotos ir savarankiškos fizinės saviugdos kryptis. / The relevance of the research. A growing interest of women in various forms of physical activity, their influence on health and body image has been noticed recently. Women’s discontent with their physical activity, body and its image is constantly growing. That is why it is important to analyze the exercise objectives, motives, opportunities of women who prefer different forms of physical activity. The subject of the research. The expression of women’s organized and independent physical self-education and the peculiarities of its development. The aim of the research. To analyze the expression of physical self-education and opportunities of its development peculiar to women who go in for sports voluntarily and constantly during their free time. The methodological base of the research: attitudes of humanistic psychology, essential propositions of health, movements, learning, adaptation and development theories. The participants of the research: women (n=152) who have realized directions of gentle fitness (n=58), bodybuilding (n=36), aerobics (n=58), organized and independent physical self-education.

Bakalaurinio darbo tikslas – nustatyti 10 – 11 klasių mokinių fizinį aktyvumą motyvuojančius veiksnius. Uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti 10 – 11 klasių merginų fizinį aktyvumą motyvuojančius veiksnius. 2. Nustatyti 10 – 11 klasių vaikinų fizinį aktyvumą motyvuojančius veiksnius. 3. Palyginti 10 – 11 klasių mokinių fizinį aktyvumą motyvuojančius veiksnius lyties aspektu. PAGRINDINIAI REZULTATAI Kauno miesto mokyklos paaugliai fiziškai aktyvūs yra dėl to, kad tai padeda kontroliuoti svorį, dėl išvaizdos ir patrauklumo bei noro patiri džiaugsmą. Tiek merginų tiek vaikinų pagrindiniai motyvai fiziniai veiklai yra noras atrodyti gražiau, sulieknėti ir išlaikyti dailią figūrą. Vaikinams, kitaip nei merginoms dar būdingas tarpusavio varžymasis fizinėje veikloje ar sporte, tai juos papildomai motyvuoja būti fiziškai aktyviais. Net 27 proc. apklaustų vaikinų turi motyvą kad išsiugdytų jėgą. Tuo tarpu merginos atsakė kad jas mankštinis motyvuoja svorio kontrolė (taip pat 27 proc). Išvados 1. Kauno miesto šv. Mato vidurinės mokyklos merginų fizinį aktyvumą lemia šie motyvai: noras numesti ir nepriaugti papildomo svorio, būti ar tapti patrauklesne, bei išlikti judria. 2. Pagrindiniai Kauno miesto šv. Mato vidurinės mokyklos vaikinus būti fiziškai aktyviais skatina noras atrodyti patrauklesniu, jaustis sveikesniu, sužinoti savo galimybes bei palyginti jas su kitais. 3. Šv. Mato vidurinės mokyklos 10-11 klasių mokinius būti fiziškai aktyviais motyvuoja noras atrodyti patraukliai. Palyginus merginų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of this research: Discover 10-11 classes students’ physical activity motivating factors. Objectives: 1. Set the 10-11 class girls physical activity motivating factors. 2. Set the 10-11 class boys physical activity motivating factors. 3. Compare 10-11 class students physical activity motivating factors by gender. MAIN RESULTS Kaunas city school teens physically active is due to the fact that it helps to control weight on appearance and attractiveness and desire to experience joy. Both girls and boys the main reasons of physical activity is the desire to look beautiful, lose weight and maintain a graceful shape. Boys, unlike girls to suffer the embarrassment between physical activity or sport is to provide additional motivation to be physically active. Even 27 per cent. interviewed the guys has a motive to train their strenght. Meanwhile, the girls said that they exercise motivate is weight control (also 27 percent). 1. Kaunas city St. Matthew High School girls physical activity caused by the following reasons: the desire to lose the extra weight, to be or to become more attractive, and remain agile. 2. Main St. Matthew High School boys to be physically active promotes the desire to look attractive, feel healthier, know your options and compare them with others. 3. St. Matthew High School 10-11 grade students to be physically active motivated by the desire to look attractive. A comparison of girls and boys in physical activity motives found that they differ significantly by... [to full text]

The aim of the research – to determine the correlation between the nutrition and physical activity of 14 – 18 year old pupils. The researched group consisted of 294 pupils: 142 boys and 152 girls, chosen accidentally from four secondary schools and gymnasiums of Vilnius. One class is considered to be as a unit. Pupils of 8th, 10th and 12th classes were chosen. The research was done by the method of questionnaire. The results showed the correlation between nutrition and physical activity of pupils. Physically more active adolescences eat healthier food. The conclusions of the research show, that planning and implementing the programmes of healthy lifestyle and prevention of risky behavior for adolescents, it is useful to pay attention to the fact, that physical activity is one of the factors, which determine the habits of healthy nutrition.

There is a growing body of literature investigating age-related declines in physical activity (PA) participation among young people and especially girls, who have lower rates of PA than boys throughout the teenage years. Low PA is particularly apparent within the context of the school physical education classes – termed here as the Physical Education (PE) environment. My PhD thesis aims to explore the reasons for some girls disengagement in PE classes. Using a longitudinal qualitative approach the study tracks the experiences of a sample of ‘disengaged girls’ from four case study schools in Scotland taking part in a school-based physical activity programme, Fit for Girls (FfG). My research investigates the impact of the programme on their engagement through recording and analysis of the changes that take place in their attitudes and behaviour over the course of two years. The study involved the design of a questionnaire to identify a cohort of disengaged girls for baseline focus groups. Twelve focus groups (n=41 girls) were carried out during 2008/09 (three in each case study school) to capture girls’ opinions, perceptions and experiences of PE classes. Twenty disengaged girls were then selected across the four schools, based on their willingness to participate and self-disclose PE experiences. The girls were recruited for three phases of longitudinal in-depth interviews, over a one year period. The aim of these was to track changes in girls’ engagement and experiences in the PE environment. My theoretical framework is based on Welks (1999) Youth Physical Activity Promotion model (YPAP), a socioecological approach which divides the influential correlates of physical activity into 1) individual-level predisposing factors, 2) enabling factors, including personal attributes and environmental variables and 3) reinforcing (social) factors. The results indicate that individual predisposing factors, such as perceptions of competence and identity in the PE class along with the social context (peers and teachers) contribute to girls’ disengagement in PE. This suggests that aspects of the wider psychosocial environment in which PE takes place may be more important than the physical activity itself, impacting on levels of participation and enjoyment. There were subtle, as well as clear changes in engagement among many of the girls. However, for others no change was evident. Individual girls’ experiences across time or ‘journeys’ illustrate the importance of the relationships between the individual, social and PE environment in facilitating and sustaining positive change.

Given the positive benefits of physical activity, workplaces have made many attempts to increase physical activity levels of sedentary employees, typically through the use of an exercise intervention. The main purpose of the present research was to investigate whether the simple act of supplying employees engaged primarily in sedentary office-type work, who were intent on becoming physically active, with a tool capable of measuring walking activity (a pedometer) would enhance their physical activity levels over an eight-week period. As predicted, those who received a pedometer reported a significant increase in physical activity from Time 1 to Time 2, while those who did not reported no change. Furthermore, changes in physical activity levels were found to be negatively correlated with perceived barriers to physical activity at Time 1 and also with changes in perceived barriers over the eight-week period. These findings offer a simple and cost-effective alternative to traditional exercise interventions and highlight the importance of reducing barriers to physical activity to increase success when implementing future physical activity initiatives. No relationships between changes to physical activity and life satisfaction, job satisfaction or work-related stress were found. Implications of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Worldwide, there is a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The rise has coincided with the increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity. The ANGELO framework recognises the role of environmental influences in weight gain. In Africa, various environmental influences have led to shifts from a traditional dietary patterns and more physical lifestyles to a “Western” dietary pattern and low physical activity. The life course perspective posits that excessive body weight can persist from adolescence to adulthood, and increase the risk of NCDs. Among adolescents the school environment is a crucial setting for the development of and, or engagement in unhealthy dietary and physical activity behaviour. The aim of this thesis was to investigate in the school environment, the consumption of energy dense foods (EDFs) and energy dense beverages (EDBs) as are typical of a “Western” dietary pattern, and physical inactivity among a sub-group of adolescents in Nairobi, Kenya. Also, the sources of food in the school environment, and the attitudes to the importance of diet and physical activity for health were assessed. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 402 adolescents aged 13-19 years. The adolescents were recruited from schools that cater to students from households likely to be of at least middle-income socio-economic status. Results indicate that the majority of adolescents reported the consumption of an EDB (82.3%) and EDF (88.3%) at least once during the school day. Nearly half of the adolescents consumed a meal sourced from a school lunch program (45.9%). In terms of weekly consumption, the items that were reported as frequently consumed by the highest proportion of adolescents were sugar sweetened beverages (46.5%), and pastries such as biscuits and cakes (38.8%,). Both the occasional and frequent participation in team sports (50.5%) more common than individual (27.4%) and gym based workouts (26.4%). The majority (88.1%) of adolescents acknowledged the importance of diet and exercise for health. Rigorous measurement of diet and physical activity behaviour and knowledge and attitude of health behaviour in this thesis was limited. Also, the sample used was not representative of adolescents in Kenya. The findings of this thesis are preliminary and further research is recommended using a representative sample and validated data collection methods. Research of this nature can be used in the adoption of school food and exercise policies to promote healthy behaviours and, on a national level, the development of dietary guidelines for adolescents.

The effect of weight gain on college students may lead to physical and emotional problems that could continue into adulthood. Identifying behavioral, demographic, and psychological factors that impact college student’s weight status could aid in developing programs to help reduce weight and prevent weight gain in overweight and obese college students. This study evaluated the dietary habits, physical activity, and psychosocial characteristics of college students entering a university-sponsored weight loss program. Results suggest that the majority of participants have experienced weight gain in the past year and none have experienced weight loss. The student’s diets tended to include less than the recommended amounts of fiber, calcium, vitamin A, fruits, and vegetables. Diets tended to include more than the recommended amounts of protein, carbohydrate, and sodium according to the USDA Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) and the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Students living on campus were found to participate in significantly greater amounts of strenuous physical activity than students living off campus. Self-efficacy for food consumption and physical activity was not found to have a significant effect on calories consumed or calories burned. A significant correlation was not found to exist between BMI and depression in this sample of college students.