Archaeological sites in the North Central Hills of Mississippi consist mostly of Woodland period occupations, which grew gradually in size over time. The ways in which these occupations grew can be explained potentially through various models of aggregation, in which occupations nucleated together, grew to absorb other occupations, or otherwise increased in size. In this study, temporal ordering through seriation, site size change over time, and rank size analysis appear to indicate that these sites increased gradually over time from the Tchula through Baytown periods, indicating potential adherence to an aggregation growth model.

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.

Current guidelines suggest that physical activity must be performed at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity (MVPA) and accumulated in bouts of at least 10 consecutive minutes to elicit improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). In the first study we sought to determine whether the duration and intensity of objectively measured incidental physical activity (IPA; activity performed below the designated threshold) was associated with CRF in abdominally obese, inactive men (n=43) and women (n=92). Secondary analyses examined the associations between light physical activity (LPA), sporadic moderate physical activity (MPA; accumulated in <10 minute bouts), and CRF. Both duration and intensity of IPA were positively associated with CRF among inactive, abdominally obese adults. Sporadic MPA, but not LPA, was an independent predictor of CRF. Whereas some observations suggest that sedentary behaviour (SED) is negatively associated with health outcomes, other evidence fails to support this notion. The primary aim of the second study was to clarify the relationships between SED, LPA, and MVPA with 2-hour glucose and insulin resistance in inactive adults (43 men, 92 women) with abdominal obesity. Secondary analyses examined the association between SED, LPA, MVPA and other common cardiometabolic risk factors. Neither SED nor the physical activity variables were associated with 2-hour glucose or insulin resistance. SED was not associated with any cardiometabolic risk factor; with the exception of blood pressure, LPA was not associated with any cardiometabolic risk factor; and MVPA was independently associated with total cholesterol and triglycerides. Whether IPA is associated with abdominal obesity is unknown. The purpose of study three was to determine the association between IPA and abdominal adipose tissue depots (visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue) in inactive men (n=42) and women (n=84). Secondary analyses examined the associations between SED, sleep duration, and caloric intake with abdominal obesity. IPA was not associated with any measure of abdominal obesity, nor was LPA. After control for age and sex, MPA was negatively associated with visceral adipose tissue. SED and sleep duration were not associated with abdominal obesity. Caloric intake was not associated with abdominal obesity after control for age and sex. / Thesis (Ph.D, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-05-17 13:33:52.518

The overall objectives of this thesis were to (1) describe the sedentary behaviour levels of young people; (2) examine the impact of sedentary behaviour on obesity and other physical health outcomes among young people; and (3) examine the influence that individual, social, and environmental factors have on the sedentary behaviour of young people. Six manuscripts addressed these objectives. Manuscript one assessed the proportion of 0- to 4-year-olds meeting the new Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years in a sample of pre-school children. More than half of the children exceeded the guidelines and the majority of their parents believed that their child did not engage in excessive screen time. Manuscript two examined the association between types, overall volume, and patterns of sedentary behaviour with cardio-metabolic risk factors in a sample of children and adolescents. Television viewing predicted cardio-metabolic risk factors independent of moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity. No associations were observed for the other sedentary behaviour components. Manuscript three examined whether the relationship between television viewing and obesity in a sample of youth was mediated by dietary habits. While a positive association was observed between television viewing and body mass index, it was not explained by dietary habits. Manuscript four examined urban-rural differences in screen time in two samples of youth. Rural American youth were the most likely to be excessive television users and the least likely to be excessive computer users. Conversely, urban Canadian youth were the least likely to be excessive television users and the most likely to be excessive computer users. Manuscript five examined the association between neighbourhood disorder and screen time in a sample of youth. Participants in neighbourhoods with high social and high physical disorder were the most likely to engage in excessive screen time. Manuscript six examined associations between factors within the home setting and screen time among a sample of pre-school children. Several factors collectively explained 64.1% of the variance in television viewing including parental cognitive factors, which explained 41.0%. The findings of this thesis have important implications for future public health interventions and initiatives as well as future research in this area. / Thesis (Ph.D, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-06-12 08:52:19.91

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability of sedentary behavior (SB) throughout a 7-day measurement period and to compare SB between weekdays and weekend days. Second, this study aimed to determine the minimum number of days of SB measurement that is comparable to 7-days of measurement. Secondary to the primary purpose, this study aimed to determine the role demographic variables play in the variability of SB. METHODS: Accelerometry data was previously collected in the Clinical Exercise Physiology Program at Ball State University from 708 participants (260 males, aged 57±13 years, BMI = 30±6 kg/m2; 448 females, aged 52±12 years, BMI of 29±8 kg/m2) who wore an accelerometer at least 4 days. To determine if differences exist between individual days, SB data (<100 cpm) from 293 participants (99 males, 194 females) with 7-consecutive days of accelerometry data, were compared using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA. The larger 4-day cohort was used to compare SB on weekdays and weekend days using a univariate ANOVA. To determine the minimum number of SB measurement days compared to the typical 7-day period, a stepwise regression was performed with the 7-day sub-cohort. RESULTS: No differences in SB were found between individual days (p>0.05) when using the 7-day cohort. However, when using the 4-day cohort, weekdays were found to be more sedentary than weekend days (p<0.05). Using the 7-day cohort, 2 weekdays and 2 weekend days of SB measurement were found to be comparable to 7 days of measurement (R2 of 0.91). CONCLUSION: No differences in SB were found between individual days of the week, however more time, on average, was spent in weekdays (66%) compared to weekend days (64%). 4 days of SB measurement were found to be comparable to 7, meaning the typical 7-day measurement period may not be necessary. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine Johannesburg, 2018. / There has been an increase in the percentage of individuals employed in sedentary occupations over the last 50 years. Prolonged sedentary time has been associated with poorer cardiometabolic health. Interrupting prolonged sedentary activity may attenuate the risk of developing cardiometabolic disease. This study aimed to determine whether prompts delivered via a mobile phone were effective in reducing sedentary behaviour (measured objectively using an Actigraph and activPAL accelerometer) in people with sedentary occupations. Twenty men and women were randomly assigned to either a control or intervention (PROMPT) group. Only participants in the PROMPT group were instructed to interrupt their sedentary behaviour. During the intervention participants in the PROMPT group spent less time in sedentary behaviour (5.5±0.5 hrs/day) during their working day, compared to the control group (6.7±0.6 hrs/day) as measured using the activPAL (p=0.04). There was no association between the intervention and cardiometabolic health variables. There were differences in the outputs of ActiGraph and activPAL accelerometers. Interrupting prolonged sedentary time via mobile phone messages may be an effective strategy in reducing total sedentary time in the workplace. / LG2018

Background: Gameful design has been shown to have the potential to increase motivation for and engagement with physical activity (PA). However, at present, there is a significant lack of well-designed frameworks identifying effective pathways to increase PA behaviour. Purpose: To design a rigorous, methodologically sound, theory-grounded framework for developing gamefully designed PA interventions. Methods: Intervention Mapping (IM) was used to develop the study protocol, consisting of three studies. Study 1 encompassed the design of a novel theoretical framework leading to the selection of a gamefully designed PA intervention application. Study 2 entailed the intervention implementation. Participants (n = 83; mean age = 33.56; females = 48) were randomised to a six-week intervention. Data collection over a six-month period included biometric data, objective measurement of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and a detailed PA motivation inventory. Study 3 presented a process evaluation focused on usefulness, effectiveness and feasibility via a systematic mixed-methods approach. Results: Study 1 led to the creation of a new Taxonomy of Situated Motivational Affordances (SMAs) for Gameful Design, the establishment of selection criteria for gamefully designed PA applications and the selection of a commercial application (Fitocracy) for the example case pilot intervention. Study 2 showed no statistically significant change observations in relation to MVPA; however, at six weeks the intervention group showed significant increased levels of identified regulation (internalised motivation) for PA. A significant correlation (p=0.031) between intrinsic regulation and MVPA was verified. Study 3 determined the usefulness of a systematic methodological study design, a low adoption rate of the intervention application and the appreciation of the complex nature of human motivation in relation to PA. Conclusions: Gamefully designed applications grounded in theories such as SDT, BCTs and the newly developed Taxonomy of SMAs for Gameful Design have the potential to be effective in impacting motivation for PA and PA levels.

Background: Adults with Intellectual Disability (ID) experience health disparities that may be attributable to high sedentary behavior (SB). The levels and patterns of SB among U.S. adults with ID have received little attention. Purpose: To examine levels and patterns of SB in adults with ID. Method: The sample included 52 adults with ID who wore an accelerometer on the hip for 7 days. We determined total sedentary time, percent of wear time spent sedentary, number and duration of sedentary bouts, and breaks in sedentary time. We used t-tests and 2×2 ANOVA to evaluate the effects of sex or age-group and day of the week. Result: Adults with ID spent about 8-8.5 hours per day in SB and they primarily accumulated sedentary time in bouts 1-30 min in duration. Conclusion: Apart from small differences in SB, people with ID appear to have near uniform SB levels and patterns throughout the week.

No description available.

Background: Sedentary behaviour is waking activity in a seated or reclined position that involves little energy expenditure. It is gaining attention as an important cardiometabolic risk factor, independent of physical activity. Studies assessing the relationship between sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic risk have not accounted for sleep duration as a potential covariate, although there is evidence that sleep duration may be related to both sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic risk. Objectives: To examine the associations between sleep duration and sedentary behaviour in adults, and determine if sedentary behaviour is related to the metabolic syndrome (MetS) after controlling for sleep duration. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a representative sample of Americans. There were 1371 adults over the age of 20 that were studied. Average daily sedentary time and sleep duration were determined via 7-day accelerometry. Screen time (television, computer) was determined via questionnaire. The MetS was determined using standard criteria. Analysis of variance was used to examine relationships among sedentary time and screen time with sleep duration. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations between total sedentary time, screen time, and sleep duration with the MetS after controlling for several covariates. Results: Sedentary time and screen time did not vary across sleep duration quartiles (p=0.08 and p=0.87, respectively), and therefore were unrelated to sleep duration. The relative odds of the MetS was significantly higher in participants in the highest quartile of sedentary time than in participants in the lowest quartile (OR=1.60, 95% CI:1.05-2.45). The relative odds of the MetS was higher in participants in the highest screen time tertile than in participants in the lowest tertile (OR =1.67, 95% CI:1.13-2.48). Short sleep duration was not independently related to the MetS, but was borderline related to waist circumference (OR=1.25, 95% CI:0.85-1.84). Conclusion: Highly sedentary individuals and individuals with a high screen time are more likely to have the MetS, independent of sleep duration. Future studies in this area would benefit from using more advanced objective measures of sedentary behaviour and sleep duration and a prospective study design. / Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2013-10-29 15:40:55.494