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Fysisk aktivitet, stress och psykosocial arbetsmiljö är viktiga faktorer på och utanför arbetsplatsen. Tidigare forskning har visat att fysisk aktivitet kan påverka den subjektiva stressupplevelsen. En arbetsmiljö präglad av höga krav, för lite kontroll och socialt stöd kan leda till negativa känslor och stress. Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka deltagarnas träningsgrad och dess betydelse för upplevelse av allmän stress och fysisk aktivitet. Psykosocial miljö undersöks och sätts i relation till stressupplevelse, anställningstid, ålder och träningsgrad genom multipla regressionsanalyser. Deltagare i undersökningen var 82 anställda, varav 54 kvinnor. Resultaten visade bland annat att träningsgrad har betydelse för den allmänna upplevelsen av stress och fysisk aktivitet. Slutsatsen att psykosocial arbetsmiljö, stress och fysisk aktivitet kan interagera med varandra är av värde att lyfta fram. Detta kan bidra till ökad medvetenhet för organisationer och vara ett hälsofrämjande verktyg för att minska negativt upplevd stress på och utanför arbetsplatsen.

Past research has shown classroom lessons incorporating physical activity (10-15 minutes in duration) to improve on-task behavior in children (Mahar, 2006; Grieco, Bartholomew & Jowers, 2009). However, no study to date has examined the levels of physical activity required to elicit this response. As such, the present study was designed to assess the effects of physically active, academic lessons of varying intensity, set in game-type format, on academic engagement of preadolescent children in the classroom setting. Time spent on-task (measured through direct observation) served as the primary outcome variable and assessed by means of a two (time: pre-, post-lesson) x four [condition: inactive lesson (physical activity control); sedentary academic game (interest control); low-to-moderate intensity physically active academic game; moderate-to-vigorous intensity physically active academic game] repeated measures design. Participants were third, fourth and fifth grade children from two elementary schools in central Texas (7 to 11 years of age). Physical activity was measured using Actigraph GT1M accelerometers (Fort Walton Beach, FL). Demographic data were collected for each participant on gender, age, ethnicity, height and weight (BMI calculated). Results indicated that the students’ TOT decreased significantly after a traditional seated control lesson. TOT did not change following the inactive control game. Thus, the competitive, seated game was sufficient to prevent the reduction in TOT that followed the traditional, seated control. In contrast, both physically active games were sufficient to increase TOT. Both had a significant increase in TOT relative to each control condition. In addition, the effect of the MVPA game was nearly three times the effect of the LMPA game. / text

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4 pp. / Why healthy meetings? Many choices go into having a successful 4-H club meeting, training, community workshop, or grower meeting. Extension staff, and volunteers should include healthy lifestyle behaviors into their education and "Walk the Talk" for healthy living in Arizona. Learn how your next meeting or event can promote healthy habits like good nutrition, physical activity and safe food.

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Previous theory-driven research studies in the activity area examining descriptive norms (e.g., Priebe & Spink, 2011, 2012) have demonstrated that these perceptions about others’ behaviour can influence individual behaviour. Although the results of these studies are informative, many questions still remain. The studies comprising this thesis add to the extant literature by improving upon methodological limitations of past work, extending the examination of the effects of norms on activity to include both injunctive norms (i.e., perceptions about others’ approval) and combined norms (aligned and misaligned), examining other activity-related cognitions (self-efficacy) and behaviour (sedentary), as well as examining characteristics of the norm reference group. Three independent experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 examined the effects of a descriptive norm message on muscular endurance and task self-efficacy in Pilates participants. Results revealed greater endurance and higher task self-efficacy among participants in the descriptive norm information condition as compared to control group participants. Study 2 compared four information conditions: injunctive, aligned descriptive and injunctive, misaligned descriptive and injunctive, and control with respect to their influence on muscular endurance and efficacy in a student population. Individuals receiving the aligned norms had the longest post-condition muscular endurance and greater task efficacy than all other conditions. No differences emerged between the injunctive, misaligned, and control conditions. Study 3, an online experimental field study, examined the effects of descriptive norms on both light activity and sedentary behaviour in an office setting. Study 3 also examined the effects of norms when the reference group differed in personal or contextual similarity. No differences emerged between participants receiving information about groups that varied in similarity. However, after receiving an email with descriptive norm information about co-workers’ behaviour, light activity increased and sitting behaviour decreased within the office setting across all conditions. Results from these three studies suggest the following: (1) aligned norms seem to be more effective than misaligned, (2) standalone injunctive norms might not be salient in the activity setting, (3) descriptive norms can impact objective activity behaviour, self-report light activity and sedentary behaviour, and (4) descriptive norms also may inform related cognitive constructs such as task self-efficacy.

Background: Because it is a strong determinant of chronic disease and mortality risk, physical activity is a health behaviour that is measured in most large health surveys. Questionnaires are the most commonly used method for measuring physical activity in health surveys. In the early 1990’s, an international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) was created to allow researchers from across the globe to employ the same questionnaire within their country. Several studies have been conducted on the IPAQ to determine whether the responses obtained are comparable when the questionnaire is administered on multiple occasions (reliability) and to determine the ability of the questionnaire to obtain the same physical activity result when compared to other direct measures, considered as “gold standard” (validity). However, none of these studies have been conducted in Mexico. Objective: Examine: 1) the reliability of the IPAQ among Mexican adults by comparing minutes per week (min/wk) spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from the IPAQ administered two times, 2) the validity of the IPAQ surveys by comparing IPAQ min/wk of MVPA to those obtained by the accelerometer. Methods: 267 Mexican adults who worked in a factory in Mexico City participated. IPAQ was applied in a face-to-face interview during a first clinic visit. Participants received an accelerometer (motion sensor that measures and record physical activity) and wore it consecutively for the next 9 days. In a second visit, participants returned the accelerometer and completed a second IPAQ. The research team cleaned and analyzed the accelerometer data using standardized techniques. Results from the two IPAQ and the accelerometer were compared using the appropriate statistical tests. Results: IPAQ1 and IPAQ2 measures of MVPA were significantly correlated to each other (r=0.55, p<0.01). The MVPA (min/week) measures from IPAQ1 and IPAQ2 were only modestly correlated with the accelerometer measures (r=0.26 and r=0.31, p<0.01). The percentage of the participants who were classified as inactive according to the World Health Organization physical activity guidelines was 18.0% in IPAQ1, 25.1% in IPAQ2, and 28.2% for the accelerometer. Conclusions: IPAQ was modestly correlated to each other and it was lowly correlated to values obtained by the accelerometer. Since IPAQ has been used to obtain physical activity prevalence worldwide, caution should be taken when this instrument is used. Future research should be focused on the importance of including direct measures to measure physical activity levels within epidemiological surveys. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-18 15:12:21.626

Total weekly moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) accumulated in different patterns has not been well studied: it is not yet known whether sporadic MVPA (periods of <10 consecutive minutes) or whether the weekly frequency of MVPA is associated with health benefits in adults. For this reason, the physical activity guidelines recommend that adults aged 18 to 64 years accumulate at least 150 minutes of MVPA per week in bouts of at least 10 minutes. The overall objective of this thesis was therefore to study the relationships between different patterns of MVPA and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) – a clustering of risk factors that increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in adults. Both manuscripts in this thesis used data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), a nationally-representative sample of Canadians. The MetS was determined from direct physical measurements and blood samples, while physical activity levels were assessed by accelerometers (also known as activity monitors). Complex statistical models were used to determine the relationship between patterns of MVPA and the MetS. The first study assessed whether bouted MVPA was associated with lower odds for MetS than an equal volume of sporadic MVPA. Results showed that both bouted and sporadic MVPA were equally related to the MetS; even small bursts of sporadic MVPA <3 minutes in length were meaningful when predicting the MetS. The second study evaluated whether more frequent weekly MVPA was associated with lower odds for the MetS in physically active adults. Among those who were considered physically active, there was no difference in the odds of the MetS between those who were infrequently or frequently active. Together, the results of this thesis suggest that the pattern in which weekly MVPA is accumulated is unimportant, provided that sufficient energy is expended. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-07-10 16:01:22.091

Surveillance data from 105 countries indicates that 80% of 13-15 year-olds do not meet the public health guideline of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. This is problematic as a lack of physical activity in young people is associated with physical, mental, and social health problems. Schools are a place where children and adolescents spend a large amount of their time and where they have several opportunities to engage in physical activity. The built and social environment of the school can influence the physical activity levels of students. The school built environment consists of the facilities that can encourage physical activity such as gymnasia, fields, and fitness rooms. This thesis looked at two aspects of the social environment: 1) school policies, programs, and practices (PPP) for physical activity, and 2) school social capital. School PPP includes things like having intramural sports. School social capital is based on the relationships formed at school. The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether selected features of the school social environment (social capital, school PPP for physical activity) changes the relationship between the school built environment and physical activity among 11-15 year-old Canadians. Information on the school social environment, school built environment and school time physical activity was gathered using a national representative survey called the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey (HBSC). The HBSC consists of a survey completed by grade 6-10 students in their classroom and a second 10 minute long survey completed by the principal of the participating schools. Results of this thesis indicate that the school built environment and school social capital were positively associated with school time MVPA, while school PPP had a slight negative association. School PPP altered the relationship between the built environment and physical activity. Specifically, the strongest positive association was between the built environment and MVPA levels in schools with few school PPP. However, school social capital did not alter the relationship between the built environment and MVPA. The results of this thesis can be useful in creating new school physical activity interventions. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-10-04 16:14:53.564