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The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effect that consuming pre- and post exercise meals, varying in GI, would have on physiological responses and subsequent endurance performance. Study 1 investigated the effects of consuming either a low or high GI meal 45 min prior to exercise on cycling TT performance. It was observed that consuming a low GI meal 45 minutes prior to performing a 40k TT, resulted in a significantly improved performance (p = 0.009) compared to the ingestion of an isocaloric high GI pre- exercise meal (93 ± 8 min vs. 96 ±7 min for low and high GI, respectively). The results suggested that the ingestion of the low GI food led to an increase in the availability of CHO and greater CHO oxidation throughout the exercise period and subsequently spared limited muscle and liver glycogen stores. Study 2 investigated the effects of low and high GI 24 h diets, following glycogen depleting exercise, on TT performance the following day. No difference was observed in TT performance following low (90.7 ±11.1 min) and high (93.5 ± 9.29 min) GI, 24 h recovery diets (p = 0.35). This study concluded that provided the amount of CHO consumed during the recovery period is sufficient enough to replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores, the GI of the recovery diet offers no further benefit to performance. Study 3 investigated the effects of high and low GI recovery meals on TT performance following a short term recovery period from a glycogen depleting exercise. No significant difference was observed in TT performance between the low (90.7 ± 11.1 min) and high GI (93.5 ± 9.3 min) trials (t = 1.1; p = 0.35). This study concluded that if the following exercise bout is of short duration, and not long enough to challenge glycogen stores, provided the amount of CHO is sufficient during the recovery period, the GI of short- term recovery diets has no influence on subsequent exercise performance. In conclusion, the findings presented in this thesis should contribute to and support previous research within this area and help to contribute to the body of knowledge through greater ecological validity.

Obesity is a heterogeneous, complex, and chronic condition with large individual differences. Lifestyle modification has been widely acknowledged as the primary treatment for obesity. Objective – This PhD examined the effects of a non-dieting exercise-based lifestyle intervention programme (e.g. no calorie-restriction) using the tenets of the self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985b) to inform intervention decisions and identify individual differences (e.g. SDT was used to identify self-regulatory profiles), on physical and metabolic fitness, and psychological well-being among premenopausal, clinically obese women. The programme titled WHEEL focused on health outcomes rather than weight loss. Design – A randomised, delayed start RCT feasibility study. This longitudinal study ran for one year in two phases: a) 12 weeks of intensive intervention and b) a 40-week maintenance phase. Setting – Free living, general community setting. Participants – 62 predominantly white Caucasian (97%), clinically obese (BMI ≥30kg/m2), pre-menopausal women with a mean age of 40.2 years, free of obesity-related diseases and fit to for exercise were randomly assigned to a non-dieting lifestyle intervention group (n = 31) or waiting list control (n = 31). Intervention – Exercise: four hours of exercise per week chosen from the following options: Tai Chi, Circuit classes x 2; and Aqua aerobics. Participants were required to complete two sessions in a WHEEL class, but were encouraged to do all four. If this was not possible they had to agree the exercise of their choice with EB who checked their plan against the FITT principle of exercise. The tenets of SDT, namely autonomy, competence building, and relatedness were used to inform the design of exercise sessions. Autonomy: participants chose their own exercise programme structure. Flexibility within exercise sessions allowed for matching activities to participants’ current state of fitness. Those with high functional limitations were given alternative, seated exercises. Relatedness was fostered in different ways: 1) Outside of WHEEL:participants were encouraged to share their weight related experiences with each other. Routes to exercise venues were planned and they were encouraged to have a car-sharing scheme; and participants organised various charity walks for the group on their own accord. 2) Within WHEEL: participants generally worked in pairs whilst exercising in a group setting. After the initial 12-week intervention phase they were also allowed to invite a female friend or family member to join them in the classes. Competence building: participants were taught exercise skills; including naming and executing each exercise routine correctly, with a view of them joining ‘regular’ classes in the future. Furthermore, they were taught to take their own pulse and monitor their heart rate throughout sessions. The psycho-educational classes targeting dieting behaviours and eating regulation using Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques: a two one-hour session per week for three weeks, delivered in the 12-week intervention phase, challenging maladaptive eating behaviours, whilst educating participants about food labels and food choices. Educational Sessions: one per week for 12 weeks on physiological and psychological mechanisms of exercise and dieting (e.g. dangers of weight cycling due to dieting). Social Support: follow-up phone calls if two weeks of exercise sessions were missed. Adherence: attrition and attendance were monitored. Data Analysis – Mixed Method: sequential QUAN-QUAL data analyses. QUAN: intention to treat analysis, repeated measures analysis of variance, regression, and correlations. QUAL: analytic induction analysis using the QSR*NVivo qualitative data analysis software. Outcome measures at baseline, 12 weeks, and 52 weeks. QUAN Psychological Instruments: General Causality Orientation Scale (GCOS; Deci & Ryan, 1985b), General Well-Being Schedule (GWB; Dupuy, 1977 & 1978), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), Self-Perception Profile (SPP; Messer & Harter, 1986), State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES; Heatherton & Polivy, 1991), Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales (Form C) (MHLC; Wallston,Wallston, & DeVellis, 1978), and Social Support for Exercise Scale (SSSE; Fox & Dirkin, 1992). QUAN Physiology measures: metabolic and cardio-respiratory fitness. QUAL: 62 weight history interviews at baseline with 36 follow-up interviews, including 12 drop-outs. The semi-structured interviews explored participants’ history and prevalence of self-reported dieting and eating behaviours, assessed weight cycling prevalence and development of weight status up to baseline, investigated previous exercise history and skills, perceived health status and difficulties with physical activity including barriers, and examined motivation, goals, and expectation for WHEEL from the personal point of view and from the programme’s. The follow-up interviews at 52 weeks explored difficulties with exercise behaviour change, and quality of life. Results – Baseline: participants showed high levels of psychopathology indexed by high levels of stress, low levels of general well-being (81.8% in severely distressed category of the General Well-Being Schedule) and self-perceptions (e.g. self-esteem, body image), low autonomy and high impersonal orientation, and problems with emotional eating (78%) and dieting (86%). Also, participants had poor fitness levels (< 10% percentile for women) and metabolic profile with 50% of the participants meeting the metabolic syndrome criteria. Participants had unrealistic expectations (35% expected weight loss) and low exercise self-efficacy, low confidence in their ability to achieve, and a number of problems associated with their excess body weight. Finally, participants experienced societal prejudice in various aspects of their lives (e.g. healthcare, work). RCT phase: significant improvements in psychological functioning indexed by significant improvement in well-being (29.9% improvement in total score of GWB Schedule and all its subscales), self-perceptions (athletic, appearance, global self-worth scales of the SPP), and perceived received social support (reducing significantly the discrepancy between need for support and received support). In addition, cardiorespiratory fitness improved significantly in the intervention group (9.3% increase adjusted VO2, ml-kg- 1 min-1; 7.8% absoluteVO2, ml-min-1) as compared to controls (4% reduction adjusted VO2, ml-kg-1 min-1 & 3.2% absoluteVO2, ml-min-1). All these changes took place despite the absence of significant weight loss. Maintenance: those who continued the programme showed improved psychological functioning at 12. The participants showed significant improvements in general well-being: the average value at this stage was 74.4 (±16.6) bringing the group as a whole into the positive well-being category. Most subscales of the SPP showed significant improvements from baseline to 12 months and the discrepancy between needed and perceived provided social support for listening, information, and challenge support for exercise narrowed significantly. In support of SDT, participants felt more autonomous and more in control of their own destiny. Conclusion - Although there was a significant dropout in the study (60%) the present intervention was successful in bringing about behavioural change in those who stayed in the programme. Both the QUAN and QUAL results provided strong support for the improved psychological profile of participants in the absence of significant weight changes. Reasons for dropout included: research design, facilities, and personal. Although the study was not without limitations the underlying philosophy adopted was rarely questioned and would provide a basis for definitive RCT trail.

The overall purpose of this research programme was to examine how international adolescent golfers cope with performance related stressors. As such, three interrelated studies were designed to pursue this purpose. The purpose of Study 1 was to examine instances when international adolescent golfers' coped effectively and ineffectively with performance-related stressors during competition. Strategies associated with effective coping were rationalizing, re-appraising, blocking, positive self-talk, following a routine, breathing exercises, physical relaxation, and seeking on-course social support. Alternatively, different types of coping responses (trying too hard, speeding up, routine changes, negative thoughts, lack of coping) were associated with ineffective coping. The purpose of Study 2 was to examine stressors, coping strategies, and perceived coping effectiveness among elite adolescent golfers longitudinally over 31 days. Overall, most frequently-cited stressors were making a physical error and making a mental error. Coping strategies that served a problem-focused coping function were cited more often than those which served an emotion-focused or avoidance function. Although mean coping effectiveness remained stable over time, considerable fluctuations in the effectiveness of coping strategies used to manage specific stressors were observed. The purpose of study 3 was to identify and examine adolescent golfers' stress appraisals and coping attempts during golf performance. Stress appraisals appeared to be related to the participants' performance goals, and an array of different coping attempts was deployed to manage apparently similar stressor-appraisals The findings presented in this research programme suggest that adolescent golfers use a plethora of different coping strategies during golf to cope with performance related stressors. The types of coping strategies utilised by the participants were very similar throughout all three of the studies ranging from blocking to positive appraisal.

Many developing countries are increasingly using tourism as a tool for regional development. While it is expected that tourism can bring substantial benefits, there is also evidence that it can entail negative social, cultural and environmental impacts, and clearly tourism at the regional scale requires careful planning in order to promote sustainable development. While tourism has been planned for decades, there has been relatively little research on how to plan for tourism development at the regional scale in either developing or developed countries. There is growing acceptance that tourism planning at all geographical scales ought to involve broad participation so that the affected stakeholders are engaged in the decision-making. However, research on stakeholder participation in tourism planning has only very recently begun to draw on the valuable insights offered by collaboration theory. This research examines stakeholder participation in tourism planning based on a case study of the Costa Dourada project, a regional tourism initiative involving ten very poor municipalities in Alagoas State in north-east Brazil. The project sought to combine regular collaborative planning meetings involving a range of key stakeholders with consultation with a much larger number of parties affected by the project. The study examines the participation processes involved in the collaborative planning process, the extent to which collaboration fully emerges in the planning process, and the views of stakeholders not involved in the collaborative planning about the project and the planning process. Additionally, consideration is given to the extent to which the planning process was likely to promote co-ordinated planning and concern for the varied issues affecting the sustainable development of the region. The approach to the study was based on a conceptual framework that will be of use to other researchers, this being developed from literature on collaboration theory, stakeholder participation in tourism planning, regional tourism planning and sustainable tourism planning. Importantly this framework can be applied to other regional tourism planning contexts. Data for the study was collected from primary documents related to the project, two semi-structured interviews and two structured questionnaires, and from observation of planning activities. The planning issues and the planning process were evaluated from the perspectives of both participants in the regular collaborative planning meetings and also other stakeholders affected by the project. The results suggest that the approach to regional tourism planning adopted in the Costa Dourada project encouraged a reasonably co-ordinated response from a 'broad range of stakeholders whose interests were largely focused either at local, state and national geographical scales. The regional planning process adopted by the project helped the federal government to share power and decision-making with state and local governments. Participants in the collaborative planning were engaged in negotiation, shared decision-making and consensus building and most were broadly supportive of the project aims, decision-making, and decisions. However, some participants had significant concerns, such as about the extent to which everyone's views were taken into account. The way in which collaborative and consultative approaches to participation were combined was relatively successful in helping to identify key stakeholders and issues, in raising awareness about the project and building external support for the project. The range of participants in the project planning was also likely to promote consideration of many of the issues of sustainable development, although there was only limited involvement of environmental groups and of private sector interests. The study develops a new conceptual model of the collaborative process in regional tourism planning which was developed deductively from relevant academic literature and also inductively from the Costa Dourada case study. The model integrates collaborative and consultative approaches to tourism planning and relates these to broader influences. One contribution of the study is that it identifies stages in the collaborative process but stresses that these substantially overlap and there are dynamic and iterative links between them. Key issues for a theoretical understanding of collaborative regional tourism planning are also evaluated.

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