Abstract
Objective. We investigated whether perceived exertion, in comparison to the physiological response to exercise, was associated with self-reported vitality, mental health, and physical function during daily activities, or weight control behaviors. Design. Weight-reduced, formerly overweight women (n = 126, aged 22–46 years), completed health and dietary control questionnaires, and underwent a treadmill-walking task while heart rate, ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio, and ratings of perceived exertion were recorded. Results. Overperception of exertion (perceived exertion physiological exertion) was inversely associated with vitality (r = −0.190, P < .05), mental health (r = −0.188, P < .05), and dietary control (r values range −0.231 to −0.317, P < .05). In linear regression modeling, vitality or mental health, and cognitive dietary restraint were independently associated with accuracy of perceived exertion, independent of age, ethnicity, and engagement in exercise during weight loss. Each model explained 7%-8% of the variance in accuracy of perceived exertion. Conclusion. Women with low vitality or poor mental health, and poor dietary control may overperceive exertion. Such overperception may be a barrier to engage in physical activity and thus increase susceptibility to weight gain.
Highlights
IntroductionWhile advances in technology and changes in the environment have promoted sedentary lifestyles, public health efforts have attempted to counter these changes by encouraging physical activity among the general population
The obesity epidemic has been attributed in part to sedentary lifestyles
This study examined whether self-reported physical or mental health, or weight control behaviors were related to the tendency to over- or underperceive exertion
Summary
While advances in technology and changes in the environment have promoted sedentary lifestyles, public health efforts have attempted to counter these changes by encouraging physical activity among the general population Despite these efforts, the proportion of adults in the USA who meet daily physical activity recommendations is estimated to be between just 5% and 28% [1, 2]. Borg rating scales are frequently used to measure perceived exertion and the 15-point scale is believed to reflect heart rate during a physical activity task [4,5,6]. It is likely, that other physiological indices such as ventilation and respiratory exchange ratio (RER), impact ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Our group recently developed an index of the accuracy of perceived
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