The use of active living every day to improve mass transit district employees' physical activity affect and enjoyment

Abstract

The transportation industry faces a myriad of health problems, including obesity, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and high stress levels compared to individuals in other sectors of the workforce. The study's purpose was to examine the impact of active living every day (ALED) as a way to promote and increase mass transit workers' physical activity participation by creating changes in physical activity affect and enjoyment. This study condensed the traditional 12-week ALED program into a 6-week format and delivered it in two phases. The first phase received a 6-week version of the program with its original content. The second phase received a 6-week version of the program, tailored to meet the particular needs of the mass transit workforce. Affect was measured using the Feeling Scale and physical activity enjoyment was measured using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. For physical activity affect and enjoyment, there were significant increases (p = .001, p = .001 respectively) in the tailored intervention group. Based on these findings, the ALED program could be an effective program for helping mass transit workers improve physical activity affect and how much they enjoy physical activity, factors that are crucial in helping people become and remain physically active for life.