Physical Activity Counseling Program Research Articles

Physical Activity, Nutritional Intake, And Sedentary Behaviors In Overweight Versus Normal Weight Children

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the health behaviors of overweight (OW) children were different from normal weight (NW) children enrolled in a community based physical activity (PA) and nutritional counseling program. METHODS: 142 children (28 boys and 114 girls) aged 10–14 yrs volunteered to participate in a 12 week program focused on nutritional and PA counseling at four YMCA's in Eastern Massachusetts. Height and weight were measured at baseline and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Children also completed the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey for Middle School children. Selected physical activity, nutritional knowledge and sedentary behavior questions were analyzed. Using the CDC'S BMI for age and gender charts, children were divided into two groups: >95th percentile (n=44) and <95th percentile (n=98). Independent t-tests were used to compare age and BMI between groups and chi-square tests were used to compare groups in the proportions engaging in healthy behaviors. Significance was set at p <0.05. RESULTS: BMI was significantly different between groups (29.4±5.8 kg/m2 OW versus 19.4±1.8 kg/m2 NW). Groups were not different in age (12.0 ±1.4yrs OW versus 12.1 ±1.4 yrs NW). There were no differences between groups in the proportions of children who reported 3 or more days of PA in the past week. The proportions of children who did not play on a sports team in the past year were also not different. The percent of children with a television in their bedrooms was 53.5% for the NW and 70.1% for the OW (p <0.05). However, the proportion of children who watched more than 2 hours of television per day was not different between the NW and OW. For nutritional intake, the OW and NW groups were not different in the percents who consumed 2 or more fruits or vegetables per day or for those who consumed fast food more than 2 times per week. 89.5% of the OW classified themselves as overweight versus 47.7% of the NW (p <0.05). The percent who were currently trying to lose weight were also different (72.1% NW and 90.8% OW, p <0.05). A significant difference (p<0.05) in percent between groups who used exercise to lose weight (75% NWvs. 36.8% OW), but no difference in percent who used dieting. CONCLUSIONS: The results did show that a higher percentage of the OW group classified themselves as overweight indicating a high self-awareness of children regarding their weight. Nevertheless, few differences existed in self-reported PA, diet, or TV behaviors between OW and NW middle school-aged girls and boys, suggesting that methods other than self-reporting may be beneficial to evaluate true differences in lifestyle factors related to weight.

The effects of a lifestyle physical activity counseling program with feedback of a pedometer during pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD: A pilot study

Objective To study the effects of a lifestyle physical activity counseling program with feedback of a pedometer during pulmonary rehabilitation. Methods Twenty-one chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients were randomized to an experimental group that followed a regular rehabilitation program plus the counseling intervention or to a control group that only followed rehabilitation. The primary outcome was daily physical activity assessed by pedometers. Secondary outcomes were physical fitness, health-related quality of life, activities of daily living, depression and self-efficacy. Results The experimental group showed an increase of 1430 steps/day (+69% from baseline), whereas the control group showed an increase of 455 steps/day (+19%) ( p = 0.11 for group × time interaction). The secondary outcomes showed no differences. Conclusion and practice implications This study showed that the use of the pedometer, in combination with exercise counseling and the stimulation of lifestyle physical activity, is a feasible addition to pulmonary rehabilitation which may improve outcome and maintenance of rehabilitation results.

Is Physical Activity Counseling Effective for Older People? A Cluster Randomized, Controlled Trial in Primary Care

To establish the effectiveness of the Green Prescription physical activity counseling program in increasing activity and quality of life in older community-dwelling people. Post hoc subgroup analysis of a large cluster randomized, controlled trial. One hundred seventeen doctors in 42 primary care practices (74% participation rate) in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Two hundred seventy sedentary primary healthcare patients aged 65 and older (67% participation rate). Patients in intervention practices prompted their primary care doctors or practice nurse to deliver brief activity counseling. A "Green Prescription" was written involving the negotiation of activity goals. Trained exercise specialists from a regional sports foundation gave follow-up telephone support over 3 months. Leisure moderate and vigorous physical activity, total energy expenditure, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, health-related quality of life, musculoskeletal injuries, falls, and hospitalizations. After 12 months of follow-up, leisure time moderate activity increased by 0.67 h/wk more in the intervention group than the control group (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.17-1.17) and energy expenditure increased by 2.67 kcal/kg per week (95% CI=0.87-4.47) more. For intervention group participants, vitality and general health scales of the 36-item Short Form showed statistically and clinically relevant improvements, and there was a decrease in hospitalizations (P<.03). There were no observable changes in blood pressure, injuries, or falls as a result of the Green Prescription program. This physical activity intervention improved activity, energy expenditure, health-related quality of life, and hospitalizations for older primary care patients. Systematic inclusion of the Green Prescription in routine primary health care will probably lead to health gain for older people.

Recruitment of Frail Veterans into Exercise Clinical Trial

0196 Recruitment of elders with extensive comorbidities into health promotion clinical trials is a major challenge. Resources necessary to accrue a targeted sample size are frequently underestimated. Furthermore, perceived health status among potential recruits with high prevalent comorbidities can be a barrier to successful recruitment. PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine changes in recruitment strategies and resulting yields in numbers of patients recruited per hour spent recruiting; and (2) to compare the health status between (i) individuals who agreed to participate in a health and physical activity counseling program with (ii) patients who declined participation citing poor health. METHODS We compared cumulative # of patients consented with cumulative # of hours recruiting over a 13- month period. Recruitment strategies were altered as routine efforts (mailings and telephone follow-up) yielded low numbers concurrent with major changes in hospital research policies following the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. For examination of health status, Charlson comorbidity index scores were calculated and compared between the two groups (i and ii) described above. RESULTS. Hours recruiting per month increased 5-fold during the final 3 months of recruitment with a net yield of more than 2-fold the numbers of patients recruited in the initial 10 months. Regardless of recruitment strategy employed, approximately 2 hours of telephone time was required per recruit (not including time and money spent on chart review, mailings, etc.). Charlson scores were not different (p = 0.97) between those agreeing to participate in the trial and those refusing due to poor health. CONCLUSION: Recruitment of frail elders into clinical trials is labor intensive and should be budgeted accordingly during the initial phases of patient accrual. In this population with high prevalent comorbidities, unidentifled barriers beyond health status inhibit participation in physical activity clinical trials Supported by VA E2788-RA and NIH #5 P60 AG 11268

Cost-Effectiveness of a Worksite Physical Activity Counseling Program - Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Cost-Effectiveness of a Worksite Physical Activity Counseling Program - Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Cost-Effectiveness of a Worksite Physical Activity Counseling Program - Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Cost-Effectiveness of a Worksite Physical Activity Counseling Program - Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial