scholarly journals The Relationships Between Physical Activity Behavior, Daily Experiences, and Well-Being in Everyday Life

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 43-44
Author(s):  
Erica O'Brien ◽  
David Almeida ◽  
Christiane Hoppmann

Abstract A physically active lifestyle has several health benefits in both the short- and long-term. This includes higher levels of emotional and psychological well-being and, in many cases, maintained well-being despite stressful experiences that can have countervailing, negative impacts on health. This symposium presents innovative research that (a) links physical activity to positive and negative events or experiences in middle-aged and older adults, and that (b) uses different assessment and analytical techniques to unpack these links on multiple timescales – between moments, days, and years. Lee and colleagues investigate the influence of daily positive experiences on the likelihood and extent of physical activity. O’Brien and Almeida examine how daily stressor experiences predict engagement in different intensities of physical activity and highlight moderating factors such as perceived stressor control. Puterman and colleagues characterize the real-time associations between physical activity and negative responses to stressful experiences by using intensive, within-day assessment methods and accelerometry data. Lastly, Benson and colleagues report on whether the potential for daily physical activity to protect against negative stressor responses differs with age and changes across the adult lifespan. Together, these papers consider the nature and mechanisms of the relationship between physical activity and everyday experiences (e.g., stressors and positive events). They also underscore the importance of assessing relationships on different timescales to obtain a clearer understanding of intrapersonal and developmental processes. As discussant, Hoppmann will assess the strengths and limitations of these papers, elaborate on underlying and overarching themes, and identify future directions in this field.

Author(s):  
Carl P. Nienhuis ◽  
Iris A. Lesser

Background: A global pandemic caused by COVID-19 resulted in restrictions to daily living for Canadians, including social distancing and closure of recreation facilities and provincial parks. Methods: The objective of this study was to assess whether sex differences exist in physical activity and well-being since COVID-19 and to explore how barriers or facilitators to physical activity may explain these differences. Chi-square tests, independent t-tests and one-way ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate data provided by 1098 Canadians—215 men and 871 women. Results: Women were significantly less physically active than men and reported more barriers and fewer facilitators to physical activity and experienced significantly more generalized anxiety than men. Women who were engaged in less physical activity due to COVID-19 reported significantly lower mental health scores, lower social, emotional and psychological well-being, and significantly higher generalized anxiety, while women who engaged in more physical activity had improved mental health scores. Conclusions: Given the challenges that women uniquely face due to restrictions, it is imperative to advocate and provide environmental opportunity and support for physical activity to reduce the mental duress women may be experiencing. Specific physical activity programming that is inclusive of lifestyle physical activity and can engage children is encouraged.


2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (9) ◽  
pp. 1039-1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wagenmakers ◽  
Martin Stevens ◽  
Wiebren Zijlstra ◽  
Monique L Jacobs ◽  
Inge van den Akker-Scheek ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose Despite recognized health benefits of physical activity, little is known about the habitual physical activity behavior of patients after total hip arthroplasty (THA). The purpose of this study was to analyze this behavior and the fulfillment of guidelines for health-enhancing physical activity of these patients compared with a normative population. Subjects and Methods The participants were 273 patients who had undergone a primary THA (minimum of 1 year postoperatively). Comparisons were made between this group and 273 age- and sex-matched individuals from a normative population. Comparisons also were made between participants with THA under 65 years of age and those 65 years of age and older and among participants with THA in different Charnley classes. Level of physical activity was assessed with the Short QUestionnaire to ASsess Health-enhancing physical activity (SQUASH). Results No significant differences in total amount of physical activity or time spent in different categories of physical activity were found between the THA group and the normative group. Participants with THA spent significantly more minutes in activities of moderate intensity compared with the normative group. Participants with THA who were under 65 years of age were significantly more active than older participants with THA. Charnley class had significant effects on time spent at work, time spent in moderate-intensity activities, and total amount of activity, with the least activity performed by participants in Charnley class C. The guidelines were met by 51.2% of the participants with THA and 48.8% of the normative population. Female participants met the guidelines less frequently than male participants in both the combined groups (odds ratio=0.50, 95% confidence interval=0.35–0.72, P<.001) and the THA group (odds ratio=0.48, 95% confidence interval=0.28–0.80, P=.001). Discussion and Conclusion The results suggest that patients after THA are at least as physically active as a normative population. Nevertheless, a large percentage of these patients do not meet the guidelines; therefore, they need to be stimulated to become more physically active.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 141 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maira Tristao Parra ◽  
Meredith A Pung ◽  
Kathleen Wilson ◽  
Christopher Pruitt ◽  
Barry H Greenberg ◽  
...  

Hypothesis: insufficiently active heart failure patients will report poorer QoL, more fatigue and depressive mood compared to active patients. Aims: To characterize clinical characteristics and health-related behaviors according to physical activity (PA). Also, to explore predicting factors of quality of life (QoL). Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of a cohort of Stage B HF patients. PA classification was set as active, moderately active or insufficiently active, according to the LTEQ questionnaire. For QoL, the SF-36 questionnaire was used. ANOVAS, Chi-Square tests or likelihood ratios and unadjusted multiple regression models were calculated. Significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: In this cohort, 277 HF patients completed the PA questionnaire. The prevalence of active patients was higher than moderately active and insufficiently active (53.3% vs 15.2% and 29.6%), respectively. Younger age (p = 0.044), lower waist circumference (WC) (p = 0.002), and lower waist-to-hip ratio (p = 0.046) were associated with being active. The prevalence of Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the active groups was significantly lower (p = 0.001). Physically active groups had cases of mild LV enlargement (1.4% and 7.5%, respectively), while no cases were observed among insufficiently active patients (p = 0.017). PA was positively associated with less fatigue (p= 0.002), more vigor (p = 0.001), more self-efficacy (p < 0.001), and better quality of life (p = 0.002). Patients who were less physically active had more inflammation (CRP, p = 0.015; IL-6, p <0.001; TNF-α: p = 0.033, and IL-1ra, p = 0.001). WC (β =-0.16, p = 0.008), glucose (β =-0.12, p < 0.001) and fatigue (β = - 0.39, p < 0.001) predicted general health perception (R 2 = 0.449). For physical functioning (high scores reflects performing PA without limitations due to health), WC (β = - 0.28, p = 0.001), sleep (β = - 1.50, p = 0.003) and fatigue (β = - 0.32, p = 0.018) were significant predictors (R 2 = 0.422); while age (β = 0.36, p <0.001) physical activity (β = 0.051, p = 0.055), sleep (β = 0.50, p =0.046), fatigue (β = -0.37, p <0.001) and depression (β = -1.12, p <0.001) predicted emotional well-being (R 2 = 0.696). Conclusion: Physically active heart failure patients had a better anthropometric profile and lower prevalence of T2DM. In this cohort, PA was not a significant predictor for general and physical functioning, but it remained relevant for predicting emotional well-being.


Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Potter ◽  
Jessica E. Teng ◽  
Brittany Masteller ◽  
Caitlin Rajala ◽  
Laura B. Balzer

Dog owners are more physically active than non-dog owners, but evidence of a causal relationship between dog acquisition and increased physical activity is lacking. Such evidence could inform programs and policies that encourage responsible dog ownership. Randomized controlled trials are the ‘gold standard’ for determining causation, but they are prohibited in this area due to ethical concerns. In the BuddyStudy, we tested the feasibility of using dog fostering as a proxy for dog acquisition, which would allow ethical random assignment. In this single-arm trial, 11 participants fostered a rescue dog for six weeks. Physical activity and psychosocial data were collected at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks. At 6 weeks, mean change in steps/day was 1192.1 ± 2457.8. Mean changes on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale were −4.9 ± 8.7 and −0.8 ± 5.5, respectively. More than half of participants (55%) reported meeting someone new in their neighborhood because of their foster dog. Eight participants (73%) adopted their foster dog after the 6-week foster period; some maintained improvements in physical activity and well-being at 12 weeks. Given the demonstrated feasibility and preliminary findings of the BuddyStudy, a randomized trial of immediate versus delayed dog fostering is warranted.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 1060-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas D. Gilson ◽  
Caitlin Hall ◽  
Andreas Holtermann ◽  
Allard J. van der Beek ◽  
Maaike A. Huysmans ◽  
...  

Background: This systematic review assessed evidence on the accelerometer-measured sedentary and physical activity (PA) behavior of nonoffice workers in “blue-collar” industries. Methods: The databases CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Scopus were searched up to April 6, 2018. Eligibility criteria were accelerometer-measured sedentary, sitting, and/or PA behaviors in “blue-collar” workers (≥10 participants; agricultural, construction, cleaning, manufacturing, mining, postal, or transport industries). Data on participants’ characteristics, study protocols, and measured behaviors during work and/or nonwork time were extracted. Methodologic quality was assessed using a 12-item checklist. Results: Twenty studies (representing 11 data sets), all from developed world economies, met inclusion criteria. The mean quality score for selected studies was 9.5 (SD 0.8) out of a maximum of 12. Data were analyzed using a range of analytical techniques (eg, accelerometer counts or pattern recognition algorithms). “Blue-collar” workers were more sedentary and less active during nonwork compared with work time (eg, sitting 5.7 vs 3.2 h/d; moderate to vigorous PA 0.5 vs 0.7 h/d). Drivers were the most sedentary (work time 5.1 h/d; nonwork time 8.2 h/d). Conclusions: High levels of sedentary time and insufficient PA to offset risk are health issues for “blue-collar” workers. To better inform interventions, research groups need to adopt common measurement and reporting methodologies.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
L. Jayne Beselt ◽  
Michelle C. Patterson ◽  
Meghan H. McDonough ◽  
Jennifer Hewson ◽  
Scott MacKay

Physical activity (PA) and social support have known benefits for the well-being and health of older adults, and social support is associated with PA behavior and positive affective experiences in PA contexts. The aim of this study was to synthesize qualitative research conducted on the experiences of social support related to PA among older adults (age ≥55 years). Following meta-study methodology, the authors searched nine databases and extracted information from 31 studies. Results were synthesized in terms of common themes and in light of theoretical and methodological perspectives used. The qualitative literature identifies supportive behaviors and social network outcomes which may be useful for informing how best to support older adults to be physically active. This literature rarely reflected the experiences of vulnerable populations, and future research should aim to further understand supportive behaviors which enable older adults to overcome barriers and challenges to being physically active.


Author(s):  
Amanda L. Rebar

Much of our sport and physical activity behavior is regulated by processes occurring outside of conscious awareness. In contrast, most sport and physical activity research focuses on processes that are easily accessible by conscious introspection. More and more, however, research is demonstrating that automatic regulation is instrumental to our understanding of how to get people to maintain a physically active lifestyle and how to get the most out of people’s sports performance potential. Automatic regulation is the influence on our thoughts and actions that result from the mental network of associations we use to make sense of the world around us. Habits are automatic associations of cues with behavioral responses. Automatic evaluations are automatic associations of cues as being good or bad. Automatic schemas are automatic associations of cues with actual or ideal self-identity. These processes have been assessed with implicit measures by making indirect inferences from self-report or response latency tasks. Emerging research demonstrates that automatic associations influence sport performance and physical activity behavior, but further work is still needed to establish which type of automatic regulation is responsible for these influences and how automatic regulation and reflective processes interact to impact movement.


Author(s):  
Iris A. Lesser ◽  
Carl P. Nienhuis

A global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) resulted in restrictions to daily living for Canadians, including social distancing and closure of city and provincial recreation facilities, national parks and playgrounds. The objective of this study was to assess how these preemptive measures impacted physical activity behaviour and well-being of Canadians. An online survey was utilized to measure participant physical activity behavior, nature exposure, well-being and anxiety levels. Results indicate that while 40.5% of inactive individuals became less active, only 22.4% of active individuals became less active. Comparatively, 33% of inactive individuals became more active while 40.3% of active individuals became more active. There were significant differences in well-being outcomes in the inactive population between those who were more active, the same or less active (p < 0.001) but this was not seen in the active population. Inactive participants who spent more time engaged in outdoor physical activity had lower anxiety than those who spent less time in outdoor physical activity. Public health measures differentially affected Canadians who were active and inactive and physical activity was strongly associated with well-being outcomes in inactive individuals. This suggests that health promoting measures directed towards inactive individuals may be essential to improving well-being.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarahjane Belton ◽  
Paul Prior ◽  
Eric Wickel ◽  
Catherine Woods

Extra-curricular physical activity (ECPA) may have an important role to play in the health and well-being of adolescents, but the actual benefits are relatively unknown. This study examined ECPA participation amongst adolescent males (age 12–15 years) from disadvantaged backgrounds, and evaluated its impact on overall physical activity (PA) accumulation and psychological well-being. At three time points over a single academic year, participants from four schools ( n = 174) wore a pedometer for seven days and completed a questionnaire assessing habitual PA, frequency of ECPA participation, barriers to ECPA participation and seven psychosocial subscales. An average year-long score was calculated for each participant, for each variable. Across seasons, 84% of participants reported regular (≥ twice a week) or occasional (once a week) participation in ECPA. Those reporting regular participation in ECPA were significantly ( p < .01) more active (steps/day) and scored higher ( p < .01) on each psychosocial subscale. Results of multinomial regression analysis showed that perceived physical competence ( p < .001) had a significant main effect on ECPA participation. Our study results indicate that students from disadvantaged backgrounds whom participate in ECPA at least once a week are significantly more physically active and have a higher level of psychological well-being than those who never participate.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. Segar ◽  
John A. Updegraff ◽  
Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher ◽  
Caroline R. Richardson

The reasons for exercising that are featured in health communications brand exercise and socialize individuals about why they should be physically active. Discovering which reasons for exercising are associated with high-quality motivation and behavioral regulation is essential to promoting physical activity and weight control that can be sustained over time. This study investigates whether framing physical activity in advertisements featuring distinct types of goals differentially influences body image and behavioral regulations based on self-determination theory among overweight and obese individuals. Using a three-arm randomized trial, overweight and obese women and men (aged 40–60 yr,n=1690) read one of three ads framing physical activity as a way to achieve (1) better health, (2) weight loss, or (3) daily well-being. Framing effects were estimated in an ANOVA model with pairwise comparisons using the Bonferroni correction. This study showed that there are immediate framing effects on physical activity behavioral regulations and body image from reading a one-page advertisement about physical activity and that gender and BMI moderate these effects. Framing physical activity as a way to enhance daily well-being positively influenced participants’ perceptions about the experience of being physically active and enhanced body image among overweight women, but not men. The experiment had less impact among the obese study participants compared to those who were overweight. These findings support a growing body of research suggesting that, compared to weight loss, framing physical activity for daily well-being is a better gain-frame message for overweight women in midlife.


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