Does Building a Greenway Promote Physical Activity Among Proximate Residents?

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie T. West ◽  
Kindal A. Shores

Background:Previous research has observed a positive correlation between having greenways or trails proximate to homes and the physical activity behaviors among residents. Few studies using a pre–post research design have been conducted, and each has pointed to the need for more rigorous studies which incorporate an appropriate control group.Methods:Residents from households living within 1 mile of a proposed greenway and those from a control neighborhood located between 2 and 3 miles of the proposed greenway were randomly selected to participate in the study. Participants were mailed a survey before the onset of construction and again 1 year after the trail was opened. Outcomes were the number of days during the previous week that respondents reported participating in walking, moderate activity, and vigorous activity.Results:Repeated measures analyses of variance indicated no significant differences between the experimental and control groups in days of walking, moderate activity, or vigorous activity before and after the greenway was constructed.Conclusions:Findings suggest that building a greenway did not affect the physical activity behaviors of proximate residents. Other studies should consider different trail types from a variety of settings to determine whether physical activity behavior changes may be context specific.

Author(s):  
Joonyoung Lee ◽  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Tsz Lun (Alan) Chu ◽  
Xiangli Gu ◽  
Ping Zhu

Globally, more than half of school-aged children do not engage in the recommended 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Given that developing sufficient fundamental motor skills (FMS) competence during early elementary school years is important for a child’s physical and cognitive development, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an 8-week FMS-based afterschool program on physical and cognitive health outcomes among elementary children. Participants were 31 K–2 students (19 girls, 12 boys; Mage = 6.65 ± 0.98) from three public elementary schools in the southwestern United States who were assigned to the intervention group (FMS-based afterschool program; n = 20) or the control group (traditional afterschool program; n = 11). A 2 × 2 repeated measures MANOVA showed significant changes in FMS competence and MVPA between the intervention and the control group over time. However, no significant changes were found in cognitive functioning. The 8-week FMS-based afterschool program showed significant improvements in FMS competence and MVPA, compared to a traditional afterschool program. This finding suggests that structured FMS-focused strategies (e.g., fun games and goal setting) can be a critical component when implementing a physical activity program to enhance children’s motor skills and physical activity behavior.


2021 ◽  
pp. 586-593
Author(s):  
Dominika Wilczyńska ◽  
Anna Łysak-Radomska ◽  
Magdalena Podczarska-Głowacka ◽  
Wojciech Skrobot ◽  
Katarzyna Krasowska ◽  
...  

Coach workshops based on seven principles (inspiration, explanation, expectation, support, reward, appreciation, growth and winning) enhance the sport experience of adult athletes. Therefore, we have investigated the effects of such workshops with coaches of child athletes. Study participants were coaches of 57 9- to 12-year old girls (practicing gymnastics) and boys (practicing football). Three coaches of 28 children attended three workshops over 12 weeks, while a control group of 5 coaches of 29 children attended no workshops. Measures of well-being and psychomotor performance were taken on the children before and after the intervention; differences in mean changes between intervention and control groups were adjusted for baseline, standardized, and assessed with a conservative magnitude-based decision method. There were clear substantial effects of the workshop on motivation averaged across several dimensions (girls, large, most likely beneficial), on a decision test (boys, small-moderate, very likely beneficial), on state anxiety self-reflection (girls, moderate, likely harmful), and on reaction time (boys, small, possibly harmful). The beneficial effects of the workshop in this pilot study are encouraging, but the unclear and potentially harmful effects and the roles of presenter- and coach-specific effects need to be investigated further with a representative sample of coaches and more children before the workshop is recommended for implementation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-186
Author(s):  
Eduardo Sáez de Villarreal ◽  
Jose Galán Molina ◽  
Guillermo de Castro-Maqueda ◽  
José V. Gutiérrez-Manzanedo

Abstract The study aim was to compare the effects of a 7-week plyometric, strength and change of direction (COD) training program on basketball-specific performance measures in high-school players. Forty male players were randomly assigned to one of the four groups: plyometric (PG, n = 10), strength (SG, n = 10), COD (CODG, n = 10), and control group training (CG, n = 10). Two training sessions were performed at weekly intervals before basketball training. Performance of the counter movement jump (CMJ), Abalakov jump (ABKJ), 10 m zig-zag sprint, 20 m in line sprint (measurements at 10 and 20 m), and sit and reach flexibility test (SRFT) was assessed before and after the intervention. A 4 (group) × 2 (time) repeated measures analysis of variances (ANOVA) was conducted for each variable. Bonferroni post-hoc tests were used when the interaction was significant. Significant (all p < 0.05) time x group interaction was noted for SRFT, CMJ, ABK, sprint, and zig-zag 10 m, in favor of the experimental groups compared to the control group. However, improvements in physical fitness were similar between the three experimental groups. In conclusion, 7 weeks of specific plyometric, strength and COD training produced similar medium to large improvements in physical fitness of high-school basketball players.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian Scarf ◽  
Sahlia Kumst

Children’s ability to delay gratification is correlated with a range of positive outcomes in adulthood, showing the potential impact of helping young children increase their competence in this area. This study investigated the influence of symbolic models on 3-year-old children’s self-control. Eighty-three children were randomly assigned to one of three modelling conditions: personal story-telling, impersonal story-telling, and control. Children were tested on the delay-of-gratification maintenance paradigm both before and after being exposed to a symbolic model or control condition. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant differences between the two story-telling groups and the control group, indicating that the symbolic models did not influence children’s ability to delay gratification. A serendipitous finding showed a positive relationship between children’s ability to wait and their production and accurate use of temporal terms, which was more pronounced in girls than boys. This finding may be an indication that a higher temporal vocabulary is linked to a continuous representation of the self in time, facilitating children’s representation of the future-self receiving a larger reward than what the present-self could receive.


2017 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
A.D. JADCZAK ◽  
K.L. TAM ◽  
R. VISVANATHAN

Background: Exercise courses during medical school contribute to medical students’ confidence in promoting physical activity to their patients. However, there is still a lack of uniform physical activity education across medical school curricula to equip medical students with the necessary skills and knowledge to counsel their patients about exercise. Objective: To determine the effects of a 1.5-hour physical activity module including a one-hour exercise tutorial combined with a 30-minute practical counselling session on senior medical students’ perceptions of the importance of exercise and their perceived competence in advising older people about exercise. Design: Pre-post survey. Setting: University campus. Participants: 161 senior medical students taking part in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Geriatric Medicine course in 2015 (control group) and 2016 (intervention group). Measurement: The modified Exercise and Physical Activity Competence Questionnaire (EPACQ) was administered before and after a 4.5-week Geriatric Medicine Course. Scores ranged from 1 (not important or competent) to 6 (very important or competent). The independent T-Test and repeated-measures ANOVA was used to determine differences between intervention and control group. Results: Medical students perceived exercise-related skills to be highly important (score ≥4) in both the intervention (4.85 ± 0.37) and control group (4.78 ± 0.67), pre-course. The overall perceived importance could not be significantly increased by the physical activity module (P=0.082). The physical activity module, however, improved medical students’ perceived competence in six out of ten exercise-related skills, and increased their overall perceived competence in counselling older people about exercise (P<0.001). Conclusion: A 1.5-hour physical activity module improves senior medical students’ perceived competence in counselling older people about exercise. This research proves that little teaching space is needed to impact positively on medical students’ exercise counselling abilities.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian Scarf ◽  
Sahlia Kumst

Children’s ability to delay gratification is correlated with a range of positive outcomes in adulthood, showing the potential impact of helping young children increase their competence in this area. This study investigated the influence of symbolic models on 3-year-old children’s self-control. Eighty-three children were randomly assigned to one of three modelling conditions: personal story-telling, impersonal story-telling, and control. Children were tested on the delay-of-gratification maintenance paradigm both before and after being exposed to a symbolic model or control condition. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant differences between the two story-telling groups and the control group, indicating that the symbolic models did not influence children’s ability to delay gratification. A serendipitous finding showed a positive relationship between children’s ability to wait and their production and accurate use of temporal terms, which was more pronounced in girls than boys. This finding may be an indication that a higher temporal vocabulary is linked to a continuous representation of the self in time, facilitating children’s representation of the future-self receiving a larger reward than what the present-self could receive.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Aglaia Zafeiroudi

Spending time outdoors fosters a sense of connectedness and empathy with nature and has a clear effect on attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an outdoor activities intervention program on adolescents’ sense of responsibility towards the environment. Participants included 262 adolescents (135 girls and 127 boys) aged 13-17 years who were divided into experimental (n = 141) and control groups (n = 121). The 15-day outdoor intervention program included trekking, mountain biking, orienteering, archery, ropes courses, canoeing on a lake, via ferrata rock climbing, night hiking, and overnight camping. Participants completed an Environmental Responsibility questionnaire (Zafeiroudi & Hatzigeorgiadis, 2013) before and after participation in the activities program. The questionnaire included five scales that focused on perceptions of information on environmental issues, environmental cognitive and affective beliefs, predisposition for environmental action, and environmentally responsible behaviour. Analysis of variance with repeated measures revealed improved scores amongst adolescents who participated in the intervention program, notably within the specific scales used to evaluate perceived information, affective beliefs, predisposition for individual action, and predisposition for encouraging others. A follow-up analysis of covariance revealed that participants in the experimental group scored higher overall than did those in the control group. Taken together, these findings add to the current literature focused on psychosocial and behavioural mechanisms associated with environmental awareness. Our findings also suggest that outdoor recreational activities may be an effective supplement and a more challenging alternative to programs currently provided by environmental and active leisure associations.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257326
Author(s):  
Fabian Kleinke ◽  
Sabina Ulbricht ◽  
Marcus Dörr ◽  
Peter Penndorf ◽  
Wolfgang Hoffmann ◽  
...  

Background Lack of physical activity (PA) and a high level of physical inactivity (PI) are associated with a higher risk for mortality and responsible for several non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease. Higher age is associated with a decrease of PA and an increasing level of PI. Studies have shown that interventions in the elderly have the potential to increase the amount of PA and to decrease the level of PI. However, most interventions are complex, elaborated, time- and resource-consuming. Here, we examined the effect of individual feedback-letters reporting the measured PA and PI in a sample of elderly people in Germany. Primary outcomes of the study were overall PA and PI after 6 months in the intervention group compared to a control group. Methods We examined data from the MOVING intervention study (RCT) for people aged ≥ 65 years living in the northeast of Germany. At baseline, 3 and 6-months follow-up, all study participants wore a 3-axis accelerometer over a period of seven consecutive days. After the baseline measurement, the participants were randomized into intervention and control group. Participants in the intervention group received automatically generated, individualized feedback letters reporting their PA and PI by mail after the baseline measurement and after the 3-months follow-up. A Two-Way Mixed ANOVA with repeated measures was calculated with light, moderate and overall PA as well as PI as dependent variables, and group (between subject) and time (inner subject) as factors. The analysis based on retrospective data from the MOVING study (2016–2018). Results N = 258 patients were recruited. N = 166 participants could be included in the analysis, thereof N = 97 women (58.4%). The mean age was 70.8 years (SD 4.8). At baseline, the participants had a mean wearing time of 5,934.5 minutes (SD = 789.5) per week, which corresponds to about 14 hours daily on average. The overall PA in the intervention group at the 6-months follow up was 2488.8 (95% CI 2358.9–2618.2) minutes and 2408.2 (95% CI 2263.0–2553.4) minutes in the control group. There was no statistically significant interaction effect (time*group) between the intervention and control group for the depending variables. Sensitivity analyses showed significant small positive effects of the interaction time*partnership, F(2, 300) = 3.020, p = 0.05, partial η2 = 0.020. Discussion On average, study participants had high levels of PA at baseline and showed a good adherence in wearing the accelerometer. Both is likely due to selection in the convenience study sample. Thus, some ceiling effect reduced the overall intervention effect somewhat. At baseline, the weekly average of PI was 3436.7 minutes, which correspondents to about 8.2 hours per day and about 57% of participants’ daily waking time. The average level of PI could be slightly decreased in both study groups. Trial registration number DRKS00010410, 17 May 2017.


1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley J. Cardinal

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect behavioral monitoring had on female adults' physical activity behavior and the psychosocial determinants of their exercise behavior. The sample consisted of 23 adults (M age=33.5 yr.). Those in the experimental group (n=12) attended a onehour educational seminar, were taught to monitor their behavior using a Caltrac accelerometer, and were issued a Caltrac accelerometer to wear for 14 consecutive days. Those in the control group (n=11) attended the educational program only. At pre- and post-intervention, measures of physical activity and exercise behavior, adherence, identity, and self-efficacy were obtained. A 2 × 2 repeated measures MANOVA revealed no significant between, within, or interaction effects.


1984 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Donald S. Martin ◽  
Ming-Shiunn Huang

The actor/observer effect was examined by Storms in a 1973 study which manipulated perceptual orientation using video recordings. Storms' study was complex and some of his results equivocal. The present study attempted to recreate the perceptual reorientation effect using a simplified experimental design and an initial difference between actors and observers which was the reverse of the original effect. Female undergraduates performed a motor co-ordination task as actors while watched by observers. Each person made attributions for the actor's behaviour before and after watching a video recording of the performance. For a control group the video recording was of an unrelated variety show excerpt. Actors' initial attributions were less situational than observers'. Both actors and observers became more situational after the video replay but this effect occurred in both experimental and control groups. It was suggested the passage of time between first and second recording of attributions could account for the findings and care should be taken when interpreting Storms' (1973) study and others which did not adequately control for temporal effects.


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