scholarly journals Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills (L.A.D.I.E.S.) for a Better Life: A Church-Based Physical Activity Intervention - Baseline Participant Characteristics

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melicia C. Whitt-Glover ◽  
Moses V. Goldmon ◽  
Ziya Gizlice ◽  
Daniel P. Heil ◽  
Njeri Karanja

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Physical activity (PA) is beneficial for health, yet most African American women do not achieve recommended levels. Successful, sustainable strategies could help to address disparities in health outcomes associated with low levels of PA. The Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills (L.A.D.I.E.S.) for a Better Life study compared a faith-based and a secular intervention for increasing PA with a selfguided control group. </p><p><strong>Design Setting Participants: </strong>This cluster randomized, controlled trial was conducted from 2010 – 2011 in African American churches (n=31) in suburban North Carolina. Participants were 469 self-identified low active African American women. </p><p><strong>Measures: </strong>Baseline data were collected on participant demographics, objective and self-reported PA, and constructs related to social ecological theory and social cognitive theory. </p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Complete baseline data were available for 417 participants who were aged 51.4 ± 12.9 years, with average BMI (kg/ m2) 35.8 ± 9.9; 73% of participants were obese (BMI &gt;30). Participants averaged 3,990 ± 1,828 pedometer-assessed daily steps and 23.9 ± 37.7 accelerometer-assessed minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous PA, and self-reported 25.4 ± 45.4 minutes of weekly walking and moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA. Baseline self-reported religiosity and social support were high. </p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>L.A.D.I.E.S. is one of the largest PA trials focused on individual behavior change in African American women. Baseline characteristics suggest participants are representative of the general population. Findings from the study will contribute toward understanding appropriate strategies for increasing PA in high-risk populations.</p><p><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2017;27(3):257-264; doi:10.18865/ed.27.3.257 </p>

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melicia C. Whitt-Glover ◽  
Moses V. Goldmon ◽  
Ziya Gizlice ◽  
Marie Sillice ◽  
Lyndsey Hornbuckle ◽  
...  

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills (L.A.D.I.E.S.) for a Better Life study compared a faith-integrated (FI) and a secular (SEC) intervention for increasing physical activity with a self-guided (SG) control group among African American women. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Design/Setting/Participants: </strong>L.A.D.I.E.S. was a cluster randomized, controlled trial. Churches (n=31) were randomized and women within each church (n=12 – 15) received the same intervention. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Interventions: </strong>FI and SEC participants received 24 group-based sessions, delivered over 10 months. SG participants received printed materials to review independently for 10 months. Participants were followed for 12-months post-intervention to assess long-term intervention impact. </p><p><strong>Main Outcome Measures: </strong>Data on participant characteristics, physical activity, and intervention-related constructs were collected at baseline, 10 months, and 22 months. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Intervention session attendance was greater for FI compared with SEC participants (15.7 + 5.7 vs 12.4 + 7.3 sessions, respectively, P&lt;.01). After 10 months, FI and SEC participants significantly increased daily walking (+1,451 and +1,107 steps/ day, respectively) compared with SG participants (-128 steps/day). Increases were maintained after 22 months in the FI group compared with the SG group (+1092 vs. +336 daily steps, P&lt;.01). Between-group changes in accelerometer-assessed physical activity were not statistically significant at any time point. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The FI intervention is a feasible strategy for short- and long-term increases in physical activity among African American women. Additional dissemination and evaluation of the strategy could be useful for reducing chronic disease in this high-risk population. <em></em></p><p><em>Ethn Dis.</em>2017;27(4):411- 420; doi:10.18865/ed.27.4.411. </p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dori Pekmezi ◽  
Cole Ainsworth ◽  
Renee Desmond ◽  
Maria Pisu ◽  
Victoria Williams ◽  
...  

African American women report low participation in physical activity and are disproportionately burdened by related conditions (obesity, breast, and colon cancer). Physical activity interventions have shown promising results among African American women, but most studies in this area have focused on short-term increases. More enduring changes in health behavior will be needed to eliminate existing health disparities. Thus, the current study examined 12-month physical activity and psychosocial outcomes from a pilot randomized controlled trial ( N = 84) of a Home-based Individually tailored Physical activity Print (HIPP) intervention for African American women in the Deep South. Retention was 77.4% at 12 months. HIPP participants increased self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from 35.1 minutes/week (standard deviation [SD] = 47.8) at baseline to 124 minutes/week ( SD = 95.5) at 12 months, compared with the wellness contact control participants who reported increases from 48.2 minutes/week ( SD = 51.3) to 102.5 minutes/week ( SD = 94.5) over 12 months (between-group p > .05). Results indicate that modest improvements in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and related psychosocial variables occurred during the active intervention phase (months 0-6) and were sustained during the tapered maintenance period (months 6-12). Low-cost, high-reach, home-based strategies have great potential for supporting sustained participation in physical activity and achieving long-term health benefits among African American women in the Deep South.


2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 1335-1344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison A M Bielak ◽  
Christopher R Brydges

Abstract Objectives Findings are mixed regarding the potential to improve older adults’ cognitive ability via training and activity interventions. One novel sensitive outcome may be intraindividual variability (IIV) in cognitive speed, or moment-to-moment changes in a person’s performance. The present article evaluated if participants who participated in a moderate physical activity intervention showed a reduction in IIV, compared with a successful aging education control group. Method For approximately 2.6 years, sedentary adults aged 70–90 years participated in the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) Study (n = 1,635), a multisite Phase 3 randomized controlled trial to reduce major mobility disability. They completed 4 reaction time tests at baseline and at approximately 24 months post-test. Results Analyses were conducted following both the intent-to-treat principle and complier average casual effect modeling. Results indicated that participants in the physical activity group did not show a reduction in their IIV. Discussion The lack of a significant reduction in IIV may be due to the mild nature of the physical activity program and the cognitively healthy sample. It is also possible that other types of lifestyle activity interventions (e.g., social and cognitive engagement) can elicit reductions in IIV for older adults.


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