scholarly journals Facets of Impulsivity in Relation to Diet Quality and Physical Activity in Adolescence

Author(s):  
Kathryn E. Smith ◽  
Jason M. Lavender ◽  
Adam M. Leventhal ◽  
Tyler B. Mason

Although the construct of impulsivity has generally been found to be associated with obesity and health behaviors in adults, research among adolescents is more limited and studies have yet to elucidate which facets of impulsivity may be most salient with regard to different eating and physical activity behaviors. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study assessed facets of impulsivity, measured by the UPPS-P questionnaire, in relation to health behaviors among adolescents. A sample of 2797 high school students from Los Angeles, California completed self-report measures during the ninth grade. The UPPS-P subscales (i.e., (lack of) premeditation, sensation seeking, (lack of) perseverance, negative urgency, positive urgency) were examined as predictors of unhealthy diet quality (i.e., frequency of consumption of high-fat foods and sweet food and drinks, measured by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Quick Food Scan) and frequency of vigorous physical activity (measured by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System). Greater sensation seeking, positive urgency, and negative urgency was associated with greater unhealthy diet quality (ps < 0.001). Greater negative urgency and lack of perseverance was associated with less frequent vigorous physical activity, whereas greater sensation seeking, lack of premeditation, and positive urgency was associated with more frequent vigorous physical activity (ps < 0.05). While negative urgency (i.e., impulsivity in the context of negative emotions) was consistently associated with poor health behaviors, other facets of impulsivity may potentiate vigorous physical activity in youth. Together these findings underscore the importance of considering the multidimensional nature of impulsivity in relation to adolescents’ health behaviors and highlight areas for future longitudinal research.

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 426-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve Fridlund Dunton ◽  
Donna Spruijt-Metz ◽  
Jennifer Wolch ◽  
Chih-Ping Chou ◽  
Michael Jerrett ◽  
...  

Background:Efforts to increase community levels of physical activity through the development of multiuse urban trails could be strengthened by information about factors predicting trail use. This study examined whether reasons for trail use predict levels of physical activity on urban trails.Methods:Adults (N = 335) living within a 1-mile buffer zone of urban trails in Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles completed a self-report measure assessing demographics, reason for trail use, and physical activity on the trail. Accelerometers measured total daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Environmental features of the urban trail were assessed with the Systematic Pedestrian and Cyclist Environmental Scan for trails measure. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted that accounted for clustering of individuals within trail segments.Results:After controlling for demographic and environmental factors and total daily MVPA, reasons for trail use significantly predicted recreational but not transportation activity. Recreational trail activity was greater for participants who reported exercise and health reasons for trail use as compared with other reasons (ie, social interaction, enjoying nature, walking pets) for recreational trail use.Conclusions:To increase the use of urban trails, it may be useful to promote the health and exercise benefits of recreational trail use.


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kok Sonk Lee ◽  
Stewart G. Trost

The purpose of this study was to document the level of physical activity and sedentary behavior in a representative sample of Singaporean adolescents. A random sample of 1,827 secondary school students from six secondary schools (929 boys, 898 girls, mean age 14.9 ± 1.2 yr) completed the Three-Day Physical Activity Recall (3DPAR) self-report instrument. Approximately 63% of Singaporean high school students met current guidelines requiring 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. Just over half (51.6%) met the guideline calling for regular vigorous physical activity. Across all grade levels, boys were consistently more active than girls. More than 70% of Singaporean high school students exceeded the recommended 2 hours per day of electronic media use. Collectively, these findings suggest that a significant proportion of Singaporean adolescents are not sufficiently active and are in need of programs to promote physical activity and decrease sedentary behavior.


Author(s):  
Claudio R. Nigg ◽  
Xanna Burg ◽  
Barbara Lohse ◽  
Leslie Cunningham-Sabo

Purpose: This study used different analytic approaches to compare physical activity (PA) metrics from accelerometers (ACC) and a self-report questionnaire in upper elementary youth participating in the Fuel for Fun intervention. Methods: The PA questionnaire and ACC were assessed at baseline/preintervention (fall fourth grade), Follow-up 1/postintervention (spring fourth grade), and Follow-up 2 (fall fifth grade) of 564 fourth grade students from three elementary schools (50% females, 78% White, and 28% overweight or obese). Different analytic approaches identified similarities and differences between the two methods. Results: On average, self-report was higher than ACC for vigorous PA (range = 9–15 min/day), but lower than ACC for moderate PA (range = 24–30 min/day), light PA (range = 30–36 min/day), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA; range = 9–21 min/day). Spearman’s correlations for vigorous PA (.30, .26, and .32); moderate PA (.12, .13, and .14); and MVPA (.25, .25, and .24) were significant at each time point (all ps ≤ .01), whereas correlations for light PA were not significant (.06, .04, and .07; all ps > .05). In repeated-measures analyses, ACC and questionnaire measures were significantly different from each other across the three time points; however, change difference of the two measures over time was only 5.5 MVPA min/day. Conclusions: The PA questionnaire and ACC validated each other and can be used to assess MVPA in upper elementary school children in a similar population to the current study. However, each assessment method captures unique information, especially for light-intensity PA. Multiple PA measurement methods are recommended to be used in research and application to provide a more comprehensive understanding of children’s activity.


Children ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Saint-Maurice ◽  
Yang Bai ◽  
Spyridoula Vazou ◽  
Gregory Welk

This study describes age, sex, and season patterns in children’s physical activity behaviors during discrete time periods, both in school and at home. Participants were 135 elementary, 67 middle, and 89 high-school students (128 boys and 163 girls) involved in a larger school activity monitoring project. We examined time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at recess, physical education (PE), lunch, commuting to/from school, before-school, after-school, evening, and weekend segments. Differences in MVPA by age, sex, and season were examined using a three-way analysis of variance and separately for each individual segment. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels varied by context and were higher during recess (15.4 ± 8.5 min) while at school, and on Saturdays (97.4 ± 89.5 min) when youth were out-of-school. Elementary children were more active than their older counterparts only during lunch time, after-school, and Sunday (p < 0.05). Boys were consistently more active than girls at all segments. Participants were only more active during non-winter than winter months during PE (p = 0.006), after-school (p < 0.001), and Sunday (p = 0.008) segments. These findings showed that activity levels in youth vary during the day and season. The segments reflect discrete time periods that can potentially be targeted and evaluated to promote physical activity in this population.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baratali Rezapour ◽  
Firoozeh Mostafavi ◽  
Hamid Reza Khalkhali

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES:</strong> Students attend sedentary life style and less like vigorous physical activity. This study investigated the effects of School-based intervention<strong> </strong>on increasing physical activity for decreasing obesity among high-school obese and overweight boys, based on the components of PRECEDE PROCEED Model, to participate in median - vigorous physical activity among the first Period of high school boys in the city of Urmia, Iran</p><p><strong>METHODS:</strong> This study was an experimental intervention that conducted at 4 high schools that were divided into 2 groups of intervention (40) and the control (40) male students, schools in junior high schools in Urmia.</p><p><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Three and six months after the intervention, significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups of schools, in the amount of students’ participation in vigorous physical activity (p&lt;0.01).</p><p><strong>CONCLUSIONS:</strong> According to the results, the school-based intervention and components of PRECEDE PROCEED Model had a positive impact on the improvement of physical activity and decrease in physical inactivity among the students.</p>


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joey C. Eisenman ◽  
Mark A. Sarzynski ◽  
Jerod Tucker ◽  
Kate A. Heelan

The purpose of this study was to examine if offspring physical activity may affect the relationship between maternal overweight and offspring fatness and blood pressure (BP). Subjects included 144 maternal-child pairs (n = 74 boys and 70 girls, mean age = 7.3 yrs). Maternal prepregnancy BMI was determined by self-report. Offspring characteristics included resting systolic and diastolic BP, body fatness by dual energy x-ray absorbtiometry, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using the Actigraph accelerometer. Children whose mothers were overweight or obese prepregnancy (Prepreg OW) were significantly larger and fatter than children from mothers with a normal prepregnancy BMI (Prepreg NORM). Prepreg OW children also had higher mean arterial pressure than Prepreg NORM children. BP values were not different across maternal Prepreg BMI/MVPA groups. Percent fat was significantly different across Prepreg BMI/MVPA groups. Prepreg OW children that did not meet the daily recommended value of MVPA were the fattest. Prepreg OW children that attained 360 min of MVPA/day had a mean percent body fat that was similar to Prepreg NORM children of either MVPA group.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janne H. Maier ◽  
Ronald Barry

Background. Obesity in youth is highly prevalent. Physical activity and diet are influential in obesity development. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding links between activity and diet quality and their combined influence on obesity during adolescence.Objectives. We used five years of data from 2379 adolescent girls in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study to evaluate the association between physical activity and diet quality during adolescence and to assess both as correlates of obesity.Design. Diet, activity, and body composition measures were evaluated pairwise for correlation. A canonical correlation analysis was used to evaluate relationships within and between variable groups. All statistics were examined for trends over time.Results. We found positive correlations between physical activity and diet quality that became stronger with age. Additionally we discovered an age-related decrease in association between obesity correlates and body composition.Conclusion. These results suggest that while health behaviors, like diet and activity, become more closely linked during growth, obesity becomes less influenced by health behaviors and other factors. This should motivate focus on juvenile obesity prevention capitalizing on the pliable framework for establishing healthy diet and physical activity patterns while impact on body composition is greatest.


Circulation ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 125 (suppl_10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda E Staiano ◽  
Stephanie T Broyles ◽  
Alok K Gupta ◽  
Peter T Katzmarzyk

Introduction: Expansion of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) associates with adverse metabolic changes. While regular moderate-to-vigorous activity is associated with lower total body fat in children and adolescents, it is unknown how physical activity relates to other adiposity indices, including VAT. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that regular physical activity in children and adolescents associates with lower body fat, percent body fat, abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and VAT. Methods: The sample included 393 boys and girls aged 5–18 years (45.6% White, 50.6% African American, and 3.8% Other). Body fat and percent body fat were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Abdominal SAT and VAT mass were measured by magnetic resonance imaging between the highest point of the liver and the lower pole of the right kidney (using 5 to 8 cross-sectional slices, 4.76 cm apart). Participants were categorized as being regularly active by self-report: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of ≥ 60 minutes/day, ≥ 4 days/week. Those who were physically active fewer than 4 days/week were categorized as not regularly active. Results: In this sample of children and adolescents, 45.6% of participants were regularly active. One-way ANCOVAs adjusted for age and sex demonstrated that regularly active youth had significantly less body fat (p<0.01) and lower percent body fat (p<0.01) than those who were not regularly active. One-way ANCOVAs adjusted for age, gender, and body fat, revealed that regularly active children and adolescents had no difference in SAT but had significantly lower amounts of VAT (p<0.05) when compared to those who were not regularly active. Conclusion: Engagement in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes on four or more days of the week in children and adolescents was related to lower body fat, percent body fat and VAT, when compared to those youth who were less active. The promotion of regular physical activity has significant public health implications for body fat accumulation and for controlling excess VAT during childhood and adolescence.


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