scholarly journals Social Cognitive Models of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, Moderate Physical Activity, and Sleep Behavior in Overweight and Obese Men

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam P Knowlden ◽  
Rebecca Robbins ◽  
Micahel Grandner
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Cognitive Models ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Moderate Physical Activity ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Sleep Behavior ◽  
Social Cognitive Models

scholarly journals Rams Have Heart, a Mobile App Tracking Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Support the Cardiovascular Health of College Students: Development and Usability Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle C Krzyzanowski ◽  
Paul N Kizakevich ◽  
Vanessa Duren-Winfield ◽  
Randall Eckhoff ◽  
Joel Hampton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Query Language ◽  
Vegetable Intake ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
User Participation ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Intake ◽  
Black College ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable

BACKGROUND With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet and as the main computing system of apps, there is a growing market for mobile health apps to provide self-care advice. Their effectiveness with regard to diet and fitness tracking, for example, needs to be examined. The majority of American adults fail to meet daily recommendations for healthy behavior. Testing user engagement with an app in a controlled environment can provide insight into what is effective and not effective in an app focused on improving diet and exercise. OBJECTIVE We developed Rams Have Heart, a mobile app, to support a cardiovascular disease (CVD) intervention course. The app tracks healthy behaviors, including fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity, throughout the day. This paper aimed to present its functionality and evaluated adherence among the African American college student population. METHODS We developed the app using the Personal Health Informatics and Intervention Toolkit, a software framework. Rams Have Heart integrates self-reported health screening with health education, diary tracking, and user feedback modules to acquire data and assess progress. The parent study, conducted at a historically black college and university-designated institution in southeastern United States, consisted of a semester-long intervention administered as an academic course in the fall, for 3 consecutive years. Changes were made after the cohort 1 pilot study, so results only include cohorts 2 and 3, comprising a total of 115 students (n=55 intervention participants and n=54 control participants) aged from 17 to 24 years. Data collected over the study period were transferred using the secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure protocol and stored in a secure Structured Query Language server database accessible only to authorized persons. SAS software was used to analyze the overall app usage and the specific results collected. RESULTS Of the 55 students in the intervention group, 27 (49%) students in cohort 2 and 25 (45%) in cohort 3 used the Rams Have Heart app at least once. Over the course of the fall semester, app participation dropped off gradually until exam week when most students no longer participated. The average fruit and vegetable intake increased slightly, and activity levels decreased over the study period. CONCLUSIONS Rams Have Heart was developed to allow daily tracking of fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity to support a CVD risk intervention for a student demographic susceptible to obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. We conducted an analysis of app usage, function, and user results. Although a mobile app provides privacy and flexibility for user participation in a research study, Rams Have Heart did not improve compliance or user outcomes. Health-oriented research studies relying on apps in support of user goals need further evaluation.

scholarly journals The UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and changes in diet, physical activity and sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from eight longitudinal studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bozena Wielgoszewska ◽  
Jane Maddock ◽  
Michael J Green ◽  
Giorgio Di Gessa ◽  
Sam Parsons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Job Retention ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
The Uk

Background: In March 2020 the UK implemented the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) to minimize job losses. Our aim was to investigate associations between furlough and diet, physical activity, and sleep during the early stages of the pandemic. Methods: We analysed data from 25,092 participants aged 16 to 66 years from eight UK longitudinal studies. Changes in employment (including being furloughed) were defined by comparing employment status pre- and during the first lockdown. Health behaviours included fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and sleeping patterns. Study-specific estimates obtained using modified Poisson regression, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and pre-pandemic health and health behaviours, were statistically pooled. Associations were also stratified by sex, age, and education. Findings: Across studies, between 8 and 25% of participants were furloughed. Compared to those who remained working, furloughed workers were slightly less likely to be physically inactive (RRR:0.85, [0.75-0.97], I2=58.7%) and did not differ in diet and sleep behaviours. In stratified analyses, furlough was associated with low fruit and vegetable consumption among males (RRR=1.11; 95%CI: 1.01-1.22; I2: 0%) but not females (RRR=0.84; 95%CI: 0.68-1.04; I2: 65%). Considering change in behaviour, furloughed workers were more likely than those who remained working to report increased fruit and vegetable consumption, exercise, and hours of sleep. Interpretation: Those furloughed exhibited broadly similar levels of health behaviours with those who remained in employment during the initial stages of the pandemic. Social protection policies in the post-pandemic recovery period and during future economic crises may help protect population health. Funding: Medical Research Council.

scholarly journals Validity of stage assessment in the adoption and maintenance of physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption.

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Lippke ◽  
Jochen P. Ziegelmann ◽  
Ralf Schwarzer ◽  
Wayne F. Velicer
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable

Two-Year Outcomes of the Enabling Mothers to Prevent Pediatric Obesity Through Web-Based Education and Reciprocal Determinism (EMPOWER) Randomized Control Trial

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam P. Knowlden ◽  
Eric Conrad
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Pediatric Obesity ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Reciprocal Determinism ◽  
Sustained Effects ◽  
Web Based Education

Background. Childhood overweight and obesity is a public health epidemic with far-reaching medical, economic, and quality of life consequences. Brief, web-based interventions have received increased attention for their potential to combat childhood obesity. The purpose of our study was to evaluate a web-based, maternal-facilitated childhood obesity prevention intervention dubbed Enabling Mothers to Prevent Pediatric Obesity Through Web-Based Education and Reciprocal Determinism (EMPOWER), for its capacity to elicit sustained effects at the 2-year postintervention follow-up mark. Method. Two interventions were evaluated using a randomized controlled trial design. The experimental, EMPOWER arm received a social cognitive theory intervention ( n = 29) designed to improve four maternal-facilitated behaviors in children (fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, sugar-free beverage intake, screen time). The active control arm received a knowledge-based intervention dubbed Healthy Lifestyles ( n = 28), which also targeted the same four behaviors. Results. We identified a significant group-by-time interaction of small effect size for child fruit and vegetable consumption ( p = .033; Cohen’s f = 0.139) in the EMPOWER group. The construct of maternal-facilitated environment was positively associated to improvements in child fruit and vegetable behavior. We also found significant main effects for child physical activity ( p = .024; Cohen’s f = 0.124); sugar-free beverage intake ( p < .001; Cohen’s f = 0.321); and screen time ( p < .001; Cohen’s f = 0.303), suggesting both groups improved in these behaviors over time. Conclusions. The EMPOWER arm of the trial resulted in an overall increase of 1.680 daily cups of fruits and vegetables consumed by children, relative to the comparison group ( p < .001, 95% confidence interval = [1.113, 2.248]). Web-based maternal-facilitated interventions can induce sustained effects on child behaviors.

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