Predictors of pre- and post-competition affective states in male martial artists: a multilevel interactional approach

The aims of this study were to examine (a) the effects of competition-related and competition-extraneous concerns on affective states; (b) the relationships of primary and secondary appraisal with affective states and (c) the main and moderating effects of personality traits on pre- and post-competition affects. Thirty-nine male elite martial artists were assessed on 12 affective states, concerns and dimensions of primary and secondary appraisal at five random times a day across 1 week before and 3 days after a competition. On the competition day, they were assessed 1 h before and immediately after the contest. Competitive trait anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion were measured at the start of the study. The competition was the most significant and stressful event experienced in the examined period and had a pervasive influence on athletes' affective states. All examined appraisal and personality factors were somewhat associated with pre- and post-competition affective states. Competitive trait anxiety was a key moderator of the relationship between cognitive appraisal and affective states. This study supports the idea that cognitive appraisal and situational and personality factors exert main and interactive effects on athletes' pre- and post-competition affects. These factors need to be accounted for in planning of emotion regulation interventions

Physical activity for children in special school environment

&nbsp;Key Messages1. We assessed children&rsquo;s physical&nbsp;activity (PA) in structured (physical&nbsp;education) and unstructured&nbsp;(recess, lunch, before and after&nbsp;school) periods in special schools&nbsp;and examined its association&nbsp;with modifiable area contextual&nbsp;characteristics.2. Children with disabilities were not&nbsp;highly active, but were more active&nbsp;during recess and lunch periods&nbsp;than at other times including&nbsp;physical education classes.3. Areas were often not accessible&nbsp;during unstructured settings.&nbsp;Children were more active in areas&nbsp;when supervision and organised&nbsp;activities were provided.4. Providing an interactive game&nbsp;during free play did not significantly&nbsp;increase group&rsquo;s PA.5. Children&rsquo;s PA accrual is influenced&nbsp;by contextual characteristics of&nbsp;the school environment. There is a&nbsp;need to make areas more accessible&nbsp;and to use social marketing and&nbsp;programming to attract more users.&nbsp;School and health professionalsshould modify contextual&nbsp;characteristics by providing more&nbsp;direct supervision and organised&nbsp;activities during free play.</div

Active commuting to school and association with physical activity and adiposity among US youth

Background: Walking or bicycling to school (ie, active commuting) has shown promise for improving physical activity and preventing obesity in youth. Our objectives were to examine, among US youth, whether active commuting was inversely associated with adiposity and positively associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). We also examined whether MVPA mediated the relationships between active commuting and adiposity. Methods: Using data of participants aged 12 to 19 years from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003 to 2004 (n = 789 unweighted), we constructed multiple linear regression models that controlled for dietary energy intake and sociodemographics. The main exposure variable was active commuting. The outcomes were BMI z-score, waist circumference, skinfolds and objectively measured MVPA. The product-of-coefficients method was used to test for mediation. Results: Active commuting was inversely associated with BMI z-score (&beta; = &ndash;0.07, P = .046) and skinfolds (&beta; = &ndash;0.06, P = .029), and positively associated with overall daily (&beta; = 0.12, P = .024) and before- and after-school (&beta; = 0.20, P &lt; .001) MVPA. Greater before- and after-school MVPA explained part of the relationship between active commuting and waist circumference (Sobel z = &ndash;1.98, P = .048). Conclusions: Active commuting was associated with greater MVPA and lower measures of adiposity among US youth. Before- and after-school MVPA mediated the relationships between active commuting and waist circumference

Recreational destinations and leisure-time physical activity in Chinese urban elders

Conference Theme: Promoting Healthy Eating and Activity WorldwideSession - S36 The relationships between the physical environment and physical activity in older adults: results from four different continents: abstract S36.4PURPOSE: The built environment may impact on elders’ ability to engage in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). Environmental correlates of LTPA in Chinese older residents of ultra-dense cities are unknown. The main aim of this study was to examine associations of objectively-measured recreational facilities in the neighborhood with LTPA (walking and other forms of activity) in Chinese elders residing in an ultra-dense city. We also examined whether these associations depend on other environmental factors. METHOD: This study was conducted in Hong Kong in …postprin

Associations between the neighbourhood environment characteristics and physical activity in older adults with specific types of chronic conditions: The ALECS cross-sectional study

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Protocol for the Residents in Action pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial (RiAT): Evaluating a behaviour change intervention to promote walking, reduce sitting and improve mental health in physically inactive older adults in 9 retirement villages

Introduction: Ageing is accompanied by increased risks of chronic disease, declined functioning and increased dependency. Physical activity is critical to retaining health and independence, but the majority of older people are insufficiently physically active to achieve these benefits and have high levels of sedentary (sitting) time. Activity programmes are often offered in retirement villages; however, their uptake is limited. Furthermore, although the physical environment in and around these villages can play an important role in decisions to be physically active, its role is often overlooked by research in these settings. We aim to develop, implement and evaluate a proof-of- concept motivationally embellished intervention designed to increase walking, reduce sitting and improve mental health in residents in retirement villages. Methods and analysis: This will be a 16-week pilot intervention using a cluster randomised design with retirement villages as the unit of randomisation and residents as the unit of assessment. Fourteen retirement villages around Perth, Western Australia, will be recruited for the intervention. Objective audits of neighbourhood environments around each village will be completed using the Pathway Environmental Audit Tool. Seven villages will be randomised to the experimental arm and seven to the control arm. Only participants in the experimental arm will receive motivational training. All outcomes will be assessed at baseline, end of intervention and 6-month follow-up. Changes in physical activity levels, sitting time and mental health will be examined. Multilevel modelling will be used to analyse the data. A mixed methods process evaluation will also be conducted. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval was granted by Curtin University’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC2016-0187). The results of the study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and reports to, and seminars with, stakeholders

Associations between Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Cognitive Function in Australian Urban Settings: The Moderating Role of Diabetes Status

Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is associated with lower cognitive function and diabetes in older adults, but little is known about whether diabetes status moderates the impact of TRAP on older adult cognitive function. We analysed cross-sectional data from 4141 adults who participated in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study in 2011–2012. TRAP exposure was estimated using major and minor road density within multiple residential buffers. Cognitive function was assessed with validated psychometric scales, including: California Verbal Learning Test (memory) and Symbol–Digit Modalities Test (processing speed). Diabetes status was measured using oral glucose tolerance tests. We observed positive associations of some total road density measures with memory but not processing speed. Minor road density was not associated with cognitive function, while major road density showed positive associations with memory and processing speed among larger buffers. Within a 300 m buffer, the relationship between TRAP and memory tended to be positive in controls (β = 0.005; p = 0.062), but negative in people with diabetes (β = −0.013; p = 0.026) and negatively associated with processing speed in people with diabetes only (β = −0.047; p = 0.059). Increased TRAP exposure may be positively associated with cognitive function among urban-dwelling people, but this benefit may not extend to those with diabetes

Psychometrics of the pre-schooler physical activity parenting practices instrument among a Latino sample

Background: Latino preschoolers (3-5 year old children) have among the highest rates of obesity. Low levels of physical activity (PA) are a risk factor for obesity. Characterizing what Latino parents do to encourage or discourage their preschooler to be physically active can help inform interventions to increase their PA. The objective was therefore to develop and assess the psychometrics of a new instrument: the Preschooler Physical Activity Parenting Practices (PPAPP) among a Latino sample, to assess parenting practices used to encourage or discourage PA among preschool-aged children. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 240 Latino parents who reported the frequency of using PA parenting practices. 95% of respondents were mothers; 42% had more than a high school education. Child mean age was 4.5 (±0.9) years (52% male). Test-retest reliability was assessed in 20%, 2 weeks later. We assessed the fit of a priori models using Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). In a separate sub-sample (35%), preschool-aged children wore accelerometers to assess associations with their PA and PPAPP subscales. Results: The a-priori models showed poor fit to the data. A modified factor structure for encouraging PPAPP had one multiple-item scale: engagement (15 items), and two single-items (have outdoor toys; not enroll in sport-reverse coded). The final factor structure for discouraging PPAPP had 4 subscales: promote inactive transport (3 items), promote screen time (3 items), psychological control (4 items) and restricting for safety (4 items). Test-retest reliability (ICC) for the two scales ranged from 0.56-0.85. Cronbach’s alphas ranged from 0.5-0.9. Several sub-factors correlated in the expected direction with children’s objectively measured PA. Conclusion: The final models for encouraging and discouraging PPAPP had moderate to good fit, with moderate to excellent test-retest reliabilities. The PPAPP should be further evaluated to better assess its associations with children’s PA and offers a new tool for measuring PPAPP among Latino families with preschool-aged children

Strategies to promote children\u27s school based physical activity : Transform-Us! Mid-intervention findings

Session 202 - School based interventions: paper 276This journal suppl. entitled: Be Avtive 2012Many children engage in suboptimal levels of PA despite the associated health risks. Schools (n=20) in the Transform-Us! program were randomized to one of four intervention arms that target increases in children’s PA (PA), reductions in sedentary behavior (SB), both behaviors (SB+PA) or control current practice (C). This examination focuses on the PA promotion strategies employed in the PA and SB+PA arms compared with the C arm. To promote children’s PA each PA and SB+PA class was provided with sporting and circus equipment; asphalt line markings were installed at the school; and teachers were asked to encourage PA. Grade 3 children at participating schools were invited to take part in evaluation assessments including the completion of a self-report survey. Findings from the PA promotion strategy questions at baseline (Feb–June 2010), and T2 (Nov/Dec) are reported here. Children (n=425, 55% female) were asked to respond (yes/no) to five items asking about social support for PA from their class teacher, which were then summed to create a ‘teacher social support’ scale. Children were also asked to indicate if ‘there are markings on the walls or on the school playground to help us play games’ (perceived availability of line markings); if they are ‘allowed to use school sports equipment during recess and lunch breaks’ (perceived accessibility of sports equipment); and how much they like ‘the areas to play in at school’ using a 5-point Likert scale (perceived school environment). Between baseline and T2, teacher social support increased in both PA (1.7[1.4] vs 2.1[1.4]) and SB arms (1.9[1.4] vs 2.4[1.4) but declined in C (2.0[1.4] vs 1.7[1.5]). For all three arms, increases were seen in perceived availability of line markings (PA: 53.2% vs 69.4%; SB+PA: 59.3% vs 71.4%; C: 60.0% vs 69.8%); perceived accessibility of sport equipment (PA: 87.7% vs 97.2%: SB+PA: 80.7 vs 94%; C: 85.4% vs 97.6%); and perceived school environment (PA: 1.44[0.9] vs 1.42[0.8]; SB+PA: 1.5[0.8] vs 1.6[0.7]; C: 1.4[0.9] vs 1.5[0.7]) between baseline and T2. All findings were significant at a 1% probability level. At the mid-intervention time point, findings suggest that PA strategies have increased perceived availability of line markings, accessibility of sport equipment, and perceived school environment in children allocated to the PA and SB+PA arms. However, there were also unexpected increases in the C arm for three out of four items. Post-intervention findings will add to these preliminary findings