Promoting human wellness: new frontiers for research, practice, and policy

This book is a state-of-the-art educational resource on the latest research and public-policy developments in the fields of wellness promotion and disease prevention. Based on award-winning lectures by University of California faculty on nine campuses as part of the Wellness Lectures Program jointly funded by The California Wellness Foundation, Health Net, and the University of California, the volume aims to widen the scope of health care research and policy to promote wellness rather than focus on illness and disease, and to incorporate proactive, interdisciplinary approaches to health care. The volume also contains chapters by distinguished scholars inthe fields of wellness promotion and disease prevention. Many of these articles fall outside the scope of what we conventionally call health promotion, bringing new perspectives to research and policy possibilities. Promoting Human Wellness is organized around core themes such as the importance of disease prevention programs that address multiple health risks, the link between poverty and minority status and disease susceptibility, and the challenge of evaluating health benefits and cost-effectiveness. The articles discuss such timely issues as genetic determinism as a paradigm in wellness promotion, adolescent health promotion and teen pregnancy prevention strategies, racial differences in cancer epidemiology, the California smokers' helpline, strategies for reducing youth violence, HIV/AIDS prevention, domestic violence education and prevention srategies, and the future of women's health research. Presented within the framework of social ecology, several of the chapters in this volume address new ideas and approaches in the wellness field that are only now beginning to be understood such as the social construction of variables including race, class, and gender. Promoting Human Wellness will be essential reading for health practitioners, policymakers, and others seeking to expand the ways we define and achieve health. Keywords: Public health, community health, medicine, nursing, social welfare, health education, health psychology, social ecology, public policy, aging, health promotion

Assessing the perceived environment among minimally active adolescent girls: validity and relations to physical activity outcomes.

This study examined how adolescents' perceptions of exercise resources in the environment relate to physical activity outcomes.Perceptions of the availability and use of environmental resources, vigorous physical activity (VIG), daily energy expenditure (KCAL), lifestyle activities (LA), and cardiovascular fitness (Vo2peak) were assessed cross-sectionally among 87 minimally active adolescent girls (ages 14-17). To validate adolescent reports, the perceived availability of environmental resources was also assessed from 47 parents.Adolescent-parent agreement over the availability of resources was modest for the home domain (r = .62, p < .001) and weak for the community domain (r = .14, p > .05). Adolescents' perceptions of resource availability in both the home and community domains were positively associated with VO2peak (p < .05) but unrelated to VIG, KCAL, and LA. Adolescents' use of home resources was positively correlated with both VIG and LA (p < .05).Minimally active adolescent girls were more attuned to and likely to use the resources for physical activity located in their home environment as opposed to the community environment

Assessing the perceived environment among minimally active adolescent girls: validity and relations to physical activity outcomes.

This study examined how adolescents' perceptions of exercise resources in the environment relate to physical activity outcomes.Perceptions of the availability and use of environmental resources, vigorous physical activity (VIG), daily energy expenditure (KCAL), lifestyle activities (LA), and cardiovascular fitness (Vo2peak) were assessed cross-sectionally among 87 minimally active adolescent girls (ages 14-17). To validate adolescent reports, the perceived availability of environmental resources was also assessed from 47 parents.Adolescent-parent agreement over the availability of resources was modest for the home domain (r = .62, p < .001) and weak for the community domain (r = .14, p > .05). Adolescents' perceptions of resource availability in both the home and community domains were positively associated with VO2peak (p < .05) but unrelated to VIG, KCAL, and LA. Adolescents' use of home resources was positively correlated with both VIG and LA (p < .05).Minimally active adolescent girls were more attuned to and likely to use the resources for physical activity located in their home environment as opposed to the community environment

A controlled evaluation of a school-based intervention to promote physical activity among sedentary adolescent females: project FAB.

PurposeTo evaluate the effect of a school-based intervention designed to increase physical activity among sedentary adolescent females.MethodsSedentary adolescent females were assigned to a control (n = 22) or intervention (n = 25) group based on school attended. Students at the intervention school enrolled in a special physical education class. All participants completed clinical and behavioral assessments at baseline and after 4 months. Physiological tests included cardiovascular fitness (VO(2) peak via bicycle ergometer), body composition (via dual x-ray absorptiometer; DEXA), and body mass index (BMI). Psychosocial assessments included a physical activity recall, report of lifestyle activity, and self-efficacy, perceived barriers, social support, and enjoyment related to physical activity. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) for continuous variables, and logistic regression for hard activity (scored as a dichotomous variable).ResultsThe intervention had a significant effect on cardiovascular fitness (p =.017), lifestyle activity (p =.005), and light (p =.023), moderate (p =.007), and hard (p =.006) activity. All changes were in a direction that favored the intervention. There was no effect of the intervention on psychosocial factors related to exercise.ConclusionsA school-based intervention targeting sedentary adolescent females can increase physical activity and prevent a decline in cardiovascular fitness. Moreover, the effect of the intervention generalized to lifestyle activity

A controlled evaluation of a school-based intervention to promote physical activity among sedentary adolescent females: project FAB.

PurposeTo evaluate the effect of a school-based intervention designed to increase physical activity among sedentary adolescent females.MethodsSedentary adolescent females were assigned to a control (n = 22) or intervention (n = 25) group based on school attended. Students at the intervention school enrolled in a special physical education class. All participants completed clinical and behavioral assessments at baseline and after 4 months. Physiological tests included cardiovascular fitness (VO(2) peak via bicycle ergometer), body composition (via dual x-ray absorptiometer; DEXA), and body mass index (BMI). Psychosocial assessments included a physical activity recall, report of lifestyle activity, and self-efficacy, perceived barriers, social support, and enjoyment related to physical activity. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) for continuous variables, and logistic regression for hard activity (scored as a dichotomous variable).ResultsThe intervention had a significant effect on cardiovascular fitness (p =.017), lifestyle activity (p =.005), and light (p =.023), moderate (p =.007), and hard (p =.006) activity. All changes were in a direction that favored the intervention. There was no effect of the intervention on psychosocial factors related to exercise.ConclusionsA school-based intervention targeting sedentary adolescent females can increase physical activity and prevent a decline in cardiovascular fitness. Moreover, the effect of the intervention generalized to lifestyle activity