Antecedents of lifelong physical activity and the effects of lifestyle intervention and physical activity on psychological well-being

Physical activity’s benefits for well-being are widely known, but the prevalence of physical inactivity is high. The information concerning the antecedents of lifelong physical activity is lacking. The association between lifelong physical activity and psychological well-being also needs further studying. Moreover, there exists no evidence whether long-term lifestyle interventions containing physical activity counseling have psychologically beneficial effects. This thesis examined the childhood antecedents of lifelong physical activity (Studies I-II), the association between physical activity and depressive symptoms (Study III), and whether a 20-year intensive lifestyle intervention contributed to psychological well-being (Study IV). The participants were from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (CRYFS) (Studies I-III), and from the Prospective, Randomized Trial of Atherosclerosis Prevention in Childhood Project (STRIP) (Study IV). Self-report questions and questionnaires were used in the studies. Studies I-IV were analysed using correlation tests, regression and variance analyses. Linear growth curve modeling, linear mixed modeling, and latent class growth analysis were were applied within studies I-III. The results from the Study I indicated that high temperamental activity in childhood may contribute to the development of physically inactive lifestyle. Study II indicated that higher levels of parents’ physical activity were associated with increased physical activity in offspring from childhood to middle age. Study III identified three distinct physical activity trajectory groups: the lightly, moderately, and highly physically active ones. Highly physically active participants had lower levels of depressive symptoms in adulthood compared with lightly physically active ones. The study also showed that lifelong physical activity did not contribute to depressive symptoms to a greater degree than adulthood physical activity. Adjustment for previous symptoms of depression attenuated the associations. Study IV showed no association between a 20-year, intensive lifestyle counseling and psychological well-being in adult age. This thesis provides information that might benefit professionals in tailoring, timing and targeting physical activity promotion actions and interventions aiming at improving community well-being.Fyysisen aktiivisuuden yhteydet hyvinvointiin ovat tunnetut, mutta fyysinen inaktiivisuus on yleistä. Lapsuusajan tekijöiden yhteyksiä tarkastelevia tutkimuksia elämänpituisten liikuntatottumusten kehitykseen ei juurikaan ole. Elämänpituisen liikunnan sekä psykologisen hyvinvoinnin välisiä yhteyksiä koskevia tutkimuksia tarvitaan myös lisää. Lisäksi ei ole lainkaan tietoa pitkäkestoisten, liikuntaneuvontaa sisältävien elämäntapainterventioiden psykologiseen hyvinvointiin liittyvistä vaikutuksista. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittiin lapsuusajan tekijöiden yhteyttä elämänpituisten liikuntatottumusten kehitykseen (osatyöt I-II), fyysisen aktiivisuuden yhteyttä masennusoireisiin (osatyö III), sekä 20-vuotisen, intensiivisen elämäntapaintervention yhteyttä psykologiseen hyvinvointiin (osatyö IV). Tutkimukseen osallistujat kuuluivat Lasten Sepelvaltimotaudin Riskitekijät-projektiin (LASERI) (osatyöt I-III), ja varhaislapsuudessa aloitettuun Sepelvaltimotaudin Riskitekijöiden Interventioprojektiin (STRIP) (osatyö IV). Tutkimuksissa käytettiin itseraportointikysymyksiä ja - mittareita. Tutkimukset I-IV tehtiin hyödyntäen korrelaatio-, regressio-, ja varianssianalyyseja. Tutkimukset I-III analysoitiin lineaarisen kasvukäyrämallinnuksen, lineaarisen sekamallin, sekä latenttien kasvukäyrien mallinnusmenetelmien avulla. Ensimmäisessä osatyössä osoitettiin, että lapsuuden korkea temperamentti saattaa olla yhteydessä fyysisesti inaktiivisen elämäntavan kehittymiseen. Vanhempien fyysinen aktiivisuus oli yhteydessä korkeampaan fyysiseen aktiivisuuteen heidän jälkikasvunsa lapsuudesta aikuisuuteen tutkimuksessa II. Tutkimuksessa III löydettiin kolme fyysisen aktiivisuuden kehityskaarta: kevyesti, keskimääräisesti ja korkeasti fyysisesti aktiiviset. Elämänpituinen fyysinen aktiivisuus ei ennustanut masennusoireiden kehittymistä paremmin kuin fyysinen aktiivisuus aikuisiässä. Korkeasti aktiivisilla oli vähemmän masennusoireita aikuisuudessa kuin matalasti aktiivisilla, mutta yhteydet hävisivät aikaisempien masennusoireiden vakioinnin myötä. Osatyössä IV osoitettiin, ettei 20- vuotisella, intensiivisellä elämäntapainterventiolla ollut psykologiseen hyvinvointiin liittyviä vaikutuksia aikuiässä. Väitöskirjan informaatio on todennäköisesti hyödyksi sellaisten fyysisen aktiivisuuden lisäämistä käsittelevien hankkeiden ja interventioiden suunnittelussa, ajoittamisessa ja kohdentamisessa, jotka tähtäävät kansanterveyden edistämiseen

Exploring body consciousness of dancers, athletes, and lightly physically active adults.

Body consciousness is associated with kinetic skills and various aspects of wellbeing. Physical activities have been shown to contribute to the development of body consciousness. Methodological studies are needed in improving the assessment of body consciousness in adults with distinct physical activity backgrounds. This study (1) examined whether dancers, athletes, and lightly physically active individuals differed regarding the level of their body consciousness, and (2) evaluated the usability of different methods in assessing body consciousness. Fifty-seven healthy adults (aged 20-37) were included in the study. Three experimental methods (aperture task, endpoint matching, and posture copying) and two self-report questionnaires (the Private Body Consciousness Scale, PBCS, and the Body Awareness Questionnaire, BAQ) were used in assessing body consciousness. Athletes outperformed the lightly physically active participants in the posture copying task with the aid of vision when copying leg postures. Dancers performed better than the athletes without the aid of vision when their back and upper body were involved, and better than the lightly active participants when copying leg postures. Dancers and athletes had higher self-reported cognitive and perceptual knowledge of their body than lightly physically active participants. To examine the role of different physical activities in developing body consciousness, experimental methods involving the use of the whole body might be most suitable. Subjective measures may provide complementary evidence for experimental testing.Peer reviewe

Hierarchical framework to improve individualised exercise prescription in adults : a critical review

Physical activity (PA) guidelines for the general population are designed to mitigate the rise of chronic and debilitating diseases brought by inactivity and sedentariness. Although essential, they are insufficient as rates of cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, metabolic and other devastating and life-long diseases remain on the rise. This systemic failure supports the need for an improved exercise prescription approach that targets the individual. Significant interindividual variability of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) responses to exercise are partly explained by biological and methodological factors, and the modulation of exercise volume and intensity seem to be key in improving prescription guidelines. The use of physiological thresholds, such as lactate, ventilation, as well as critical power, have demonstrated excellent results to improve CRF in those struggling to respond to the current homogenous prescription of exercise. However, assessing physiological thresholds requires laboratory resources and expertise and is incompatible for a general population approach. A case must be made that balances the effectiveness of an exercise programme to improve CRF and accessibility of resources. A population-wide approach of exercise prescription guidelines should include free and accessible self-assessed threshold tools, such as rate of perceived exertion, where the homeostatic perturbation induced by exercise reflects physiological thresholds. The present critical review outlines factors for individuals exercise prescription and proposes a new theoretical hierarchal framework to help shape PA guidelines based on accessibility and effectiveness as part of a personalised exercise prescription that targets the individual.Peer reviewe

Identifying Personality Characteristics and Indicators of Psychological Well-Being Associated With Attrition in the Motivation Makes the Move! Physical Activity Intervention: : Randomized Technology-Supported Trial

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Parental Physical Activity Associates With Offspring's Physical Activity Until Middle Age : A 30-Year Study

Background: Parents' physical activity associates with their children's physical activity. Prospective designs assessing this association are rare. This study examined how parents' physical activity was associated with their children's physical activity from childhood to middle adulthood in a 30-year pro'spective, population-based setting. Methods: Participants (n = 3596) were from the ongoing Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study started in 1980. Participants' physical activity was self-reported at 8 phases from 1980 to 2011, and their parents' physical activity at 1980. Analyses were adjusted for a set of health-related covariates assessed from 1980 to 2007. Results: High levels of mothers' and fathers' physical activity were systematically associated with increased levels of their children's physical activity until offspring's age of 24. Longitudinal analyses conducted from 1980 to 2011 showed that higher levels of parents' physical activity were associated with increased levels of physical activity within their offspring until midlife, but the association between parents' and their children's physical activity weakened when participants aged (PPeer reviewe

Physical Activity, Sleep, and Symptoms of Depression in Adults - Testing for Mediation

Purpose: Physical activity, sleep problems, and symptoms of depression contribute to overall well-being. The factors are reciprocally associated, but the nature of these associations remains unclear. The present study examined whether sleep problems mediated the association between physical activity and depressive symptoms. Methods: The eligible population (n = 3596) consisted of adults from the ongoing, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study started in 1980. Participants' leisure-time physical activity was assessed with physical activity index (2007) and sleep problems with Jenkins' Sleep Questionnaire in 2007 and 2011. Depressive symptoms were measured using modified Beck Depression Inventory in 2007 and 2012, from which the items reflecting sleep problems were excluded. Mediation analyses, through which the associations between the variables were examined, were adjusted for sex and a set of health-related covariates assessed in 2007 and 2011. Results: Physical activity was associated with decreased levels of sleep problems and depressive symptoms (P 0.05). Conclusions: Physical activity's favorable contribution to depressive symptoms was mediated partly by sleep, but the mediation effect disappeared after adjusting for the previous depressive symptoms in adulthood.Peer reviewe

Compassion protects against vital exhaustion and negative emotionality

We investigated (i) the predictive relationships of compassion with negative emotionality (a marker of susceptibility to stress) and vital exhaustion (a marker of chronic stress response) and (ii) the effect of compassion on the developmental courses of negative emotionality and vital exhaustion over a follow-up from early adulthood to middle age. We used the prospective Young Finns data (n = 1031-1495, aged 20-50). Compassion was evaluated in 1997, 2001, and 2012; and vital exhaustion and negative emotionality in 2001, 2007, and 2012. The predictive paths from compassion to vital exhaustion and negative emotionality were stronger than vice versa: high compassion predicted lower vital exhaustion and lower negative emotionality. The effect of high compassion on lower vital exhaustion and lower negative emotionality was evident from early adulthood to middle age. Overall, high compassion appears to protect against dimensions of stress from early adulthood to middle age, whereas this study found no evidence that dimensions of stress could reduce disposition to feel compassion for others' distress over a long-term follow-up

Associations of parental physical activity trajectories with offspring's physical activity patterns from childhood to middle adulthood : The Young Finns Study

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Does Childhood Temperamental Activity Predict Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior over a 30-Year Period? Evidence from the Young Finns Study

We examined associations between childhood temperamental activity, physical activity (PA), and television (TV) viewing over a 30-year period. The participants (1220 boys and 1237 girls) were aged 3, 6, 9, and 12 years in 1980 and were followed until 2011. Temperamental activity was evaluated by participants' mothers at baseline. The PA was assessed based on maternal ratings of the child from ages 3 to 6 and via self-report age from the age of 9 across all measurements. TV viewing was assessed using self-reports taken from 2001 to 2011. The associations between temperamental activity and the level and change of PA and TV viewing were determined using linear growth modeling stratified by gender and age group. High temperamental activity assessed from ages 9 to 12 was associated with high levels of childhood PA in both genders, but with a steeper decline in PA levels during the first 9 years of follow-up in boys. High temperamental activity assessed from ages 3 to 6 was associated with the decline of PA from childhood to youth in girls. High childhood temperamental activity was associated with decreased levels of PA in adulthood in men, but not in women. The associations between childhood temperamental activity and TV viewing during adulthood seemed to be positive but not consistently significant in all age and gender groups. High temperamental activity may contribute to the development of a physically inactive lifestyle. More evidence is needed with regard to gender differences among participants in similar study settings.Peer reviewe