Barriers to Adopting Lifestyle Behaviors under the Prism of Lifestyle Medicine

According to the ACSM, lifestyle medicine (LM) is in the top 20 worldwide fitness trends for 2022. The LM pillars of a plant-based diet, physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management, social interactions, and avoidance of risky substances have been proposed as effective strategies for preventing and treating chronic conditions. However, implementing lifestyle behavioral changes to improve noncommunicable chronic disease outcomes has still been problematic. Individuals’ mental and physical status has been suggested as a key component in closing the gap between the intention to adopt a healthy lifestyle and actually adopting that behavior. PURPOSE: To examine the associations of selected LM pillars with respect to mental/physical energy and fatigue. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized cross-over project that examined the effects of energy shot use on mood and cognition in adults older than 18 years old in a small college town. Participants (N=670) completed sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), mood (Profile of Mood Survey-Short Form), mental and physical state energy and fatigue (Mental and Physical State and Trait Energy and Fatigue Scales), physical activity, diet (Food Frequency), and mental workload surveys. The remaining LM pillars were assessed indirectly through the previous surveys. Ordinary least squares regression models examined the associations between the variables, using Python 3.0, p \u3c.05. RESULTS: Younger individuals with bad sleep habits and high mental workdays, having high confusion and depression were associated with high mental fatigue. Men that consume a plant-based diet, have high mental workdays, and sleep adequately, were high in both state and trait mood scales. Physical fatigue presented the same characteristics as previously described, with the exception of the use of a diet high in caffeine and polyphenols that were associated with trait, but not state, physical fatigue. Physically active, good sleeper males presented significantly high state and trait physical energy levels. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals who practice the LM therapeutic modality should evaluate individuals’ complex psychosocial profiles before a differential diagnosis is conferred on the premise to implement lifestyle behavioral changes

Staying Connected: Alternative Transportation Use, Neighborhoods, and Social Participation Among Older Americans

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A wealth of empirical evidence documents improved health among older adults who participate in social activities. Alternative transportation can serve as a bridge linking older adults to social activities and improving person-environment fit. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using Waves 1-8 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study, this research examines whether alternative transportation use is associated with participation in diverse social activities among a sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older. Additionally, this research explores whether the effect of transportation use varies across neighborhood environments. We analyzed individual trajectories of participation in social activities by estimating 2-level growth curve models. RESULTS: The use of public transportation, paratransit, getting a ride, or walking/using wheelchair/scooter to get places was associated with participating in more types of social activities. Respondents who used alternative transportation had less steep declines in participation. The effect of getting rides and using paratransit services was more pronounced among respondents living in disordered neighborhoods. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This research underscores the importance of alternative transportation use and the neighborhood context for participation among older adults. Age-friendly initiatives aimed at fostering greater community engagement should think broadly about the role of multiple forms of transportation

Sleep quality and sex modify the relationships between trait energy and fatigue on state energy and fatigue.

The objective of this study was to identify the associations between trait energy and fatigue with state energy fatigue, as well as exploring if these relationships interacted with sex and/or sleep quality. The study population included a convenience sample of adults and college students (n ranges from 687 to 694). Key measures were state and trait mental and physical energy and fatigue scales, PSQI (a measure of sleep quality), and sex. Multiple regression models included age, polyphenol consumption, POMS scores, physical activity, mental load, and caffeine consumption as covariates. Analyses yielded a strong (r = .65) positive association between each trait and state variable. Overall, several statistically significant interactions were identified. First, the relationship between state and trait physical fatigue was particularly strong for women with high trait scores. There were also interactions with sleep quality. In the case of physical fatigue, poor sleep quality magnified the association between physical fatigue trait and state among those with low trait physical fatigue, while sleep quality did not make a difference for those with high trait physical fatigue. Conversely, in the case of physical energy and mental fatigue, good sleep quality was associated with both higher "highs" and lower "lows" of their respective traits; both interactions were present only among males. Our analyses suggest that sleep quality and sex could influence the effects of trait physical and mental energy and fatigue on state. Findings were more complex than initially assumed, suggesting that the interrelationship between trait and state may be modified by how males and females react and adapt to their trait

Preventive Medicine via Lifestyle Medicine Implementation Practices Should Consider Individuals’ Complex Psychosocial Profile

Noncommunicable chronic diseases are associated with lifestyle behaviors. Psychological and social factors may influence the adoption of such behaviors. Being mentally and physically energized or fatigued may influence the intention–behavior gap of healthy lifestyle adoption accordingly. We investigated the associations of age, sex, lifestyle behaviors, mood, and mental and physical energy and fatigue at both the trait and state levels. The participants (N = 670) completed questionnaires assessing their sleep, mood, mental and physical state energy and fatigue, physical activity, mental workload, and diet. The ordinary least squares regression models revealed an overlap between the mental state and trait energy levels for males who consume polyphenols, have a high mental workload, and sleep well. Being younger, having a high stress level, bad sleep habits, and being confused and depressed were associated with high mental fatigue. Physical energy and fatigue shared the same commonalities with the previous results, with greater discrepancies observed between the state and trait indicators compared to that between mental energy and fatigue. Diet and stress management seem to be predictors of high physical energy, and females report higher physical fatigue levels. Health care professionals should consider this psychosocial complex profiling in their differential diagnosis and when one is implementing lifestyle behavioral changes to address the facets of preventive medicine, wellness, and health promotion