Determinants of Physical Activity and Low-Fat Diet Among Low Income African American and Hispanic Middle School Students

African Americans, Hispanics, and those with low income experience disproportionate health problems that can be prevented by physical activity and a lower fat diet. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, antecedents of diet and exercise within the Health Promotion/Transtheoretical Model were examined among low-income African American and Hispanic seventh-grade students (n = 127). Total support was associated with higher physical activity for girls. African Americans perceived greater social support for activity than Hispanics. Family models and support for physical activity and low-fat diet were greater as family income increased. However, higher family role models and lower dietary fat were found among the lowest income Hispanic students\u27 residing ZIP code with a higher concentration of Hispanics and greater availability of Hispanic foods and culture. A school-based approach may be useful to build peer support for physical activity and lower dietary fat. Parish nurse or clinic settings may be most appropriate for building family role models and support. Living in a neighborhood with traditional Hispanic culture and foods appears to have ameliorated the harmful effects of lower income, although further study with larger samples followed over time is needed

Association of the personal factors of culture, attitude and motivation with health behavior among adolescents in Malaysia

This study was undertaken to determine the association of the personal factors of culture, attitude and motivation on health behavior among Malaysian adolescents. A cluster sampling technique was used and a total of 1,029 students with ages ranging from 15 to 17 years (M age = 15.9, SD = .637) were selected as respondents. The research instrument was a self-administered questionnaire covering health behavior, culture, attitude, and motivation towards health. The strongest linear relationship was found between culture and health behavior (r = .618, p = .001). Besides the culture of adolescents being the main predictor of health behavior (β = .365, p = .000), attitude (β = .283, p = .000) and motivation (β = .064, p = .033) also had significant independent effects on health behavior. Hence, culture, attitude and motivation should be taken into consideration in the promotion of health education, especially at school level

Conceptual model to explain turning points in travel behavior: Application to bicycle use

Existing knowledge on cycling behavior, as with travel behavior in general, is based mainly on cross-sectional studies. It is questionable how much can be learned about the reasons for behavioral change from such studies. A major investment program to promote cycling in 12 English cities and towns between 2008 and 2011 provided the opportunity to study the bicycle use of residents and how that use was affected by the investment. Face-to-face interviews collected biographical information on travel behavior and life-change events during the investment period for 144 research participants and probed the reasons for changes in bicycle use. Theory (from the life course perspective) and preliminary analysis of the interview data were used to develop a conceptual model that hypothesized that turning points in travel behavior were triggered by contextual change (a life-change event or change in the external environment) and mediated by intrinsic motivations, facilitating conditions, and personal history. The model provided an effective means of explaining turning points in bicycle use. The analysis of the interview data showed how the nature of behavioral influences (in particular, life-change events and intrinsic motivations) varied over the life course. The research highlights the advantages of viewing travel behavior change in the context of people’s evolving lives and how that approach can help in developing transport policies and practices

Cannabis affects people differently: inter-subject variation in the psychotogenic effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with healthy volunteers

Background Cannabis can induce transient psychotic symptoms, but not all users experience these adverse effects. We compared the neural response to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in healthy volunteers in whom the drug did or did not induce acute psychotic symptoms. Method In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, pseudorandomized design, 21 healthy men with minimal experience of cannabis were given either 10mg THC or placebo, orally. Behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging measures were then recorded whilst they performed a go/no-go task. Results The sample was subdivided on the basis of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale positive score following administration of THC into transiently psychotic (TP; n=11) and non-psychotic (NP; n=10) groups. During the THC condition, TP subjects made more frequent inhibition errors than the NP group and showed differential activation relative to the NP group in the left parahippocampal gyrus, the left and right middle temporal gyri and in the right cerebellum. In these regions, THC had opposite effects on activation relative to placebo in the two groups. The TP group also showed less activation than the NP group in the right middle temporal gyrus and cerebellum, independent of the effects of THC. Conclusions In this first demonstration of inter-subject variability in sensitivity to the psychotogenic effects of THC, we found that the presence of acute psychotic symptoms was associated with a differential effect of THC on activation in the ventral and medial temporal cortex and cerebellum, suggesting that these regions mediate the effects of the drug on psychotic symptom

Validity of the new lifestyles NL-1000 accelerometer for measuring time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings

Current interest in promoting physical activity in the school environment necessitates an inexpensive, accurate method of measuring physical activity in such settings. Additionally, it is recognized that physical activity must be of at least moderate intensity in order to yield substantial health benefits. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to determine the validity of the New Lifestyles NL-1000 (New Lifestyles, Inc., Lee's Summit, Missouri, USA) accelerometer for measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings, using the Actigraph GT1M (ActiGraph, Pensacola, Florida, USA) as the criterion. Data were collected during a cross-country run (n = 12), physical education (n = 18), and classroom-based physical activities (n = 42). Significant and meaningful intraclass correlations between methods were found, and NL-1000 estimates of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were not meaningfully different from GT1M-estimated moderate- to-vigorous physical activity. The NL-1000 therefore shows promising validity evidence as an inexpensive, convenient method of measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings

Extra-curricular physical activity and socioeconomic status in Italian adolescents

BACKGROUND: The relationship between physical activity and health status has been thoroughly investigated in several studies, while the relation between physical activity and socio-economic status (SES) is less investigated. The aim of this study was to measure the extra-curricular physical activity of adolescents related to the socio-economic status (SES) of their families. METHODS: The survey was carried out by submitting an anonymous questionnaire to junior high school students in the following Regions: Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, during the school year 2002–2003. Extra-curriculum physical activity was evaluated considering whether or not present and hours of activity weekly conducted. 2411 students agreed to participate in the study. RESULTS: Participants were 1121 males (46.5%) and 1290 females (53.5%), aged between 11 and 17 years (median age: 12 years). 71.1% of the students reported to practice extra-curricular physical activity. Parents' educational levels and work activities play an important role in predicting students' physical activity, with the more remunerative activities and higher educational levels being more predictive. CONCLUSION: The results confirm the relationship between adolescents' physical activity and their families' SES. In particular, a positive relationship between participation in extra-curricular physical activity and their families high SES was found. These data will be useful for school administrators and for politicians in order to reduce the gap between adolescents from the least and most disadvantaged families

The theory of planned behaviour predicts self-reports of walking, but does not predict step count

Objectives This paper compares multiple measures of walking in two studies, and the second study compares how well Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) constructs perform in predicting these different measures. Methods In Study 1, 41 participants wore a New Lifestyles NL-2000 pedometer for 1 week. Subsequently, participants completed a questionnaire containing measures of the TPB constructs and two self-report measures of walking, followed by two interview measures of walking. For Study 2, 200 RAF trainee aircraftsmen wore pedometers for 2 weeks. At the end of each week, participants completed the questionnaire and interview measures of walking. Results Both studies found no significant association between questionnaire measures of walking and pedometer measures. In Study 1, the interview measures produced significant, large correlations with the pedometer measure, but these relationships were markedly weaker in the second study. TPB variables were found to explain 22% of variance in intention to walk in Study 1 and 45% of the variance in Study 2. In Study 2, prediction of subsequent measures of behaviour was found to be weak, except when using a single-item measure of walking. Conclusions Recall of walking is poor, and accurate measurement by self-report is problematic. Although the TPB predicts intentions to walk well, it does not predict actual amount of walking, as assessed by pedometer. Possible reasons for these findings include the unique nature of walking as an activity primarily used to facilitate higher order goals. The use of single-item measures may exaggerate the effectiveness of the TPB model for walking, and possibly other forms of physical activity.</p

Using the affective priming paradigm to explore the attitudes underlying walking behaviour

Objectives. Walking is poorly represented in memory, making it difficult to measure using self-report and even harder to predict. To circumvent this, we used the affective priming paradigm (Fazio, Sanbonmatsu, Powell, & Kardes, 1986) to assess implicit attitudes towards walking. Methods. Royal Air Force trainee aircraftsmen (N ¼ 188) wore pedometers for 1 week prior to completing the affective priming paradigm, questionnaire and interview. The affective priming paradigm involved a computer-based response latency task containing physical activity words as primes followed by adjectives as targets to be evaluated. Targets were drawn from two bipolar dichotomies, good–bad (the original Fazio et al. items) and happy–sad (mood). Results. Priming for mood items was related to levels of physical activity with high frequency participants priming for the positive (happy) pole and low frequency participants priming for the negative (sad). Both groups primed for the negative element of the Fazio (good–bad) dichotomy. Regarding walking and running, there was no differentiation on the basis of participation level. Instead, facilitated responses to happy targets contrasted with inhibited responses to sad targets for both types of locomotion. There was weak evidence that intentions to run were associated with priming of positive target items, irrespective of category. Conclusions. The relationship between implicit attitudes and behaviour is complex. Whereas implicit attitudes were related to overall exercise participation, they were not related to the specific activity of walking, despite the behaviour being mainly under automatic control.</p