Rasch Analysis of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale Among 9th- and 10th-Grade Students

Rasch Model analysis was used to evaluate construct validity and reliability of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) in an adolescent population. A total of 349 9th and 10th graders (180 male; 169 female), aged 13 to 15 years (M = 14.13 SD = .793), completed the 18-item PACES scale at the conclusion of physical education classes. Responses to PACES items were analyzed using Rasch partial credit model. Of the 18 PACES items, five were identified as misfit items and were removed. The remaining 13 good-fit items (difficulty level ranged from -0.81 for Item #10 to 0.66 logits for Item #18) demonstrated one dimension which accounted for 62.4% of the variance, with the person separation index was 3.01; however, the 6-point Likert response format was not appropriate for some remaining items. No items presented differential item functioning (DIF) between genders. Rasch analysis supported the construct validity and reliability of PACES to assess PA enjoyment among 9th and 10th grade high school students after removing five misfit items

Impact of Pedometer Use and Self-Regulation Strategies on Junior High School Physical Education Students\u27 Daily Step Counts

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of pedometer use and self-regulation strategies on adolescents’ daily physical activity. Methods: Junior high school students (n = 113) enrolled in seventh- and eighth-grade physical education classes (52 girls, 61 boys) volunteered to participate in a 5-week study to assess daily step counts. Ten physical education classes were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (a) self-regulation, (b) open, and (c) control. Results: A repeated-measures, mixed-model analysis of variance revealed a significant 3 × 4 (Group by Time) interaction effect, F6,290 = 2.64, P \u3c .02. Followup analyses indicated participants in the self-regulation group took 2071 to 4141 more steps/d than the control. No other significant differences emerged among groups on step counts. Conclusions: It appears that having access to and charting daily step counts (ie, self-regulatory strategies) positively influenced young adolescents to attain a higher number of steps/d

Fitness and Enjoyment Outcomes of a Physical Education Fitness Conditioning Curriculum

Project: Health-related fitness and enjoyment outcomes were analyzed on a physical education program that adopted an exclusive fitness conditioning physical education curriculum. Means: Freshmen enrolled in physical education (n = 228; Mean age = 14.12 years ± .91; Females = 117 (51%); Males = 111 (49%)) completed pre and post FitnessGram curl-ups, push-ups, and the PACER, height and weight measurements, a modified Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES), and two open-ended questions (likes and dislikes of PE). Pre and post assessments were analyzed using Paired t-tests, one-way ANOVAs, and qualitative categorizing. Outcome: Significant fitness improvements for females occurred in the push-ups (F(1, 105) = - 5.286, p \u3c .000), curl-ups (F(1,107) = -4.171, p \u3c .000), and the PACER (F(1, 89) = -6.680, p \u3c .000) and for males in push-ups (F(1, 98) = -2.939, p \u3c .004) and the PACER ((F(1, 80), -6.196, p \u3c .000). Males reported significantly higher PACES enjoyment scores (F(1, 184) = 19.843, p \u3c . 000) compared to females. Four categories were formed that encompassed open-ended responses: teacher, social/friends, content/curriculum, and affect. Reflection: Although this fitness conditioning program enhanced health-related fitness levels, and many students perceived value and benefits of participating in such a program, males clearly enjoyed their physical education experience more than females

The Effects of Game Size on the Physical Activity Levels and Ball Touches of Elementary School Children in Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of participating in small (3v3), medium (6v6), and large-sided (12v12) games on the physical activity levels (pedometer step counts, accelerometer counts, and minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) and ball touches of children in physical education class. Participants were 29 students (55% boys and 45% girls) age 10-11 yrs. All participants wore a Yamax SW-200 pedometer and had their ball touches monitored and recorded. Twelve participants also wore an ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer. Repeated measure ANOVAs were computed to test for significant differences for each dependant variable with corresponding post hoc tests. Results indicated the 3v3 and 6v6 game conditions yielded significantly higher accelerometer counts and ball touches than the 12v12 condition. The 3v3 game condition also produced significantly higher ball touches than the 6v6 condition. These findings highlight the importance of utilizing smaller-sided games in physical education to promote increased involvement and physical activity

Motivational modulation of rhythms of the expression of the clock protein, PER2, in the limbic forebrain

Key molecular components of the mammalian circadian clock are expressed rhythmically in many brain areas and peripheral tissues in mammals. Here we review findings from our work on rhythms of expression of the clock protein Period2 (PER2) in four regions of the limbic forebrain known to be important in the regulation of motivational and emotional states. These regions include the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTov), the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA), the basolateral amygdala (BLA), and the dentate gyrus (DG). Daily rhythms in the expression of PER2 in these regions are controlled by the master circadian pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), but, importantly, they are also sensitive to homeostatic perturbations and to hormonal states that directly influence motivated behavior. Thus, circadian information from the SCN and homeostatic signals are integrated in these regions of the limbic forebrain to affect the temporal organization of motivational and emotional processes

Behavioral and hormonal regulation of expression of the clock protein, PER2, in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis

PER2, a key molecular component of the mammalian circadian clock, is expressed rhythmically in many brain areas and peripheral tissues in mammals. Here we review findings from our work on the nature and regulation of rhythms of expression of PER2 in two anatomically and neurochemically defined subregions of the central extended amygdala, the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTov) and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA). Daily rhythms in the expression of PER2 in these regions are coupled to those of the master circadian pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) but, importantly, they are sensitive to homeostatic perturbations and to hormonal states that directly influence motivated behavior

Predictors of Physical Activity on a College Campus with a High Proportion of Non-traditional Students

Background and purpose: Given the problem of obesity, physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles among college students in the US, this study presents demographic, psychosocial, personal and environmental predictors of physical activity (PA) on an individual college campus with a high percentage of non-traditional students. Methods: The National College Health Assessment (NCHA) survey was completed by college students at a large Northwestern university [N = 949; Male = 292 (31.1%); female = 647 (68.9%); mean age = 26.5 (SD = 9.0) years] during Fall 2011. Results: Sixty-eight percent of participants did not meet both moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and strength exercise (SE) recommendations. Good perceived health status and on-campus housing status were associated with a higher probability of meeting the MVPA and SE recommendations (p <.05), with the former also predictive of SE. High Interest in PA, high PA knowledge, low stress, male gender and young age explained additional variance in meeting the SE recommendation (p <.05). Conclusion: Most students did not participate in the recommended level of MVPA and SE. On this campus, efforts directed to increasing PA knowledge might facilitate an increase in SE. Efforts to promote exercise as a stress reliever may also increase SE participation

Region-specific modulation of PER2 expression in the limbic forebrain and hypothalamus by nighttime restricted feeding in rats

Feeding schedules that restrict food access to a predictable daytime meal induce in rodents food-anticipatory behaviors, changes in physiological rhythms and shifts in the rhythm of clock gene expression in the brain and periphery. However, little is known about the effects of nighttime restricted feeding. Previously, we showed that daytime restricted access to a highly palatable complete meal replacement, Ensure Plus (Ensure), shifts the rhythm of expression of the clock protein PER2 in limbic forebrain areas including the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTov), central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA), basolateral amygdala (BLA) and dentate gyrus (DG), and induces a rhythm in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH) in food deprived (restricted feeding), but not free-fed rats (restricted treat). In the present study we investigated the effects of nighttime restricted feeding (Ensure only, 2 h/night) and nighttime restricted treats (Ensure 2 h/night+free access to chow) in order to determine whether these effects were dependent on the time of day the meal was provided. We found that nighttime restricted feeding, like daytime restricted feeding, shifted the rhythm of PER2 expression in the BNSTov and CEA and peak expression was observed approximately 12 h after the mealtime. Also consistent with previous work, nighttime restricted feeding induced a rhythm of PER2 expression in the DMH and these effects occurred without affecting the rhythm in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). In contrast to previous work with daytime restricted feeding, nighttime restricted feeding had no effect on PER2 rhythms in the BLA and DG. Finally, nighttime restricted treats, as was the case for daytime restricted treats, had no effect on PER2 expression in any of the brain areas studied. The present results together with our previous findings show that the effect of restricted feeding on PER2 rhythms in the limbic forebrain and hypothalamus depend on a negative energy balance and vary as a function of time of day in a brain region-specific manner

Differential regulation of the expression of Period2 protein in the limbic forebrain and dorsomedial hypothalamus by daily limited access to highly palatable food in food-deprived and free-fed rats

Circadian clock genes are rhythmically expressed in many areas of the brain and body and are thought to underlie most endogenous circadian behaviors and physiological processes. Daily rhythms of clock gene expression throughout the brain and body are normally coordinated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), but they are also strongly influenced by daily temporal restrictions of food availability. Here, we studied the effects of a daily restricted presentation of highly palatable complete meal replacement, chocolate Ensure Plus (Ensure) in food-deprived (restricted feeding, RF) and free-fed (restricted treat, RT) rats, on the expression of the clock protein, Period2 (PER2) in regions of the brain involved in motivational and emotional regulation; these include the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTov), the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA), the basolateral amygdala (BLA), the dentate gyrus (DG) and the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH). RF and RT rats consumed similar amounts of Ensure, but changes in the pattern of PER2 expression were seen only in the RF condition, suggesting that changes in PER2 expression in these regions are triggered by the daily alleviation of a negative metabolic state associated with RF and are independent of the positive incentive properties of the consumed substance, per se. In contrast, the expression of the immediate early gene, Fos, was increased in these regions by both RF and RT schedules, showing that signals concerning the incentive value of the consumed food reach these regions. No changes in either PER2 or Fos expression were observed in the SCN of RF or RT rats. These findings demonstrate that mechanisms leading to changes in the expression of PER2 and those affecting the induction of Fos under RF and RT are, at least in part, dissociable

A circadian rhythm in the expression of PERIOD2 protein reveals a novel SCN-controlled oscillator in the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis

Circadian rhythms in mammals are regulated not only globally by the master clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), but also locally by widely distributed populations of clock cells in the brain and periphery that control tissue-specific rhythmic outputs. Here we show that the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST-OV) exhibits a robust circadian rhythm in expression of the Period2 (PER2) clock protein. PER2 expression is rhythmic in the BNST-OV in rats housed under a light/dark cycle or in constant darkness, in blind rats, and in mice, and is in perfect synchrony with the PER2 rhythm of the SCN. Constant light or bilateral SCN lesions abolish the rhythm of PER2 in the BNST-OV. Large abrupt shifts in the light schedule transiently uncouple the BNST-OV rhythm from that of the SCN. Re-entrainment of the PER2 rhythm is faster in the SCN than in the BNST-OV, and it is faster after a delay than an advance shift. Bilateral adrenalectomy blunts the PER2 rhythm in the BNST-OV. Thus, the BNST-OV contains circadian clock cells that normally oscillate in synchrony with the SCN, but these cells appear to require both input from the SCN and circulating glucocorticoids to maintain their circadian oscillation. Taken together with what is known about the functional organization of the connections of the BNST-OV with systems of the brain involved in stress and motivational processes, these findings place BNST-OV oscillators in a position to influence specific physiological and behavioral rhythms downstream from the SCN clock