Identifying Group-Sensitive Physical Activities: A Differential Item Functioning Analysis of NHANES Data

Purpose: To identify subgroup sensitive physical activities using differential item functioning (DIF) analysis. Methods: A sub-unweighted sample of 1,857 (males = 923 and females = 934) from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Physical Activity (PA) questionnaire data was used for the analyses. Using Mantel-Haenszel, SIBTEST and ANOVA DIF methods, 33 specific leisure-time moderate and/or vigorous PA (MVPA) items were analyzed for DIF across race/ethnicity, gender, education, income and age groups. Results: Many leisure-time MVPA items were identified as large DIF items. When participating in the same amount of leisure-time MVPAs, non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB) were more likely to participate in basketball and dance activities than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW); NHW were more likely to participated in golf and hiking than NHB; Hispanics were more likely to participate in dance, hiking and soccer than NHW whereas NHW were more likely to engage in bicycling, golf, swimming, and walking than Hispanics; females were more likely to participate in aerobics, dance, stretching and walking than males whereas males were more likely to engage in basketball, fishing, golf, running, soccer, weightlifting and hunting than females; educated persons were more likely to participate in jogging and treadmill exercise than less educated persons; persons with higher incomes were more likely to engage in golf than those with lower incomes; and adults (20-59 yrs) were more likely to participate in basketball, dance, jogging, running, and weightlifting than older adults (60+ yrs), whereas older adults were more likely to participate in walking and golf than younger adults. Conclusions: DIF methods are able to identify subgroup sensitive PAs, and thus provide useful information to help design group sensitive, targeted interventions for disadvantaged PA subgroups

Shifting Patterns of BMI and Skinfold Fatness among US Children: 1985/87 vs. 2012

Background: Childhood obesity has been recognized as a major public health concern. The purpose of this study was to determine specific shifting patterns of BMI and skinfold fatness across different age and sex groups between 1985/87 and 2012. Methods: The data of 9,366 children aged 8-15 years from two nationally representative surveys, i.e., 1985/87 National Children and Youth Fitness Study I & II and 2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey National Youth Fitness Survey, were analyzed. Specifically, changes of BMI-based obesity prevalence and shifting patterns of BMI, height, weight, skinfold body fat percentage (skinfold-fat%), subscapular skinfold, and triceps skinfold from 1985/87 to 2012 were estimated by age and sex using the 1985/87 quartiles as the baseline. Results: Significantly increased obesity prevalence were reconfirmed for both boys (12.12%, P <.001) and girls (3.53%, P <.001) from 1985/87 to 2012. Except for height, all other measures in 2012 experienced an unbalanced shifting pattern, mainly from other quartiles into the 4th quartile of 1985/87. Conclusion: The shifting of both boys’ and girls’ BMI and skinfold-fat% were all concentrated in the 4th quartile of 1985/87, indicating not only that there was a significant increase in BMI and skinfold-fat% in the U.S. children from 1985/87 to 2012, but also into the overweight and obese subgroups, which serves as a serious warning for childhood obesity epidemic and public health

Energy expenditure of type-specific sedentary behaviors estimated using sensewear mini armband: a metabolic chamber validation study among adolescents

SenseWear Mini Armband, an accelerometer with multiple physiological sensors, could be a practical means to estimate energy expenditure (EE) of children and adolescents, but its validity reported for these age groups has not been consistent within the literature. EE of twenty-six healthy Chinese 12-year-old adolescents was measured simultaneously using both SenseWear Mini Armband (SWMA) and metabolic chamber (MC) during a 16-hour stay in a MC. SWMA systematically underestimated the adolescents’ EE during sedentary behaviors, resting metabolic rate (RMR), basal metabolic rate (BMR), and total EE, with the absolute error rate ranging from 14.85% to 28.65%. The SWMA significantly underestimated EE compared with MC in Chinese adolescents. However, the amount of error can be reduced by applying correction equation proposed in this study

Effectiveness of quality physical education in improving students' manipulative skill competency

AbstractPurposeThis study aimed to examine the extent to which the quality physical education teaching (QPET) practices contributed to improving 4th- and 5th-grade students' manipulative skill competency.MethodsParticipants were 9 elementary physical education (PE) teachers and their 4th- and 5th-grade students (n = 2709–3420). The students' skill competency was assessed with 3 manipulative skills using PE metrics assessment rubrics. The PE teachers' levels of QPET were assessed by coding 63 videotaped lessons using the assessing quality teaching rubrics (AQTR), which consisted of 4 essential dimensions including task design, task presentation, class management, and instructional guidance. Codes were confirmed through inter-rater reliability (82.4%, 84.5%, and 94%). Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, multiple R2 regression models, and independent sample t tests.ResultsThis study indicated that the 4 essential dimensions of QPET were all significant contributors to students' manipulative skill competency. These predictors were significantly higher for boys than for girls in soccer and striking skills, while they were significantly higher for girls than for boys in throwing skill competency. Of the 4 essential dimensions of QPET, task presentation played the most significant role in contributing to all 3 skill competencies for both boys and girls. Further, students who experienced high QPET were significantly more skillfully competent than those students who did not have this experience.ConclusionIt was concluded that the QPET practices played a significantly critical role in contributing to students' manipulative skill competency

Application of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change to Preadolescents' Physical Activity and Exercise Behavior

The Transtheoretical Model of behavior change was applied to a sample of 669 preadolescents (M age = 8.2) to determine whether stages of exercise could be observed. Associations between stage of exercise classification and demographic, fitness, and cognitive variables were examined. Stage of exercise classifications, on the basis of the Children's Stage of Exercise Algorithm, were as follows: maintenance (50.8%), action (36.5%), preparation (3.1%), contemplation (4.9%), and precontemplation (4.6%). Stage of exercise was significantly related to gender, age, and grade level. Controlling for these differences, the relationship between exercise beliefs and stage of exercise was significant

Long-Term Effects of Tai Chi Intervention on Sleep and Mental Health of Female Individuals With Dependence on Amphetamine-Type Stimulants

Previous studies provide evidence that Tai Chi (TC) can reduce the symptoms of sleep problems and be of benefit for the rehabilitation of substance abusers. In this study, we investigated if TC practice can improve sleep quality and mood of females who are dependent on amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS). Eighty subjects were randomly assigned to TC intervention and standard care (SC) for 6 months. We applied analysis of variance on repeated-measure with the year of drug dependence as the covariate to test the changes of the self-rated Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), as well as fitness after 3 and 6 months. Relapse investigation was conducted by checking the database of China's National Surveillance System on Drug Abuse and that of the Shanghai Drug Control Committee's illicit drug dependents. Our investigation focused on the relapse of participants who had undergone and completed treatment in the Shanghai Mandatory Detoxification and Rehabilitation Center in 2015. The result showed that the PSQI scores of sleep duration [F(2, 92) = 9.86], need for sleep medications [F(2, 92) = 36.44] and daytime dysfunction [F(2, 92) = 5.15] were found to have a significant difference by time × group interaction after 6 months. SDS showed no significant difference between the two groups; however, the score of SDS in TC decreased after 6-month intervention, and no changes were observed in SC. Pulse rate had significantly decreased in the TC group compared with the SC group after 6 months. 9.5% (4) ATS dependents in TC and 26.3% (10) ATS dependents in SC were found to have relapsed. Our result suggested that TC had positive effects on sleep quality, depression and fitness. Long-term study demonstrated that TC may be a cheap and potential supplementary treatment for ATS-dependent individuals. TC may also be considered as an alternative exercise to escalate abstinence for ATS-dependent females.Clinical trial registration: ChiCTR-IPR-14005343 chictr. org.c

BIRTH, GROWTH AND CHALLENGES OF "KINESMETRICS" IN THE USA

The term "Kinesmetrics" was coined by Weimo Zhu in 1999 when he created a new doctoral program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), USA, with a focus to "develop and apply measurement theory, statistics and mathematical analysis to the field of Kinesiology." Since then, a number of Ph.D. scholars in Kinesmetrics have been trained at UIUC, which also regularly hosts visiting scholars from all over the world. In fall 2008, a new Kinesmetrics program was established at Middle Tennessee State University by Minsoo Kang, a UIUC Kinesmetrics Ph.D. graduate, and the <em>International Forum of Kinesiometrics</em> was held at the University of Primorska in Koper, Slovenia, in 2009. Meanwhile, Kinesmetrics scholars/programs in the USA are experiencing many challenges, e.g., reduced faculty positions, limited funding resources, a variety of data characteristics and measurement issues due to the interdisciplinary nature of Kinesiology, etc. After a brief review of the historical background and foundation of Kinesmetrics, this paper focused on the current challenges faced by Kinesmetrics, as a subdiscipline within Kinesiology, and how these challenges can best be addressed. Future directions of Kinesmetrics were also outlined

Physical Activity Energy Expenditure by Activity Domains in US Populations

Estimating energy expenditure (EE) for reported physical activities (PA) is important for assessing population PA status. PURPOSE: To estimate EE of activities in different PA domains from the 2003-2004 NHNAES PA questionnaire data. METHODS: A sub-set of adult (N = 3,083, males = 1,511 and females = 1,572) data from the NHANES 2003-2004 study was employed. EE (in MET-Minutes/day) of occupational, transportation, domestic, leisure-time, and sedentary activities was calculated based on the frequency, duration and their MET values by overall and different demographic characteristics. SAS survey procedures were used for data analyses to account for the complex NHANES sampling design. RESULTS: American adults spent 726.85 (±SEM: 1.28) MET-Minutes/day in occupational activity, 23.35 (±5.2) in transportation activity, 91.75 (±8.65) in domestic activity, 69.77 (±2.37) in leisure-time moderate and 61.19 (±3.64) vigorous activities, 134.14 (±2.87) watching TV, and 64.14 (±1.61) using a computer. Males reported higher EE in occupational (p\u3c.001), domestic (p\u3c0.01) and leisure-time PA (p\u3c.001) than females. Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) showed higher EE in domestic activity than non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB; p\u3c.01) and Hispanics (p\u3c.01), and higher EE in using a computer than Hispanics (p\u3c.001). NHB reported higher MET-Minutes/day scores in watching TV than NHW (p\u3c.001) and Hispanics (p\u3c.001). Hispanics spent more energy on occupational activity than NHW and NHB (p\u3c.01). Respondents with a higher education level showed higher EE in leisure-time activities (p\u3c.01) and using a computer (p\u3c.001) than those with a lower education level, while the latter reported higher EE in watching TV (p\u3c.001). Higher income respondents reported higher EE in domestic (p\u3c.01) and moderate activities (p\u3c.01) and lower EE in transportation activity (p\u3c.05) and watching TV (p\u3c.001) than lower income respondents. Older adults reported higher EE in domestic activity (p\u3c.05) and watching TV (p\u3c.001) while younger adults spent more energy in vigorous activity (p\u3c.001) and using a computer (p\u3c.001). CONCLUSIONS: EE of reported PA across different PA domains varies among selected subpopulations. Such information is helpful in allowing a greater understanding of a subpopulation\u27s PA patterns