Sedentary behaviors and adiposity in young people: causality and conceptual model

Research on sedentary behavior and adiposity in youth dates back to the 1980s. Sedentary behaviors, usually screen time, can be associated with adiposity. Although the association usually is small but significant, the field is complex, and results are dependent on what sedentary behaviors are assessed and may be mediated and moderated by other behaviors

Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: A review of reviews

Objective: To synthesise reviews investigating physical activity and depression, anxiety, self-esteem and cognitive functioning in children and adolescents and to assess the association between sedentary behaviour and mental health by performing a brief review. Methods: Searches were performed in 2010. Inclusion criteria specifi ed review articles reporting chronic physical activity and at least one mental health outcome that included depression, anxiety/stress, self-esteem and cognitive functioning in children or adolescents. Results: Four review articles reported evidence concerning depression, four for anxiety, three for self-esteem and seven for cognitive functioning. Nine primary studies assessed associations between sedentary behaviour and mental health. Physical activity has potentially benefi cial effects for reduced depression, but the evidence base is limited. Intervention designs are low in quality, and many reviews include cross-sectional studies. Physical activity interventions have been shown to have a small benefi cial effect for reduced anxiety, but the evidence base is limited. Physical activity can lead to improvements in self-esteem, at least in the short term. However, there is a paucity of good quality research. Reviews on physical activity and cognitive functioning have provided evidence that routine physical activity can be associated with improved cognitive performance and academic achievement, but these associations are usually small and inconsistent. Primary studies showed consistent negative associations between mental health and sedentary behaviour. Conclusion:s: Association between physical activity and mental health in young people is evident, but research designs are often weak and effects are small to moderate. Evidence shows small but consistent associations between sedentary screen time and poorer mental health

Attribution-emotion relationships in sporting contests

Attribution theory has been a popular area for research in sports psychology since the middle of the 1970s. However^ much of this research has focused on the antecedents of attributions with relatively little research on the consequences of making attributions. It has been proposed in educational psychology that there are emotional consequences of making attributions for achievement. The present research investigated attribution-emotion relationships in the context of sporting achievements using one versus one sporting contests. Four studies were conducted« two in laboratory settings and two in field settings. Using self-report measures of attributions and emotions results suggested that attributions and emotions in sporting contests are related. Winners tended to make internal attributions while losers tended to make internal and external attributions for outcome. But attributions that correlated with emotions were primarily internal for both winners and losers. A similar pattern emerged when a comparison was made between players satisfied with their performance and those players dissatisfied with their performance. The importance subjects attached to winning the contests was found to be a significant moderating variable in relationships between attributions and emotions. Some emotions were only correlated with attributions when it was important to win. These emotions were primarily esteem-related. Similarly, there was some evidence for losers using defences against certain emotions when they made particular attributions and when it was important to win. Outcome importance was also correlated mainly with negative rather than positive emotions. Finally, in predicting emotion it was found that the strongest predictor was performance satisfaction. Attributions for performance were relatively weak predictors of emotion and attributions for outcome weaker still. It was concluded that attributions can be related to emotions, that the importance of the event can moderate these relationships, and that attributions for outcome and performance both need assessment in sport attribution studies as they are likely to differ in their relationship with emotion. Implications for further research are discussed

The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity among young girls: a meta-analysis

Context: Pre-adolescent girls are an important target population for physical activity behaviour change as it may enhance tracking into the crucial period of adolescence. The quantification of intervention effectiveness for this age group of girls has not been previously reported. Evidence acquisition: Studies published in English up to and including August 2013 were located from computerised (MedLine, PsychInfo, Science Direct, Web of Science, EPPI centre databases, and Cochrane Library database) and manual searches. Intervention studies aimed at promoting physical activity, which included pre-adolescent girls aged 5-11. years, and a non-physical activity control/comparison group were included. Evidence synthesis: A random effects meta-analysis was conducted. The average treatment effect for pre-adolescent girls involved in physical activity interventions was significant but small (g = 0.314, p < .001). Moderator analyses showed larger effects for interventions that catered for girls only and used educational and multicomponent strategies. Conclusions: Interventions to increase physical activity in pre-adolescent girls show small but significant effects, suggesting that behaviour change may be challenging, but results suggest some strategies that could be successful. © 2014 Elsevier Inc

Interventions designed to reduce sedentary behaviours in young people: A review of reviews

Background: Leisure time is increasingly spent in sedentary pursuits such as screen-viewing (eg, television/DVD viewing and computer use), motorised travel, school/work and sitting-based socialising (eg, social media and chatting). Sedentary screen time, particularly TV, appears to play an important role in the aetiology of obesity due to its co-occurrence with other unhealthy behaviours such as snacking on energy-dense foods, low levels of physical activity and inadequate sleep. More information is needed on how to reduce sedentary behaviours. Most interventions have focused on young people and a number of systematic reviews exist on this topic. Objective: To synthesise systematic reviews and metaanalyses of interventions aimed at decreasing sedentary behaviours among children and adolescents. Methods: Papers were located from computerised and manual searches. Included articles were English language systematic reviews or meta-analyses of interventions aiming at reducing sedentary behaviour in children (<11 years) and adolescents (12-18 years). Results: Ten papers met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. All reviews concluded some level of effectiveness in reducing time spent in sedentary behaviour. When an effect size was reported, there was a small but significant reduction in sedentary time (highest effect size=-0.29; CI -0.35 to -0.22). Moderator analyses showed a trend favouring interventions with children younger than 6 years. Effective strategies include the involvement of family, behavioural interventions and electronic TV monitoring devices. Conclusions: Results from systematic reviews and meta-analyses show that interventions to reduce children's sedentary behaviour have a small but significant effect. Future research should expand these findings examining interventions targeting different types of sedentary behaviours and the effectiveness of specific behaviour change techniques across different contexts and settings

Weekend warrior physical activity pattern and common mental disorder: A population wide study of 108,011 British adults

Abstract Background The dose-response association between physical activity (PA) and mental health is poorly described. We explored cross-sectional associations between physical activity and common mental disorder (psychological distress) in ‘weekend warriors’ who do all their exercise in one or two sessions per week. Methods Adult participants (n = 108,011, age = 47 ± 17 yrs., 46.5% men) were recruited from general population household-based surveys (Health Survey for England and Scottish Health Survey) from 1994 to 2004. Data were pooled and analyzed using logistic regression models. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was self-reported and psychological distress was measured using the 12 item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Results Psychological distress (GHQ-12 > 3) was prevalent in 14.5% of the sample. In healthy participants an inverse association between PA and psychological distress was optimal at the PA guideline (150 mins/wk. MVPA or 75 min/wk. Vigorous PA) regardless of whether it was accumulated in one or two bouts per week “Weekend warrior” (odd ratio = 0.68, 95% CI, 0.63, 0.73) or as more frequent daily bouts (odd ratio = 0.68, 95% CI, 0.64, 0.72) in comparison to the inactive reference group. In participants with chronic health conditions an inverse association between PA and psychological distress was also evident at lower doses (one or two sessions of PA a week below PA guideline) (OR = 0.72, 95% CI, 0.68, 0.77). Undertaking vigorous intensity PA as part of the PA guideline conferred additional benefit in women (odds ratio = 0.87, 95% CI, 0.75, 1.00), but not men. Conclusion Mental health benefits may be accrued through different PA patterns, thus individual approaches to prescribing exercise should be promoted

Sedentary behaviour interventions in young people: A meta-analysis

Background: There is increasing concern about the time young people spend in sedentary behaviour ('sitting time'), especially with the development of attractive home-based electronic entertainment. This may have deleterious health effects. Purpose: To ascertain, through a meta-analytic review, whether interventions targeted at reducing sedentary behaviours in young people are successful. Method: ERIC, MedLine, PsychInfo, SportDiscus and the Cochrane Library databases were searched up to 2010. Titles and abstracts of identifi ed papers were examined against inclusion criteria. Included papers were coded by three researchers. Results: 17 papers, including 17 independent samples (N=4976), met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. There was a small but signifi cant effect in favour of sedentary behaviour reduction for intervention groups (Hedges' g = ? 0.192; SE = 0.056; 95% CI = ?0.303 to ?0.082; p = 0.001). Moderator analyses produced no signifi cant between-moderator results for any of the intervention or study characteristics, although trends were evident. Conclusion: Behaviour change interventions targeting reductions in sedentary behaviour have been shown to be successful, although effects are small. More needs to be known about how best to optimise intervention effects

The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity among adolescent girls: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that a clear decline in physical activity among girls starting in early adolescence. Therefore, adolescent girls have been identified as a key target population for physical activity behavior change. The quantification of intervention effectiveness for this group has not been previously reported in a meta-analysis, and this therefore was the objective of the current meta-analysis. STUDY SELECTION: Included were interventions in which the main component, or 1 of the components, was aimed at promoting physical activity through behavior change in any setting. Interventions had to include a non-physical activity control group or comparison group, and include a quantitative outcome assessment of physical activity behavior in girls aged 12 to 18 years. DATA SOURCES: Science Direct, PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Libraries, and EPPI Centre databases were searched up to and including May 2013. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Forty-five studies (k = 34 independent samples) were eligible from an initial 13,747 references. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The average treatment effect for adolescent girls involved in physical activity interventions was significant but small (g = 0.350, 95% confidence interval 0.12, 0.58, P < .001). Moderator analyses showed larger effects for interventions that were theory based, performed in schools, were girls only, with younger girls, used multicomponent strategies, and involved targeting both physical activity and sedentary behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase physical activity in adolescent girls show small but significant effects, suggesting that behavior change may be challenging. Results suggest some approaches that appear to be successful

High-intensity interval exercise training for public health: a big HIT or shall we HIT it on the head?

Background: The efficacy of high-intensity interval training for a broad spectrum of cardio-metabolic health outcomes is not in question. Rather, the effectiveness of this form of exercise is at stake. In this paper we debate the issues concerning the likely success or failure of high-intensity interval training interventions for population-level health promotion. Discussion: Biddle maintains that high-intensity interval training cannot be a viable public health strategy as it will not be adopted or maintained by many people. This conclusion is based on an analysis of perceptions of competence, the psychologically aversive nature of high-intensity exercise, the affective component of attitudes, the less conscious elements of motivated behaviour that reflect our likes and dislikes, and analysis using the RE-AIM framework. Batterham argues that this appraisal is based on a constrained and outmoded definition of high-intensity interval training and that truly practical and scalable protocols have been - and continue to be - developed. He contends that the purported displeasure associated with this type of exercise has been overstated. Biddle suggests that the way forward is to help the least active become more active rather than the already active to do more. Batterham claims that traditional physical activity promotion has been a spectacular failure. He proposes that, within an evolutionary health promotion framework, high-intensity interval training could be a successful population strategy for producing rapid physiological adaptations benefiting public health, independent of changes in total physical activity energy expenditure. Summary: Biddle recommends that we focus our attention elsewhere if we want population-level gains in physical activity impacting public health. His conclusion is based on his belief that high-intensity interval training interventions will have limited reach, effectiveness, and adoption, and poor implementation and maintenance. In contrast, Batterham maintains that there is genuine potential for scalable, enjoyable high-intensity interval exercise interventions to contribute substantially to addressing areas of public health priority, including prevention and treatment of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Sedentary behaviour and adiposity in youth: A systematic review of reviews and analysis of causality

Abstract Background Sedentary behaviour (sitting time) has becoming a very popular topic for research and translation since early studies on TV viewing in children in the 1980s. The most studied area for sedentary behaviour health outcomes has been adiposity in young people. However, the literature is replete with inconsistencies. Methods We conducted a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to provide a comprehensive analysis of evidence and state-of-the-art synthesis on whether sedentary behaviours are associated with adiposity in young people, and to what extent any association can be considered ‘causal’. Searches yielded 29 systematic reviews of over 450 separate papers. We analysed results by observational (cross-sectional and longitudinal) and intervention designs. Results Small associations were reported for screen time and adiposity from cross-sectional evidence, but associations were less consistent from longitudinal studies. Studies using objective accelerometer measures of sedentary behaviour yielded null associations. Most studies assessed BMI/BMI-z. Interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour produced modest effects for weight status and adiposity. Accounting for effects from sedentary behaviour reduction alone is difficult as many interventions included additional changes in behaviour, such as physical activity and dietary intake. Analysis of causality guided by the classic Bradford Hill criteria concluded that there is no evidence for a causal association between sedentary behaviour and adiposity in youth, although a small dose-response association exists. Conclusions Associations between sedentary behaviour and adiposity in children and adolescents are small to very small and there is little to no evidence that this association is causal. This remains a complex field with different exposure and outcome measures and research designs. But claims for ‘clear’ associations between sedentary behaviour and adiposity in youth, and certainly for causality, are premature or misguided