The association between social support and physical activity in older adults : A systematic review
- Authors: Lindsay Smith, Gabrielle , Banting, Lauren , Eime, Rochelle , O'Sullivan, Grant , van Uffelen, Jannique
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 14, no. 1 (2017), p. 1-21
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- Description: Background: The promotion of active and healthy ageing is becoming increasingly important as the population ages. Physical activity (PA) significantly reduces all-cause mortality and contributes to the prevention of many chronic illnesses. However, the proportion of people globally who are active enough to gain these health benefits is low and decreases with age. Social support (SS) is a social determinant of health that may improve PA in older adults, but the association has not been systematically reviewed. This review had three aims: 1) Systematically review and summarise studies examining the association between SS, or loneliness, and PA in older adults; 2) clarify if specific types of SS are positively associated with PA; and 3) investigate whether the association between SS and PA differs between PA domains. Methods: Quantitative studies examining a relationship between SS, or loneliness, and PA levels in healthy, older adults over 60 were identified using MEDLINE, PSYCInfo, SportDiscus, CINAHL and PubMed, and through reference lists of included studies. Quality of these studies was rated. Results: This review included 27 papers, of which 22 were cross sectional studies, three were prospective/longitudinal and two were intervention studies. Overall, the study quality was moderate. Four articles examined the relation of PA with general SS, 17 with SS specific to PA (SSPA), and six with loneliness. The results suggest that there is a positive association between SSPA and PA levels in older adults, especially when it comes from family members. No clear associations were identified between general SS, SSPA from friends, or loneliness and PA levels. When measured separately, leisure time PA (LTPA) was associated with SS in a greater percentage of studies than when a number of PA domains were measured together. Conclusions: The evidence surrounding the relationship between SS, or loneliness, and PA in older adults suggests that people with greater SS for PA are more likely to do LTPA, especially when the SS comes from family members. However, high variability in measurement methods used to assess both SS and PA in included studies made it difficult to compare studies. © 2017 The Author(s).
Children's route choice during active transportation to school : Difference between shortest and actual route
- Authors: Dessing, Dirk , de Vries, Sanne , Hegeman, Geerje , Verhagen, Evert , van Mechelen, Willem , Pierik, Frank
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 13, no. 1 (2016), p. 1-11
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- Description: Background: The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of environmental correlates that are associated with route choice during active transportation to school (ATS) by comparing characteristics of actual walking and cycling routes between home and school with the shortest possible route to school. Methods: Children (n = 184; 86 boys, 98 girls; age range: 8-12 years) from seven schools in suburban municipalities in the Netherlands participated in the study. Actual walking and cycling routes to school were measured with a GPS-device that children wore during an entire school week. Measurements were conducted in the period April-June 2014. Route characteristics for both actual and shortest routes between home and school were determined for a buffer of 25 m from the routes and divided into four categories: Land use (residential, commercial, recreational, traffic areas), Aesthetics (presence of greenery/natural water ways along route), Traffic (safety measures such as traffic lights, zebra crossings, speed bumps) and Type of street (pedestrian, cycling, residential streets, arterial roads). Comparison of characteristics of shortest and actual routes was performed with conditional logistic regression models. Results: Median distance of the actual walking routes was 390.1 m, whereas median distance of actual cycling routes was 673.9 m. Actual walking and cycling routes were not significantly longer than the shortest possible routes. Children mainly traveled through residential areas on their way to school ( > 80 % of the route). Traffic lights were found to be positively associated with route choice during ATS. Zebra crossings were less often present along the actual routes (walking: OR = 0.17, 95 % CI = 0.05-0.58; cycling: OR = 0.31, 95 % CI = 0.14-0.67), and streets with a high occurrence of accidents were less often used during cycling to school (OR = 0.57, 95 % CI = 0.43-0.76). Moreover, percentage of visible surface water along the actual route was higher compared to the shortest routes (walking: OR = 1.04, 95 % CI = 1.01-1.07; cycling: OR = 1.03, 95 % CI = 1.01-1.05). Discussion: This study showed a novel approach to examine built environmental exposure during active transport to school. Most of the results of the study suggest that children avoid to walk or cycle along busy roads on their way to school. © 2016 Dessing et al.
Efficacy of a compulsory homework programme for increasing physical activity and improving nutrition in children: A cluster randomised controlled trial
- Authors: Duncan, Scott , Stewart, Tom , McPhee, Julia , Borotkanics, Robert , Prendergast, Kate , Zinn, Caryn , Meredith-Jones, Kim , Taylor, Rachael , McLachlan, Claire , Schofield, Grant
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 16, no. 1 (2019), p.
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- Description: Background: Most physical activity interventions in children focus on the school setting; however, children typically engage in more sedentary activities and spend more time eating when at home. The primary aim of this cluster randomised controlled trial was to investigate the effects of a compulsory, health-related homework programme on physical activity, dietary patterns, and body size in primary school-aged children. Methods: A total of 675 children aged 7-10 years from 16 New Zealand primary schools participated in the Healthy Homework study. Schools were randomised into intervention and control groups (1:1 allocation). Intervention schools implemented an 8-week applied homework and in-class teaching module designed to increase physical activity and improve dietary patterns. Physical activity was the primary outcome measure, and was assessed using two sealed pedometers that monitored school- and home-based activity separately. Secondary outcome measures included screen-based sedentary time and selected dietary patterns assessed via parental proxy questionnaire. In addition, height, weight, and waist circumference were measured to obtain body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). All measurements were taken at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and 6-months post-intervention (T2). Changes in outcome measures over time were estimated using generalised linear mixed models (GLMMs) that adjusted for fixed (group, age, sex, group x time) and random (subjects nested within schools) effects. Intervention effects were also quantified using GLMMs adjusted for baseline values. Results: Significant intervention effects were observed for weekday physical activity at home (T1 [P < 0.001] and T2 [P = 0.019]), weekend physical activity (T1 [P < 0.001] and T2 [P < 0.001]), BMI (T2 only [P = 0.020]) and fruit consumption (T1 only [P = 0.036]). Additional analyses revealed that the greatest improvements in physical activity occurred in children from the most socioeconomically deprived schools. No consistent effects on sedentary time, WHtR, or other dietary patterns were observed. Conclusions: A compulsory health-related homework programme resulted in substantial and consistent increases in children's physical activity - particularly outside of school and on weekends - with limited effects on body size and fruit consumption. Overall, our findings support the integration of compulsory home-focused strategies for improving health behaviours into primary education curricula. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12618000590268. Registered 17 April 2018. © 2019 The Author(s).
Optimizing prediction of binge eating episodes : A comparison approach to test alternative conceptualizations of the affect regulation model
- Authors: Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew , Richardson, Ben , Skouteris, Helen , Austin, David , Castle, David , Busija, Lucy , Klein, Britt , Holmes, Milllicent , Broadbent, Jaclyn
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Eating Disorders Vol. 2, no. 1 (2014), p. 1-8
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- Description: Background: Although a wealth of studies have tested the link between negative mood states and likelihood of a subsequent binge eating episode, the assumption that this relationship follows a typical linear dose-response pattern (i.e., that risk of a binge episode increases in proportion to level of negative mood) has not been challenged. The present study demonstrates the applicability of an alternative, non-linear conceptualization of this relationship, in which the strength of association between negative mood and probability of a binge episode increases above a threshold value for the mood variable relative to the slope below this threshold value (threshold dose response model).Methods: A sample of 93 women aged 18 to 40 completed an online survey at random intervals seven times per day for a period of one week. Participants self-reported their current mood state and whether they had recently engaged in an eating episode symptomatic of a binge.Results: As hypothesized, the threshold approach was a better predictor than the linear dose-response modeling of likelihood of a binge episode. The superiority of the threshold approach was found even at low levels of negative mood (3 out of 10, with higher scores reflecting more negative mood). Additionally, severity of negative mood beyond this threshold value appears to be useful for predicting time to onset of a binge episode.Conclusions: Present findings suggest that simple dose-response formulations for the association between negative mood and onset of binge episodes miss vital aspects of this relationship. Most notably, the impact of mood on binge eating appears to depend on whether a threshold value of negative mood has been breached, and elevation in mood beyond this point may be useful for clinicians and researchers to identify time to onset. © 2014 Fuller-Tyszkiewicz et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.