Affective responses to self-selected and imposed walking in inactive women with high stress: a pilot study.

AIM: The primary purpose was to examine affective responses and future intentions in response to self-selected and imposed-intensity walking in inactive women with high levels of stress. The secondary purpose was to examine potential psychobiological variables (cortisol responses and self-efficacy) associated with changes in affective states. METHODS: Nineteen participants (age=23.58 ± 5.30 yr) completed three trials of treadmill walking at self-selected intensity, 10% above and 10% below relative self-selected intensity. Walking duration was determined to expend 150 kcal. Affective responses and salivary cortisol were measured prior to, during, and following walking sessions. Self-efficacy was also measured during and post-walking. Future intention was measured post walking. RESULTS: Affect and self-efficacy improved significantly over time at all walking intensity conditions. Moreover, selected affect variables were improved at self-selected but not at imposed intensity during and post walking. No significant associations were observed between affect, self-efficacy and cortisol levels. However, affect and self-efficacy did significantly predict future intentions. CONCLUSION: Treadmill walking at intensities proximal to and lower than ventilatory threshold were associated with positive affective responses during and after walking in women with high levels of stress. Self-selected intensity may be effective for eliciting more favorable experiences during and following acute bouts of exercise, and promote future intentions for exercise. Findings provide partial support for self-efficacy during exercise as a potential mechanism for positive affective responses, especially at self-selected intensity.

Longitudinal shifts in exercise stages of change in college students.

AIM: The protective health benefits of regular physical activity are well established. To date, few studies have assessed the prevalence of exercise behavior and factors influencing exercise adoption and maintenance among college students. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of exercise self-efficacy, social support, and sedentary behavior and longitudinal shifts in stage of exercise behavior change among a sample of college students without intervention. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used to examine demographic characteristics, stage of exercise behavior change, exercise self-efficacy, social support (family and friend) and sedentary behavior. One hundred and sixty-one students at a large Midwestern university completed a valid and reliable written mailed questionnaire during baseline assessment and again 6 months later (follow-up). RESULTS: Changes in exercise self-efficacy, social support, and sedentary behavior were not observed among students who maintained their stage of exercise behavior change from baseline to follow-up. Exercise relapsers experienced significant decreases in exercise self-efficacy and peer social support from baseline to follow-up. CONCLUSION: These findings have important implications for further research on exercise adoption and maintenance among college students. From an applied perspective, it would be valuable for the practitioner to understand that different predictors are likely to influence exercise adoption and relapse.

Application of the Transtheoretical Model to physically active adults.

BACKGROUND: A physically activity lifestyle has established health benefits, but interventions to increase exercise adherence have had mixed success. Examining physically active individuals could provide insight into strategies that are effective for exercise maintenance. The purpose of this study was to compare active adults based on exercise stage classification [action (ACT) and maintenance (MT)] according to the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Physiological and psychosocial differences between stages were hypothesized to be consistent with theory and previous research. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used to examine components of the TTM, exercise behavior, resting cardiovascular variables, and VO(peak). Data from 57 physically active college students (age= 21.2 +/- 3.7 yrs, 67% female, 71.9% Caucasian) were included in the analysis. TTM variables and self-report of behavior were measured with established questionnaires. VO(peak) was determined from expired gases during a maximal exercise test. RESULTS: Volume of weekly exercise and number of months consistently active were significantly greater for MT (n=35) than for ACT (n=22). When controlling for gender effects, VO(peak) and systolic blood pressure were also greater in MT than ACT. MT also scored higher than ACT on decisional balance (pros-cons of exercise) and 4 processes of change. CONCLUSIONS: Membership in MT and ACT stages was corroborated by aerobic capacity. Predicted differences in TTM components were only partially supported, but behavioral strategies were used more by participants who were consistently active longer. Physically active individuals should be studied over time to determine if targeting behavioral processes of change will enhance long-term exercise adherence.

Exercise training and smoking cessation as the cornerstones of managing claudication.

Based on research, the classic recommendation to prevent progression of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is "start exercising and stop smoking." Unfortunately, a paramount problem for clinicians is motivating targeted individuals to begin and adhere to an exercise regimen and quit smoking. The purpose of this review is to provide the most current information regarding exercise training and smoking cessation. It is hoped that this article will help health care professionals present accurate information to their patients with PAD, address the difficulties in lifestyle change, and intervene effectively.

Perceived exertion during incremental cycling is not influenced by the Type A behavior pattern.

Recent publications have perpetuated a concern that the Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP) influences ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) during exercise testing. Previous studies of this topic used the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) which lacks validity for predicting the criterion Structured Interview (SI) for TABP and used exercise protocols that were unstandardized or yielded results that were uninterpretable for clinical exercise prescription. We used the SI to classify 44 normotensive men (18-35 y) according to TABP and compared their RPE during an incremental cycling test to peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak). Groups did not differ on maximal test performance or RPE at any stage of the test, even after adjusting RPE for small group variations in % VO2peak and ventilatory equivalent for oxygen, which are strong correlates of RPE during incremental exercise. The findings agree with our prior report [14] that no relationship existed between RPE and several self-report measures of TABP. We conclude that there is no empirical basis for the view that the Type A Behavior Pattern affects cycling performance or ratings of perceived exertion during standard exercise testing in young white men.

Characteristics of exercise behavior among college students: application of social cognitive theory to predicting stage of change.

BACKGROUND: Young adulthood is characterized by a steep decline in the level of physical activity, but few theory-based studies have examined characteristics associated with regular exercise in this population. This study applied Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and the Stages of Change Model (SCM) to determine personal, behavioral, and environmental characteristics associated with exercise behavior and intentions among undergraduate university students. METHODS: A random sample of 937 undergraduate students (mean age 22.0 +/- 5.6 years; 84.7% ages 17-24 years) enrolled at a large Midwestern university completed a mailed questionnaire. Valid and reliable instruments were used to measure personal, behavioral, and environmental variables based on the SCT that were hypothesized to influence stage of exercise behavior change. Multivariate discriminant analysis was used to determine associations among these variables with stage of exercise behavior change. RESULTS: Exercise self-efficacy, physical activity history, and nonexercise estimation of aerobic capacity were significant predictors of the stage of exercise behavior change for both males and females. Among females, exercise self-efficacy (P < 0.001) and family social support (P < 0. 001) for physical activity were the best predictors of stage of exercise behavior change. Friend social support (P < 0.001), physical activity history (P < 0.001), and exercise self-efficacy (P < 0.001) were significant predictors of stage of exercise behavior change among males. CONCLUSIONS: The SCT framework predicted stage of exercise behavior change as defined by the SCM. Exercise self-efficacy was associated with exercise stage, but the source of significant social support (family versus friends) was different for males and females.

Increased finger arterial blood pressure after exercise detraining in women with parental hypertension: autonomic tasks.

The effects of exercise detraining on resting finger arterial blood pressure (BP), the carotid-cardiac vagal baroreflex, and BP and heart rate (HR) responses to mental arithmetic and forehead cold exposure were studied in young (19 +/- 1.1 years) normotensive women with parental history of hypertension. Following 8 weeks of aerobic exercise for 25 min, 3 days week-1 at an intensity of 60% VO2peak, subjects ceased training for 6-8 weeks. After detraining, VO2peak (mL kg-1 min-1) was reduced by 11.5% (41.1 +/- 6.9 to 36.4 +/- 4.8) coincident with an approximately equal to 10% increase in submaximal exercise heart rate. Responses to the laboratory tasks were then compared. Detraining was accompanied by increases (P < 0.05) in resting systolic (SBP) (113.6 +/- 8.9 to 121.2 +/- 9.0), diastolic (DBP) (63.0 +/- 8.4 to 68.3 +/- 6.8), and mean arterial (MAP) (78.7 +/- 8.4 to 84.2 +/- 7.3) BP (mmHg). None of the above changes occurred in sedentary matched-control subjects. Systolic blood pressure was elevated during forehead cold exposure and MAP was elevated during mental arithmetic after detraining, but the rates of response and recovery for SBP, DBP and MAP were not altered by detraining. Despite higher submaximal exercise HR after detraining, HR responses to autonomic challenges, including the carotid-cardiac vagal baroreflex, were unchanged between training and detraining. Our results indicate that exercise detraining increases resting finger arterial BP in young normotensive women at risk for hypertension with no effects on the rate of response or recovery of heart rate and BP during autonomic tasks known to elicit sympathetic and carotid-cardiac vagal activities in this population. The use of auscultatory brachial artery pressures in a similar study of women diagnosed with hypertension will clarify the clinical meaning of our findings.

Increasing physical activity: a quantitative synthesis.

National policy for increasing leisure physical activity in the United States is impeded by a poor understanding of interventions that can be implemented by community and clinical medicine. To clarify the literature in this area, we conducted a quantitative, meta analysis of 127 studies that examined the efficacy of interventions for increasing physical activity among approximately 131,000 subjects in community, worksite, school, home, and health care settings; 445 effects were expressed as a Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and examined as they varied according to moderating variables important for community and clinical intervention. The mean effect was moderately large, r = 0.34, approximating three-fourths of a standard deviation or an increase in binomial success rate from 50% to 67%. The estimated population effect weighted by sample size was larger, r = 0.75, approximating 2 standard deviations or increased success to 88%. Contrasts between levels of independent moderating variables indicated that effects weighted by sample size were larger when the interventions: 1) employed the principles of behavior modification, 2) used a mediated delivery, 3) targeted groups, 4) of combined ages, 5) sampled apparently healthy people, or 6) measured active leisure, of 7) low intensity, 8) by observation. Independently of sample size, effects were larger when interventions 1) used behavior modification, 2) employed a preor quasi-experimental design, or 3) were of short duration, regardless of features of the people, setting, or physical activity. Our results show that physical activity can be increased by intervention. The optimal ways for selecting intervention components, settings, and population segments to maintain increases in physical activity and the relative contributions by community and clinical medicine toward successful physical activity intervention require experimental confirmation, warranting accelerated attention in clinical trials.

Autonomic responses of women with parental hypertension. Effects of physical activity and fitness.

We studied the moderating effects of cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity on heart rate and blood pressure responses to psychophysiological stressors and the carotid-cardiac baroreflex in young normotensive women with a parental history of hypertension (n = 31). Testing occurred during the follicular menstrual phase. Subjects were divided into high versus moderate (46.6 +/- 6.5 versus 35.9 +/- 1.9 mL.kg-1.min-1) VO2peak and high versus moderate (1217.7 +/- 98.4 versus 1015.5 +/- 49.4 J.kg-1.wk-1) physical activity groups. The groups did not differ in heart rate or blood pressure responses to mental arithmetic or the cold-face test. However, the highly fit women had longer maximal R-R intervals compared with the moderately fit women when the carotid-cardiac baroreflex was stimulated by negative pressures applied to the neck during resting conditions (P < .01). The carotid-cardiac baroreflex was attenuated during mental arithmetic compared with rest in both the moderately fit and moderately active women but not in the highly fit and highly active groups. We find no evidence that aerobic fitness reduces sympathetic responses to laboratory stressors in young women with parental hypertension. Our findings are consistent with greater parasympathetic tone during sympathetic challenge for the highly fit and highly active subjects. Clarification of autonomic balance during carotid baroreflex stimulation at rest and during sympathetic challenge after exercise training would provide important information regarding mechanisms that regulate cardiovascular responses to autonomic challenge in women at risk for hypertension.