Active commuting among K-12 educators: a study examining walking and biking to work.

BACKGROUND: Walking and biking to work, active commuting (AC) is associated with many health benefits, though rates of AC remain low in the US. K-12 educators represent a significant portion of the workforce, and employee health and associated costs may have significant economic impact. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the current rates of AC and factors associated with AC among K-12 educators. METHODS: A volunteer sample of K-12 educators (n = 437) was recruited to participate in an online survey. Participants responded about AC patterns and social ecological influences on AC (individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors). t-tests and ANOVAs examined trends in AC, and Pearson correlations examined the relationship between AC and dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis determined the relative influence of individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental levels on AC. RESULTS: Participants actively commuted 0.51 ± 1.93 times/week. There were several individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors significantly related to AC. The full model explained 60.8% of the variance in AC behavior. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight on the factors that determine K-12 educators mode of commute and provide some insight for employee wellness among this population.

Factors influencing the implementation of organized physical activity and fruit and vegetable snacks in the HOP'N after-school obesity prevention program.

OBJECTIVE: To identify barriers and facilitators for improving the after-school organized physical activity (PA) and snack quality. METHODS: After-school staff (Year 1, n = 20; Year 2, n = 17) participated in qualitative, semistructured interviews about the implementation of an after-school obesity prevention intervention. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded for common themes, and analyzed using NVivo software. RESULTS: Several factors influencing implementation of PA and fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption were revealed. Facilitators for PA included: staff training, equipment/gym space, and scheduling organized PA. Physical activity barriers included prioritizing PA and lack of school administration support. Fruit and vegetable facilitators included requesting healthier snacks. Fruit and vegetable barriers included cost and low priority of snack. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The success of improving after-school PA and FV snack quality is dependent on many factors, including several organizational system and staff variables. Future research should focus on systemic changes in the after-school environment to increase the priority of daily PA and a healthy snack.

High-intensity training improves airway responsiveness in inactive nonasthmatic children: evidence from a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: the relationship between physical activity and airway health in children is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to determine whether 8 wk of high-intensity exercise training would improve airway responsiveness in prepubescent, nonasthmatic, inactive children. METHODS: 16 healthy, prepubescent children were randomized [training group (TrG) n = 8, control group (ConG) n = 8]. Prior to and following 8 wk of training (or no training), children completed pulmonary function tests (PFTs): forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of vital capacity (FEF(25-75)), and exhaled nitric oxide (FENO). Children completed an incremental cycle Vo(2max) test, eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH), anthropometric tests, and blood tests to determine fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. Body fat percentage was determined using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry pretraining and bioelectrical impedance pre- and posttraining. RESULTS: there were no differences (P > 0.05) in anthropometric measures or PFTs between TrG and ConG at baseline. In the TrG, there was a significant increase in Vo(2max) (∼24%) and a decrease in total cholesterol (∼13%) and LDL cholesterol (∼35%) following training. There were improvements (P < 0.05) in ΔFEV(1) both postexercise (pre: -7.60 ± 2.10%, post: -1.10 ± 1.80%) and post-EVH (pre: -6.71 ± 2.21%, post: -1.41 ± 1.58%) with training. The ΔFEF(25-75) pre-post exercise also improved with training (pre: -16.10 ± 2.10%, post: -6.80 ± 1.80%; P < 0.05). Lower baseline body fat percentages were associated with greater improvements in pre-post exercise ΔFEV(1) following training (r = -0.80, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: these results suggest that in nonasthmatic prepubescent children, inactivity negatively impacts airway responsiveness, which can be improved with high-intensity training. Excess adiposity, however, may constrain these improvements.

Variations in observed park physical activity intensity level by gender, race, and age: individual and joint effects.

BACKGROUND: Parks are important settings for physical activity (PA), but few studies have documented the actual behaviors of park users. The purpose of this study was to examine the individual and joint effects of various park user demographic characteristics on observed PA intensity levels. METHODS: Four parks were observed using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities. Observers recorded the age group, gender, race, and intensity level of all park users in 83 activity areas over two weekends at each park. Logistic regression examined whether male/White, female/White, and male/non-White users were more likely than female/non-White users to be observed engaging in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) rather than sedentary activity across 4 age groups. RESULTS: In total, 8612 users were observed during the study. In the child age group, male/White users were significantly more likely to be observed in MVPA than female/non-White users. For teens, female/White and male/White users were less likely to engage in MVPA. For both adults and seniors, female/White and male/White users were more likely to be observed in MVPA. CONCLUSION: Observations revealed significant differences in intensity levels across gender, age, and race groups. Future interventions should emphasize park design that promotes increased MVPA among diverse groups.

Psychosocial and demographic correlates of objectively measured physical activity in structured and unstructured after-school recreation sessions.

Most studies of psychosocial and demographic correlates of physical activity (PA) have examined relationships across various types of physical and social environments, rather than within a specific environmental behavior setting. The objective of this study was to investigate correlates of PA in structured and unstructured after-school recreation sessions. This study is cross-sectional. School records, questionnaires, and anthropometry were used to obtain demographic and psychosocial variables. Third and fourth-grade children (n = 230) from seven schools wore Actigraph GT1M accelerometers up to six times per year during after-school programming. Accelerometer data were processed to determine percentage of time in moderate-to-vigorous PA (T scores, reflective of an individual child's PA level relative to group mean, were computed for each session and averaged across sessions). Pearson correlations, point-biserial correlations, and mixed-model analyses were used to determine significant associations with PA for each session type (structured and unstructured). For structured sessions, gender, PA barriers self-efficacy, and PA enjoyment were significantly related to PA. For unstructured sessions, only gender was related to PA. Despite equivalent opportunities to participate in active recreation, boys were more active than girls, and children varied in PA level partly due to psychosocial factors. Our results showed that PA self-efficacy and enjoyment explained variability in structured PA sessions.

Variations in Observed Park Physical Activity Intensity Level by Gender, Race, and Age: Individual and Joint Effects.

BACKGROUND: Parks are important settings for physical activity (PA), but few studies have documented the actual behaviors of park users. The purpose of this study was to examine the individual and joint effects of various park user demographic characteristics on observed PA intensity levels. METHODS: Four parks were observed using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities. Observers recorded the age group, gender, race, and intensity level of all park users in 83 activity areas over two weekends at each park. Logistic regression examined whether male/White, female/White, and male/non-White users were more likely than female/non-White users to be observed engaging in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) rather than sedentary activity across 4 age groups. RESULTS: In total, 8612 users were observed during the study. In the child age group, male/White users were significantly more likely to be observed in MVPA than female/non-White users. For teens, female/White and male/White users were less likely to engage in MVPA. For both adults and seniors, female/White and male/White users were more likely to be observed in MVPA. CONCLUSION: Observations revealed significant differences in intensity levels across gender, age, and race groups. Future interventions should emphasize park design that promotes increased MVPA among diverse groups.

HOP'N after-school project: an obesity prevention randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This paper reports the primary outcomes of the Healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity and Nutrition (HOP'N) after-school project, which was an effectiveness trial designed to evaluate the prevention of childhood obesity through building the capacity of after-school staff to increase physical activity (PA) and fruit and vegetable (FV) opportunities. METHODS: We conducted a three-year, nested cross-sectional group randomized controlled effectiveness trial. After a baseline assessment year (2005-2006), schools and their after-school programs were randomized to the HOP'N after-school program (n = 4) or control (n = 3), and assessed for two subsequent years (intervention year 1, 2006-2007; intervention year 2, 2007-2008). Across the three years, 715 fourth grade students, and 246 third and fourth grade after-school program participants were included in the study. HOP'N included community government human service agency (Cooperative Extension) led community development efforts, a three-time yearly training of after-school staff, daily PA for 30 minutes following CATCH guidelines, a daily healthful snack, and a weekly nutrition and PA curriculum (HOP'N Club). Child outcomes included change in age- and gender-specific body mass index z-scores (BMIz) across the school year and PA during after-school time measured by accelerometers. The success of HOP'N in changing after-school program opportunities was evaluated by observations over the school year of after-school program physical activity sessions and snack FV offerings. Data were analyzed in 2009. RESULTS: The intervention had no impact on changes in BMIz. Overweight/obese children attending HOP'N after-school programs performed 5.92 minutes more moderate-to-vigorous PA per day after intervention, which eliminated a baseline year deficit of 9.65 minutes per day (p < 0.05) compared to control site overweight/obese children. Active recreation program time at HOP'N sites was 23.40 minutes (intervention year 1, p = 0.01) and 14.20 minutes (intervention year 2, p = 0.10) greater than control sites. HOP'N sites and control sites did not differ in the number of FV offered as snacks. CONCLUSIONS: The HOP'N program had a positive impact on overweight/obese children's PA and after-school active recreation time. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01015599.