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Exercise Class (exercise + class)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

The effectiveness of a health promotion programme for women in southern Taiwan

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 5 2006
Su-Hsien Chang MSN RN
The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an 8 week aerobic exercise class for women on changes in their physical activity behaviour. This was a descriptive, retrospective and comparison study. Because the data were collected after an 8 week aerobic exercise class, there were two groups of subjects. Subjects in the exercise group had attended exercise classes, but subjects in the control group had not. Results showed statistically significant differences between the two groups in the frequency/week of moderately intense exercise-related activities, caloric expenditure/week in all exercise-related activities and caloric expenditure/week in moderately intense exercise-related activities. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the frequency/week of all exercise-related activities. The result that women in the exercise group practised physical activities more than women in the control group might be related to their high exercise self-efficacy expectations. [source]

Pilot Test of an Attribution Retraining Intervention to Raise Walking Levels in Sedentary Older Adults

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 11 2007
Catherine A. Sarkisian MD
OBJECTIVES: To pilot test a new behavioral intervention to increase walking in sedentary older adults. DESIGN: Pre,post community-based pilot study. SETTING: Three senior centers in greater Los Angeles. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-six sedentary adults aged 65 and older. INTERVENTION: At four weekly 1-hour group sessions held at the senior centers, a trained health educator applied a theoretically grounded, standardized "attribution retraining" curriculum developed by a multidisciplinary team of investigators. Participants were taught that becoming sedentary is not inevitable with aging and that older adults should attribute being sedentary to modifiable attributes rather than to old age. A 1-hour exercise class including strength, endurance, and flexibility training followed each weekly attribution retraining session. MEASUREMENTS: Change from baseline in steps per week recorded using a digital pedometer was measured after 7 weeks. Age expectations (measured using the Expectations Regarding Aging-38 survey, a previously tested instrument on which higher scores indicate that the participant expects high functioning with aging and lower scores indicate that the participant expects physical and mental decline) and health-related quality of life were measured using in-person interviews. RESULTS: Mean steps per week increased from 24,749 to 30,707, a 24% increase,equivalent to 2.5 miles (2-sided t -test P=.002). Age expectation scores increased 30% (P<.001), and the changes in age expectations and steps per week correlated (correlation coefficient=0.39, P=.01). Participants experienced improved mental health,related quality of life (P=.049) and reported less difficulty with activities of daily living (P=.04). More than 50% of participants reported improvements in pain, energy level, and sleep quality. CONCLUSION: In this small pre,post community-based pilot study, a structured attribution retraining curriculum accompanied by a weekly exercise class was associated with increased walking levels and improved quality of life in sedentary older adults. Attribution retraining deserves further investigation as a potential means of increasing physical activity in sedentary older adults. [source]

The effectiveness of a health promotion programme for women in southern Taiwan

Parent Reactions to a School-Based Body Mass Index Screening Program

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 5 2009
Suzanne Bennett Johnson PhD
ABSTRACT Background:, This study assessed parent reactions to school-based body mass index (BMI) screening. Methods:, After a K-8 BMI screening program, parents were sent a letter detailing their child's BMI results. Approximately 50 parents were randomly selected for interview from each of 4 child weight,classification groups (overweight, at risk of overweight, normal weight, underweight) to assess parent recall of the letter, reactions to BMI screening, and actions taken in response to the child's BMI results. Results:, Most parents found the BMI screening letter easy to read and had poor recall of numerical information (eg, the child's BMI percentile) but good recall of the child's weight classification (eg, normal weight or overweight). Most parents, and ethnic-minority parents in particular, supported school-based BMI screening. Parents of children whose weight was outside of the normal range were more likely to recall receiving the letter and talking to the child and the child's doctor about it. Parents who recalled their child as being overweight were more likely to report changing the child's diet and activity level. Most parents, and ethnic-minority parents in particular, wanted their child to participate in an after-school exercise program. An overweight condition in parents, but not children, was associated with an interest in family-based cooking and exercise classes. Conclusions:, Most parents, and ethnic-minority parents in particular, viewed school-based BMI screening and after-school exercise programs favorably. Parents reported taking action in response to a BMI result outside of the normal range. Parents who were overweight themselves were particularly interested in family cooking and exercise classes. [source]