Test of an Intervention to Increase Physical Activity Among School Children
| Status: | Completed |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Obesity Weight Loss |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Endocrinology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 10 - 12 |
| Updated: | 5/17/2018 |
| Start Date: | April 2011 |
| End Date: | March 2017 |
Feeling States and Heart Rates; A Translational Study
The specific aims of this study are to: 1) evaluate the impact of a novel intervention
delivered via school-based physical education (PE) on adolescents who have a high sensitivity
to exercise-induced negative affect; 2) determine whether adolescents' tendency to feel
uncomfortable during exercise is a stable trait that persists even in the face of an
intervention; and 3) compare and contrast three alternative methods of measuring adolescents'
sensitivity to exercise-induced affect.
Healthy middle-school students who do not participate in team or individual competitive
sports will be recruited and assessed to determine their existing predisposition toward
exercise (i.e., "reluctant exercisers" and "latent exercisers"). The assessment will be
conducted using three methods that have been used to measure individuals' propensity to
experience positive affect in the face of a stimulus: 1) a pencil-and-paper assessment that
measures tendency to respond to a challenge with positive affect; 2) electroencephalogram
(EEG) to ascertain frontal cortical asymmetry; and 3) empirically assessed affective response
to a standardized exercise task. Reluctant and latent exercisers will be assigned in equal
numbers to one of two conditions. One condition will implement a PE-based intervention that
differs from the traditional approach in that students will be instructed to exercise at an
intensity that has been determined to elicit positive affect in that individual (based on
baseline testing). In the other condition, students will be instructed to exercise at an
intensity derived from standard formulas typically used in exercise prescriptions. It is
hypothesized that the non-traditional approach will increase reluctant exercisers' enjoyment
of PE and also their level of participation in physical activity outside of PE. The latter
will be determined using portable monitors (accelerometers) worn at baseline, after the
intervention, and again 1 year after the end of the intervention.
delivered via school-based physical education (PE) on adolescents who have a high sensitivity
to exercise-induced negative affect; 2) determine whether adolescents' tendency to feel
uncomfortable during exercise is a stable trait that persists even in the face of an
intervention; and 3) compare and contrast three alternative methods of measuring adolescents'
sensitivity to exercise-induced affect.
Healthy middle-school students who do not participate in team or individual competitive
sports will be recruited and assessed to determine their existing predisposition toward
exercise (i.e., "reluctant exercisers" and "latent exercisers"). The assessment will be
conducted using three methods that have been used to measure individuals' propensity to
experience positive affect in the face of a stimulus: 1) a pencil-and-paper assessment that
measures tendency to respond to a challenge with positive affect; 2) electroencephalogram
(EEG) to ascertain frontal cortical asymmetry; and 3) empirically assessed affective response
to a standardized exercise task. Reluctant and latent exercisers will be assigned in equal
numbers to one of two conditions. One condition will implement a PE-based intervention that
differs from the traditional approach in that students will be instructed to exercise at an
intensity that has been determined to elicit positive affect in that individual (based on
baseline testing). In the other condition, students will be instructed to exercise at an
intensity derived from standard formulas typically used in exercise prescriptions. It is
hypothesized that the non-traditional approach will increase reluctant exercisers' enjoyment
of PE and also their level of participation in physical activity outside of PE. The latter
will be determined using portable monitors (accelerometers) worn at baseline, after the
intervention, and again 1 year after the end of the intervention.
This project addresses the current epidemic in obesity and physical inactivity among
adolescents in the United States. The goal of the research is to develop effective ways of
encouraging adolescents to become and remain physically active. In particular, this project
is concerned with identifying adolescents who are reluctant to exercise because they have a
high sensitivity to unpleasant feelings while exercising at higher intensities. Once
identified, these adolescents can be targeted with an intervention that is designed to teach
them to exercise at an intensity level that will generate pleasant feelings and therefore
make it more likely that they will seek out opportunities to be physically active. The
specific aims of this study are to: 1) evaluate the impact of a novel intervention delivered
via school-based physical education (PE) on adolescents who have a high sensitivity to
exercise-induced negative affect; 2) determine whether adolescents' tendency to feel
uncomfortable during exercise is a stable trait that persists even in the face of an
intervention; and 3) compare and contrast three alternative methods of measuring adolescents'
sensitivity to exercise-induced affect.
Healthy middle-school students who do not participate in team or individual competitive
sports will be recruited and assessed to determine their existing predisposition toward
exercise (i.e., "reluctant exercisers" and "latent exercisers"). The assessment will be
conducted using three methods that have been used to measure individuals' propensity to
experience positive affect in the face of a stimulus: 1) a pencil-and-paper assessment that
measures tendency to respond to a challenge with positive affect; 2) electroencephalogram
(EEG) to ascertain frontal cortical asymmetry; and 3) empirically assessed affective response
to a standardized exercise task. Reluctant and latent exercisers will be assigned in equal
numbers to one of two conditions. One condition will implement a PE-based intervention that
differs from the traditional approach in that students will be instructed to exercise at an
intensity that has been determined to elicit positive affect in that individual (based on
baseline testing). In the other condition, students will be instructed to exercise at an
intensity derived from standard formulas typically used in exercise prescriptions. It is
hypothesized that the non-traditional approach will increase reluctant exercisers' enjoyment
of PE and also their level of participation in physical activity outside of PE. The latter
will be determined using portable monitors (accelerometers) worn at baseline, after the
intervention, and again 1 year after the end of the intervention.
This study is relevant to the prevention of type 2 diabetes in that it addresses the
mechanisms of physical activity behavior change among adolescents. This developmental period
is typically characterized by declining participation in physical activity, and thus
represents a critical period for intervention. The results will increase understanding about
why some adolescents remain active while others do not and will test a novel intervention
that may be more effective among reluctant exercisers.
adolescents in the United States. The goal of the research is to develop effective ways of
encouraging adolescents to become and remain physically active. In particular, this project
is concerned with identifying adolescents who are reluctant to exercise because they have a
high sensitivity to unpleasant feelings while exercising at higher intensities. Once
identified, these adolescents can be targeted with an intervention that is designed to teach
them to exercise at an intensity level that will generate pleasant feelings and therefore
make it more likely that they will seek out opportunities to be physically active. The
specific aims of this study are to: 1) evaluate the impact of a novel intervention delivered
via school-based physical education (PE) on adolescents who have a high sensitivity to
exercise-induced negative affect; 2) determine whether adolescents' tendency to feel
uncomfortable during exercise is a stable trait that persists even in the face of an
intervention; and 3) compare and contrast three alternative methods of measuring adolescents'
sensitivity to exercise-induced affect.
Healthy middle-school students who do not participate in team or individual competitive
sports will be recruited and assessed to determine their existing predisposition toward
exercise (i.e., "reluctant exercisers" and "latent exercisers"). The assessment will be
conducted using three methods that have been used to measure individuals' propensity to
experience positive affect in the face of a stimulus: 1) a pencil-and-paper assessment that
measures tendency to respond to a challenge with positive affect; 2) electroencephalogram
(EEG) to ascertain frontal cortical asymmetry; and 3) empirically assessed affective response
to a standardized exercise task. Reluctant and latent exercisers will be assigned in equal
numbers to one of two conditions. One condition will implement a PE-based intervention that
differs from the traditional approach in that students will be instructed to exercise at an
intensity that has been determined to elicit positive affect in that individual (based on
baseline testing). In the other condition, students will be instructed to exercise at an
intensity derived from standard formulas typically used in exercise prescriptions. It is
hypothesized that the non-traditional approach will increase reluctant exercisers' enjoyment
of PE and also their level of participation in physical activity outside of PE. The latter
will be determined using portable monitors (accelerometers) worn at baseline, after the
intervention, and again 1 year after the end of the intervention.
This study is relevant to the prevention of type 2 diabetes in that it addresses the
mechanisms of physical activity behavior change among adolescents. This developmental period
is typically characterized by declining participation in physical activity, and thus
represents a critical period for intervention. The results will increase understanding about
why some adolescents remain active while others do not and will test a novel intervention
that may be more effective among reluctant exercisers.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Healthy
- not a member of a sports team
- right handed
Exclusion Criteria:
- no past head trauma
- not depressed
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