Validated the Godin-Shephard questionnaire for assessing habitual activity in pre-pubertal children, evaluating the physical activity of female competitive gymnasts and recreational non-gymnasts age 7-11 years over 15 months. Based upon comparison with multiple single day measures of activity, the Godin-Shephard questionnaire did not provide a…

Describes the Perceived Intensity-Level Assessment Task (PILAT), an instructional tool designed as an assessment device to help students feel various intensity levels and properly code themselves as they jump rope in a regular physical education class. The paper highlights justification for its use, instructional uses and procedures, instructional…

Discusses exercise adherence from the perspective of adhering to an exercise treatment in a controlled trial, focusing on: adherence (to intervention and measurement); the development of randomized clinical trials; exemplary randomized clinical trials in exercise science (exercise training studies and physical activity interventions); and study…

Proposes a paradigm shift in physical activity prescription which involves: an idiographic approach; preferred exertion rather than a given percent of maximum in the prescription of exercise intensity; and purposeful physical activity. A summary of 10 cases is presented, revealing adherence figures ranging from 5 to 79 years. Adherence of 100…

An active lifestyle is important in helping overweight people both lose and manage their weight. Exercise has many health benefits beyond weight control. The traditional exercise prescription of regular bouts of continuous vigorous exercise may need modification to increase rates of adoption and compliance, with people needing encouragement to…

The purpose of this study was to compare the percentages of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in soccer games with different team sizes. Twenty-two university physical education majors evenly divided between males and females volunteered for the study. Students were blind to the purpose of the study. Data were collected over three…

In rural communities, physical activity may influence and predict nutritional behaviors. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if an individual's stage of participation in moderate physical activity was related to select measures of a healthy diet. Data were collected using a mail-in survey from a random sample conducted in the…

The authors sought to determine whether a greater academic incentive would improve the effectiveness and student adherence to a 12-week voluntary exercise program designed to decrease students' percentage of body fat. They randomly assigned 210 students to 1 of 2 groups with different academic reward structures. The group with the greater reward…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a fit for life program at a university and to use the findings from an extensive literature review, consultations with formative and summative committees, and data collection to develop an interdisciplinary, physically active lifestyle (IPAL) course model. To address the 5 research questions examined in…

In 2004, the Women's Sports Foundation published the first edition of "Her Life Depends On It" (Sabo et al.). At that time, it was clear that evidence-based research confirmed that regular physical activity and sport provides the critical foundation, in no small part, that allows girls and women to lead healthy, strong, and fulfilled lives. Now,…

The need for successful nutrition interventions is critical as the prevalence of childhood obesity increases. Thus, this pilot project examines the effect of a nutrition education program, "Color My Pyramid", on children's nutrition knowledge, self-care practices, activity levels, and nutrition status. Using a pretest-posttest,…

Fun & Fit is a program designed to create positive physical activity experiences and to promote healthy lifestyle choices among overweight children from low-income African American and Hispanic American families. The program is a collaborative project between Texas Tech University and the Lubbock Independent School District funded through a…

In this era of increasing accountability and high-stakes testing in schools, a serious paradox has surfaced. Children are becoming overweight at an alarming rate, and mounting evidence points to a relationship between obesity and poor school performance. Ironically, pressure to improve children's academic achievement has led many schools to adopt…

This study examined sources of variability in physical activity (PA) of youth with developmental disabilities (DD), and determined the optimal number of days required for monitoring PA. Sixteen youth with DD wore two pedometers and two accelerometers for 9 days, including 5 weekdays (W) and 2 weekends (WK). A two-facet in fully crossed two-way…

Objective: To investigate New Zealand children's understandings of "health". Design: Secondary analysis of student responses to a task called "Being Healthy" in New Zealand's National Education Monitoring Project. Setting: Year 4 (8-9 year-old) and Year 8 (12-13 year-old) students who took part in New Zealand's National…