Intrinsic motivation and exercise adherence

This journal article is a little old. Its from 1997, however as it's on adherence and recruits participants from university students (my present research recruits from university staff) it is well worth a read. Ryan et al., examined adherence to exercise classes at an aerobics and a Tae Kwon Do class. They reported that the Tae Kwon Do participants reported greater enjoyment of the class and had a higher adherence than the aerobics participants. The authors hypothesized that the aerobics participants would be more motivated by body related motives for taking part in physical activity, whereas they hypothesized that the Tae Kwon Do group would be more motivated by mastery motives. An Interesting study. You can read the paper in full here .

Ryan, R., Frederick, C., Lepes, D., Rubio, N., & Sheldon, K (1997). Intrinsic motivation and exercise adherence International Journal of Sport Psychology, 28, 335-354

Effects of Self-Efficacy on Exercise - Email study

Self-efficacy is a major part of my PhD research. Bandura (1986) describes Self-efficacy as , "one's self-judgements of personal capabilities to initiate and successfully perform specified tasks at designated levels, expend greater effort, and persevere in the face of adversity". It's an important area in physical activity research as not many people will attempt an activity they don't think they are capable of, never mind stick to it. Luszczynska and Tryburcy (2008) examined the effects of an intervention to try and increase Self-efficacy beliefs regarding physical activity. Another interesting aspect of the study is that it was entirely carried out by email on-line. They also gave the participants access to their ongoing self efficacy scores and the means for the study. This is involves social comparison with other participants and is an aspect of my own research. The study used participants from a general population and also groups with diabetes and CVD. It can be read in full here . The authors report positive findings for the intervention.


Luszczynska, A., & Tryburcy, M. (2008). Effects of a Self-Efficacy Intervention on Exercise: The Moderating Role of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases Applied Psychology, 57 (4), 644-659 DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00340.x

Individual behaviour change strategies

I came across this excellent article today on Individual behaviour change strategies. It is published in the ACSM's Health and fitness journal. The article can be found here It covers how to tailor physical activity behaviour change strategies to make them effective. Its full of good advice and i can see me using the information in the future. I always get annoyed when we think that getting people through the door of a gym is the end of the journey! Thats the the start, my own area is exercise adherence and i am all too aware of the drop off in attendance that occurs with PA intervention. I think realistic expectations and advice are crucial at this time. This article has lots of good advice and i hope to put it to good use!

White, Siobhan M. B.S.; Mailey, Emily L. M.S.; McAuley, Edward (2010). Individual behaviour change strategies ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, 14 (1), 8-15

Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence

This is a summary of the main findings from a systematic review carried out by Warburton, Nicol and Bredin (2007. The article can be found here!

Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence
Warburton, Nicol and Bredin (2007)

All cause mortality and cardiovascular disease
Recent investigations have that being physically active leads to reductions in the risk of death from any cause and from cardiovascular disease. For instance, being fit or active was associated with a greater than 50% reduction in risk.
Observational studies have provided compelling evidence that regular physical activity and a high fitness level are associated with a reduced risk of premature death from any cause and from cardiovascular disease in particular among asymptomatic men and women. Furthermore, a dose– response relation appears to exist, such that people who have the highest levels of physical activity and fitness are at lowest risk of premature death.

Diabetes
Several investigators have reported a reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes among high-risk people (e.g., those who are overweight) after lifestyle interventions. Modest weight loss through diet and exercise reduced the incidence of the disease among high-risk people by about 40%–60% over 3–4 years. Exercise interventions for patients with diabetes are beneficial in improving glucose homeostasis. Many studies have shown a strong association between exercise and reduced rates of death from any cause and from diabetes in particular.

Cancer
Several seminal reviews have been published regarding the relation between cancer and routine physical activity. It appears that routine physical activity, whether as part of a job or as a leisure activity, is associated with reductions in the incidence of specific cancers, in particular colon and breast cancer.

Osteoporosis
Weight-bearing exercise, especially resistance exercise, appears to have the greatest effects on bone mineral density. There is compelling evidence that routine physical activity, especially weight-bearing and impact exercise, prevents bone loss associated with aging. Exercise training programs were found to prevent or reverse almost 1% of bone loss per year. Exercise training appears to significantly reduce the risk and number of falls.

How does physical activity do this?
Several biological mechanisms may be responsible for the reduction in the risk of chronic disease and premature death associated with routine physical activity. For instance, routine physical activity has been shown to improve body composition, enhance lipid lipoprotein profiles, improve glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity, reduce blood pressure and improve coronary blood flow.

Recent studies have shown that exercise training may cause marked reductions in C-reactive protein levels. Each of these factors may explain directly or indirectly the reduced incidence of chronic disease and premature death among people who engage in routine physical activity.

New qualitative exercise adherence study

I just came across this newly published exercise adherence study. Although it doesn't have any new references for me on adherence. It was interesting to read the comments from the transcripts included in the paper. People with diabetes talking about potentially losing legs through lack of exercise, stating that they lacked motivation! Well worth a read, get it here.

Are we eating too much or exercising too little?

Obesity in Britain: gluttony or sloth? Often when I talk to people regarding weight loss or physical activity I steer them towards this paper. It puts forward the case that we are actually consuming less calories than 20 years ago. The obesity crisis is caused largely by our lack of, or reduction of physical activity in the same period. Although counter arguments and papers exist, I like this as generally it causes people to stop and think about how much physical activity they do, and about the diminishing opportunity in everyday life to take part in physical activity. The paper can be found here.

How much does an effective PA intervention cost?

Müller-Riemenschneider, Reinhold and Willich (2009)examined the cost of an effective PA intervention. Few studies actually ever examine the cost of interventions. They managed to calculate that the average cost of effective intervention was 800 euros per year. This may initially seem quite high but compared with the associated health cost of obesity and inactivity it may be a bargain! Read the full text article in the BMJ here.

Scottish Health Survey 2008, PA results

The Scottish Health Survey results are out for 2008. Despite the positive spin on the document it would appear that PA has not increased from 2003 tom 2008. So the document then compares rates to 1998 instead of 2003. 'The proportions of men and women aged 16 to 74 meeting the physical activity recommendations (30 minutes of at least moderate exercise on most days of the week) increased significantly from 40% in 1998 to 46% in 2008 in men, and from 29% in 1998 to 35% in 2008 in women.' Interesting, but irrelevant!

I'm sure I had previously worked out that if they wished to achieve the Scottish Government's target of 50% of adults meeting the recommended PA levels (5 days 30 mins) by 2022 they would need an increase of 0.9% per year. Initially it should also be easier to achieve as the people you add are people thinking of taking part in more PA. As you exhaust this group it will get incrementally more difficult to achieve the target.

Unfortunately to fail to achieve the 0.9% at this early stage suggests that the target wont be reached. I’m going to a seminar in two weeks to discuss the results so I shall the question. What now?

Weight Loss & Physical Activity

Ok, so you exercise! I do it because its fun and its good for you, although as i recently suffered a stress fracture and not been able to exercise I've put a some weight. So what is the relationship between PA and weight loss?

Wilfley and Brownell (1994) found that regular exercise was the best predictor of long term weight maintenance. They found that although dieting and exercise can both lead to weight loss that continuing to exercise and taking part in regular physical activity was more likely to stop people from regaining weight than diet alone.

So how does it work?
You burn calories when you exercise
You don't lose lean muscle mass
It may suppress appetite
It counters metabolic decline caused by dieting
Exercise may have positive psychological effects

All of this is good news and now my leg is a bit better i'm off for a cycle. Sometimes when going over the benefits of PA i feel like someone at a medicine show!