Publications by authors named "Bess Marcus"

Latina and Black/African American (AA) women report disproportionately low levels of muscle-strengthening activities (MSA) and high rates of related chronic health conditions. Despite the health benefits of MSA, physical activity intervention research in these populations has focused mostly on increasing aerobic physical activity. The purpose of this review was to describe the current state of scientific literature on MSA interventions among Latina and Black/AA women.

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Background: Latina adolescents report low levels of physical activity (PA) and high lifetime risk of lifestyle-related diseases. They also have high rates of using technology, suggesting interventions delivered through mobile devices may be effective for this population. The current paper describes recruitment methods and baseline study characteristics for Chicas Fuertes, a fully powered randomized trial of a mobile technology PA intervention.

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Introduction: Maternal overweight or obesity has been associated with metabolic syndrome through 1 year postpartum, but it remains unknown whether a culturally-modified, motivationally-targeted, and individually-tailored Lifestyle Intervention could improve postpartum cardiometabolic health among Hispanic women with overweight or obesity.

Methods: Proyecto Mamá was a randomized controlled trial conducted in Western Massachusetts from 2014 to 2020 in which Hispanic women with overweight/obesity were randomized to a Lifestyle Intervention (LI) involving diet and exercise or to a comparison Health and Wellness Intervention (HW). Biomarkers of cardiovascular risk (i.

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Background: More than half (55%) of Latina women do not meet aerobic physical activity (PA) guidelines, and frequently cite time, childcare, and transportation as barriers to PA. In addition to linguistic adaptations for this population, successful PA interventions for Latina women addressed these barriers through remote intervention delivery approaches (eg, mail, phone, or web delivery).

Objective: We aimed to evaluate 6-month outcomes of a randomized trial comparing a Spanish-language, individually tailored, web-delivered PA intervention (original) to an enhanced version with text messages and additional features (enhanced).

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Family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) is one of the most effective treatments for childhood obesity. These programs include behavior change strategies and basic parenting training to help parents make healthy diet and physical activity changes for their children. While effective, not all families respond to this program.

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Introduction: Latinas face an increased risk for chronic diseases associated with insufficient physical activity (PA). The researchers previously showed that a website-based intervention could increase PA among insufficiently active Latinas, yet rates of meeting national PA guidelines were low. The original intervention was enhanced by adding additional features, content, and points of contact, including via text messaging.

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Women with negative body image engage in less physical activity. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between body image and physical activity in Latinas participating in a lifestyle program. Participants (age 43.

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Introduction: To evaluate the effect of a culturally-modified, motivationally-targeted, individually-tailored lifestyle intervention on postpartum weight retention among Hispanic women with overweight/obesity.

Materials And Methods: Proyecto Mamá was a randomized controlled trial conducted in western Massachusetts (2014-2020). Hispanic women with overweight/obese pre-pregnancy BMI (n = 148) were randomized in early pregnancy to a Lifestyle Intervention (LI) or a Health & Wellness (HW) comparison arm.

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Background: Owing to structural-level, interpersonal-level, and individual-level barriers, Latino men have disproportionately high rates of physical inactivity and experience related chronic diseases. Despite these disparities, few physical activity (PA) interventions are culturally targeted for Latino men.

Objective: This study reported the feasibility and acceptability of Hombres Saludables PA intervention for Latino men.

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Background: Women with abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy are at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), with higher rates among Hispanics. However, studies on the impact of lifestyle interventions on postpartum CVD profiles are sparse.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a controlled trial among a subsample of Hispanic women with abnormal glucose tolerance participating in Estudió PARTO (Project Aiming to Reduce Type twO diabetes; mean age = 28.

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Background: Latinas are disproportionately affected by low physical activity (PA) levels and related health conditions (e.g., diabetes, obesity).

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Latinas report low levels of physical activity (PA) and disproportionate risk of lifestyle-related diseases. Enhancements to evidence-based PA interventions may increase efficacy; however, uptake of interventions will likely depend on costs. To describe costs and examine the cost-effectiveness of two interventions for helping Latinas reach national aerobic PA guidelines.

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Current U.S. guidelines recommend that adults obtain 150 min per week of moderate intensity physical activity (PA), 75 min of vigorous intensity PA, or some equivalent combination.

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Purpose: Suboptimal adherence is a major limitation to achieving the benefits of exercise interventions, and our ability to predict and improve adherence is limited. The purpose of this analysis was to identify baseline clinical and demographic characteristics predicting exercise training adherence in the HF-ACTION study cohort.

Methods: Adherence to exercise training, defined by the total duration of exercise performed (min/wk), was evaluated in 1159 participants randomized to the HF-ACTION exercise intervention.

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Overweight and obesity affect 45% of children and increases the risk for several negative health sequelae. Family-Based Behavioral Treatment (FBT) is the most efficacious treatment for child weight management and consists of nutrition and physical activity education, behavior change skills and parenting skills training. FBT is time and staff intensive and can include 20, 60-min separate groups for parents and children, as well as 20-min behavior coaching sessions to help problem solve barriers to implementing the skills learned and individualize the program.

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Background: Latinas are at increased risk for many lifestyle-related chronic diseases and are one of the least physically active populations in the US Innovative strategies are needed to help Latinas achieve the health benefits associated with physical activity (PA). This manuscript describes the study protocol of the Pasos Hacia La Salud II Study, which builds upon our previous research to test an enhanced individually-tailored, text-message and website-delivered, Spanish-language intervention (enhanced intervention), in comparison to the original web-based Pasos Hacia La Salud Intervention (original intervention).

Methods: Sedentary Latinas between the ages of 18-65 will be recruited and will complete an orientation and baseline assessments.

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Importance: Behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs result in weight loss for some, but most individuals regain the weight. The behavioral susceptibility theory proposes that genetically determined appetitive traits, such as food responsiveness (FR) and satiety responsiveness (SR), interact with the environment and lead to overeating and weight gain; the regulation of cues (ROC) intervention was developed specifically to target FR and SR.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of ROC, ROC combined with BWL (ROC+), BWL, and an active comparator (AC) over 12 months of treatment and 12 months of follow-up.

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Introduction: Few studies have focused on physical activity (PA) maintenance, particularly among minority populations; smartphone apps could provide valuable tools. This study aimed to 1) assess and understand PA maintenance among Latinas who completed a PA intervention; and 2) evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of commercial smartphone apps as tools for PA maintenance.

Methods: For this feasibility study, 27 Latinas who completed a PA intervention and increased their PA were randomly assigned to enhanced maintenance (i.

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Objectives: Rates of perinatal depression and pregnancy hyperglycemia are higher in Hispanic women as compared to non-Hispanic white women. In turn, depressive symptoms may reduce a woman's ability to engage in lifestyle changes that could reduce their subsequent diabetes risk.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis using data from Estudio Parto to evaluate sociodemographic, behavioral, psychosocial, and medical factors associated with perinatal depressive symptoms.

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Article Synopsis
  • Only 17% of Latinas meet national physical activity guidelines, with limited research on muscle-strengthening activity.
  • A study involving 131 Latinas assessed changes in muscle-strengthening activity over 12 months, comparing a physical activity intervention group to a wellness control group.
  • At 6 and 12 months, the intervention group showed significant increases in muscle-strengthening activity and more participants met the guidelines, suggesting a potential interest in muscle-strengthening alongside aerobic exercises.
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Article Synopsis
  • * The Chicas Fuertes study plans to recruit 200 Latina teens aged 13-18 in San Diego, who currently do less than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week, to evaluate a mobile technology-based intervention.
  • * Participants in the intervention group will receive personalized support through a combination of a website, Fitbit, tailored text messages, and social media content for six months, while the control group will only get a Fitbit; the main goal is to assess changes in physical activity levels and
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Latinas report disproportionately low physical activity (PA) levels and related health conditions. Reducing chronic disease in Latinas requires interventions to increase and maintain health-enhancing PA levels; yet limited intervention studies have examined PA maintenance among Latinas. The present study evaluated the efficacy during the maintenance phase (months 6-12) of the Enhanced PA intervention for Latina adults in Seamos Activas II compared to the Original PA Intervention.

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Latina women report disproportionately high and increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions (obesity, diabetes) related to low physical activity levels. Efforts to date at addressing high rates of physical inactivity in this at-risk population have shown modest success. The original Seamos Saludables (sample size N = 266) was a culturally and linguistically adapted, print-based physical activity intervention that showed significant increases in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from baseline to 6 months.

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Background: The impact of physical activity interventions for Latina women can be enhanced by identifying and implementing strategies to achieve long-term physical activity maintenance. Physical activity promotion research has mainly focused on physical activity initiation and we know little regarding individual, interpersonal, or environmental factors that influence maintenance of physical activity. This study aimed to qualitatively explore and understand factors associated with maintenance and non-maintenance of physical activity among Latinas.

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