Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study.

Unlabelled: Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority population group in the United States, and children in low-income Latino families are at elevated risk of becoming overweight or having obesity. A child’s home is an important social environment in which he/she develops and maintains dietary and physical activity (PA) habits that ultimately impact weight status. Previous research suggests the parents are central to creating a home environment that facilitates or hinders the development of children’s early healthy eating and PA habits.

Trajectories of Maintenance and Resilience in Healthful Eating and Exercise Behaviors in Older Adults.

Objective: Our objective was to describe behavioral change trajectories for healthful eating and exercise in a group of community-dwelling older adults. A secondary aim was to determine predictors of maintenance and resilience.

Method: Subjects were participants in the Study of Exercise and Nutrition in Older Rhode Islanders (SENIOR) I study who had achieved postaction stage of change for at least one behavior by its end.

Using focus groups to identify factors affecting healthful weight maintenance in Latino immigrants.

Objective: To explore (1) how migration influenced physical activity and dietary behaviors among Latino immigrants and (2) participants' perception of concepts related to a Health at Every Size (HAES) approach to weight maintenance (mindful eating, taking care of oneself).

Methods: Four focus groups (n = 35), homogenous by sex, were conducted in Spanish.

Results: Male and female participants spoke of being less physically active and eating less healthful diets since immigrating.

Maintaining exercise and healthful eating in older adults: the SENIOR project II: study design and methodology.

The Study of Exercise and Nutrition in Older Rhode Islanders (SENIOR) Project II is an intervention study to promote the maintenance of both exercise and healthful eating in older adults. It is the second phase of an earlier study, SENIOR Project I, that originally recruited 1277 community-dwelling older adults to participate in behavior-specific interventions designed to increase exercise and/or fruit and vegetable consumption. The general theoretical framework for this research is the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of Health Behavior Change.

The relationship between obesity, physical activity, and physical function in older adults.

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between overweight and obesity, age, and gender with physical activity and physical function in community-dwelling older men and women.

Method: Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze differences between normal weight, overweight, and obese adults (n = 821) above the age of 60 years.

Results: Obesity but not overweight was associated with lower levels of physical activity and physical function.

Long-term effects of a stage-based intervention for changing exercise intentions and behavior in older adults.

Purpose: We examined the efficacy of an intervention tailored to the individual's stage of change for exercise adoption on exercise stage of change, physical activity, and physical function in community-dwelling older adults.

Design And Methods: We randomized participants to a print and telephone intervention or a contact comparison group. Through the use of longitudinal analyses we examined the intervention's effectiveness in promoting stage progression, altering decisional balance and the processes of change, increasing self-efficacy and physical activity, and improving physical function among older adults who completed the 24-month study (N = 966).

Accumulation of behavioral validation evidence for physical activity stage of change.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to accumulate behavioral validity evidence for physical activity Stage of Change (SOC).

Design: Nine studies used a common physical activity SOC measure and examined self-report, objective, and performance physical activity indicators to accumulate behavioral validity evidence for SOC. Type of measure, the strength of the expected relationship between the measure and SOC, and the predicted SOC differences were examined.

Recruiting and retaining older adults for health promotion research: the experience of the SENIOR Project.

This paper examines recruitment and retention efforts utilized by a community-based health promotion intervention with older adults (N = 1,277). Recruitment strategies were classified as either involving or not involving personal interaction with project staff. There was no difference by recruitment method in demographic characteristics, but a greater proportion of participants recruited using strategies without personal interaction were in the earlier stage of change (SOC) for fruit and vegetable consumption compared with those recruited using strategies involving personal contact.

Intervening on exercise and nutrition in older adults: the Rhode Island SENIOR Project.

Presented are the basic design, methods, and baseline data analyses for the Study of Exercise and Nutrition in Older Rhode Islanders (SENIOR Project) an experimental study to investigate the relative effectiveness of a 12-month, stage of readiness to change-based multiple-behavior intervention (exercise and nutrition) compared to single-behavior interventions in a community-dwelling population of 1,277 older adults. Relationships between stage of readiness to change in the two target behaviors, as well as the relationship between stage of readiness and self-reported exercise levels and fruit and vegetable consumption, were examined using a combination of Pearson chi-squares, analyses of variance (ANOVA), and Spearman's rank order correlations. Stage of change (SOC) for fruit and vegetable consumption was significantly associated with the dietary measure, and SOC for exercise was associated with both the three physical activity measures and servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

What older adults find useful for maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits.

Four focus groups were conducted with a total of 29 adults 60 years of age and older enrolled in the SENIOR Project, a health promotion intervention study designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and exercise among community-dwelling older adults. The focus groups explored the motivations of older adults to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables and/or exercise and the strategies used to adopt or maintain these behaviors. Participants stated that maintaining health, remaining independent, and fearing illness provided the motivation needed to adhere to these behaviors.

Barriers to exercise behavior among older adults: a focus-group study.

Longer life expectancy, rapid population growth, and low exercise-participation rates of adults 65 and older justify the need for better understanding of older adults' exercise behavior. The objectives of this focus-group study were to determine barriers to the exercise behavior of older adults. Six focus groups, three with exercisers and three with nonexercisers, were conducted at various sites throughout Rhode Island.

Physical activity, physical function, and stages of change in older adults.

Objective: To characterize physical activity and physical function by stage of change and age in older adults.

Methods: One thousand two hundred thirty-four individuals completed The Yale physical activity survey (YPAS), stage of change for exercise, and the Up-and-Go physical function test.

Results: Most subjects were in the maintenance (50.

Achieving recruitment goals through community partnerships: the SENIOR Project.

This article discusses the process of developing collaborative relationships for a community-based health promotion project. A partnership was established among the university, the city where the intervention took place, and the community senior center. A community advisory board was created to identify the strengths, diversity, and needs of each partner.