Are collegiate athletes as healthy as we think they are?

The current study compared multiple health-risk behaviors, self-efficacy, and temptation between young adult athletes and nonathletes. Cross-sectional data were collected via a web-based survey. Participants included nonathletes and Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes attending a midwestern university.

Transtheoretical Model Constructs for Physical Activity Behavior are Invariant across Time among Ethnically Diverse Adults in Hawaii.

OBJECTIVES: Physical activity (PA) research applying the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) to examine group differences and/or change over time requires preliminary evidence of factorial validity and invariance. The current study examined the factorial validity and longitudinal invariance of TTM constructs recently revised for PA. METHOD: Participants from an ethnically diverse sample in Hawaii (N=700) completed questionnaires capturing each TTM construct.

Food outlet accessibility and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Purpose: To examine if spatial access to healthy and unhealthy outlets comprising the local food environment was associated with fruit and vegetable consumption.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Population-based sample residing in Hawaii.

The decisional balance sheet to promote healthy behavior among ethnically diverse older adults.

Objective: The rising health care costs and increasing older adult population in the United States make preventive medicine for this age group especially crucial. Regular physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption may prevent or delay the onset of many chronic conditions that are common among older adults. The decisional balance sheet is a promotional tool targeting the perceived pros and cons of behavior adoption.

Access to environmental resources and physical activity levels of adults in Hawaii.

Purpose: Examine associations between physical activity (PA) and spatial accessibility to environmental PA resources in Hawaii.

Methods: Metabolic equivalents (METs) of mild, moderate, and strenuous PA were compared for accessibility with environmental PA resources within a population-based sample of Hawaiian adults (n = 381). Multiple linear regression estimated differences in PA levels for residing further from a PA resource or residing in an area with a greater number of resources.

Psychometric properties and construct validity of the Weight-Related Eating Questionnaire in a diverse population.

This study evaluates the 16-item, four-factor Weight-Related Eating Questionnaire (WREQ), which assesses theory-based aspects of eating behavior, across diverse, nonclinical subgroups. A total of 621 men and women aged 18-81 years (34.3 ± 16.

The preventable proportion of type 2 diabetes by ethnicity: the multiethnic cohort.

Purpose: To estimate the population-attributable risk (PAR) associated with modifiable risk factors for diabetes among Caucasians, Native Hawaiians, and Japanese Americans in the Hawaii component of the Multiethnic Cohort.

Methods: This analysis is based on 74,970 cohort participants ages 45-75 years who completed a questionnaire on demographics, diet, and lifestyle factors in 1993-1996. After a mean follow-up time of 12.

HOP'N after-school project: an obesity prevention randomized controlled trial.

Background: This paper reports the primary outcomes of the Healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity and Nutrition (HOP'N) after-school project, which was an effectiveness trial designed to evaluate the prevention of childhood obesity through building the capacity of after-school staff to increase physical activity (PA) and fruit and vegetable (FV) opportunities.

Methods: We conducted a three-year, nested cross-sectional group randomized controlled effectiveness trial. After a baseline assessment year (2005-2006), schools and their after-school programs were randomized to the HOP'N after-school program (n = 4) or control (n = 3), and assessed for two subsequent years (intervention year 1, 2006-2007; intervention year 2, 2007-2008).

A Research Agenda to Examine the Efficacy and Relevance of the Transtheoretical Model for Physical Activity Behavior.

Regular physical activity (PA) decreases the risk of several chronic diseases including some cancers, type II diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease; however, the majority of US adults are not meeting the recommended levels to experience these benefits. To address this public health concern, the underlying mechanisms for behavior change need to be understood, translated and disseminated into appropriately tailored interventions. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) provides a framework for both the conceptualization and measurement of behavior change, as well as facilitating promotion strategies that are individualized and easily adapted.

Youth proxy efficacy for fruit and vegetable availability varies by gender and socio-economic status.

Objective: The current study examined proxy efficacy, which was defined as youth's confidence to influence their parents to provide fruits and vegetables. The overall objective was to examine change in middle-school youth's proxy efficacy over time, and to determine if changes were moderated by gender and socio-economic status.

Design: Longitudinal cohort nested within schools.

Examining elementary school--aged children's self-efficacy and proxy efficacy for fruit and vegetable consumption.

Children's self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) and proxy efficacy to influence others to make fruit and vegetables (FV) available may influence their FVC. A previous investigation has demonstrated that self-efficacy for fruit consumption, self-efficacy for vegetable consumption, proxy efficacy to influence parents to make FV available, and proxy efficacy to influence after-school staff to make FV available can be measured with four independent but related scales. The purpose of the present investigation is to confirm this factor structure and determine if the scales were invariant across gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) subgroups of children attending after-school programs.

Measuring children's self-efficacy and proxy efficacy related to fruit and vegetable consumption.

Background: Social cognitive theory describes self-efficacy and proxy efficacy as influences on fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC). Proxy efficacy was defined as a child's confidence in his or her skills and abilities to get others to act in one's interests to provide fruit and vegetable (FV) opportunities. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale assessing children's self-efficacy and proxy efficacy for FVC at after-school programs and at home.

Longitudinal and cross-sectional influences on youth fruit and vegetable consumption.

Both cross-sectional and longitudinal research depict a decline in the fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) of children and youths with age, but identifying developmental changes and their influences with regard to FVC cannot be fully explained with application of only one of these research designs. Reviewed here are results from longitudinal and cross-sectional research, and a proposal is presented for a lifespan development methodology that uses a sequential design strategy to illuminate the multilevel processes that determine FVC. Conclusions from the review were similar for both cross-sectional and longitudinal research, with fruit and vegetable (FV) preferences and FV accessibility/availability being the most consistent influences on FVC.

Physical activity and healthy eating in the after-school environment.

Background: No research to date has extensively described moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and healthful eating (HE) opportunities in the after-school environment. The current study described the quality of the after-school environment for its impact on children's MVPA and HE.

Methods: An alliance of 7 elementary schools and Boys and Girls Clubs who worked with the Cooperative Extension Service in Lawrence, KS, was selected to participate in a larger intervention study.