Physical activity, exercise, and sedentary behavior in college students.

The authors examined the relationship between physical activity, exercise, and sedentary behaviors in 493 college students who were enrolled in 10 conditioning activity classes and had completed questionnaires at the beginning of the course. They analyzed sedentary activities and indicators of participation in exercise and physical activity by demographic variables. Surveyed men reported greater participation in physical activity and exercise than did women, and they also spent more time watching television/videos and using the computer.

[Spontaneous dissection of visceral blood vesssels--a rare cause of epigastric pain].

A 51 year-old man presented with acute abdominal pain in our emergency room. The first examination revealed no pathological findings except coprostasis and after an enteroclysis the patient was sent home without any complaints. During a recent episode of abdominal pain a computer tomography was performed, showing dissection of the superior mesenteric and the celiac artery.

[Eosinophilia in a family from Bosnia].

We describe reference to a family from Bosnia that the diagnosis of Trichinellosis can be difficult despite notice of travel-history and eosinophilia but lack of further epidemiological datas and due to the rarity of this zoonosis. Clinical pattern of trichinellosis are fever, headache, myalgia, periorbital oedema, less frequently diarrhea and abdominal pain. Dreaded complications are myocarditis and encephalitis.

Validation of the stages of change with mild, moderate, and strenuous physical activity behavior, intentions, and self-efficacy.

The stages of change construct of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) has been proposed for examining exercise adoption. Studies investigating the construct validity of the stages of change for exercise have used physical activity of moderate or higher intensity as operationalization criterion. Since it has been shown that physical activity of lower intensity also provides health benefits, we investigated whether the stages of change appropriately address lower intensity physical activity.

[Acute epigastric pain].

Epigastric pain is a frequent complaint in emergency patients and shows a wide spectrum of differential diagnostic possibilities. Dangerous causes with life threatening consequences have to be ruled out as soon as possible, including causes of extra abdominal organs (heart, great vesels). After checking for and adequate treatment of vital parameters an efficient management strategy should consider the acuteness of symptoms, as velocity of pain onset is often related to its seriousness (aneurysmatic rupture of great vessels, parenchymal damage or infarction).

[Medical problems in migrants].

Medical problems in migrants are not only an abstract political problem but also a problem that concerns physicians in their daily practice. Beside somatic disorders that are more common in developing countries we often are confronted to problems due to psychosocial stress. Language difficulties, problems of cultural misunderstanding and a lack of successful concepts impair the physician-patient-relationship and hinder a satisfying solution.

Prevalence of Tropheryma whipplei DNA in patients with various gastrointestinal diseases and in healthy controls.

Background: Little is known about the epidemiology of Tropheryma whipplei and its prevalence in people without clinical signs of Whipple's disease.

Patients And Methods: We screened 239 patients with various gastrointestinal diseases for T. whipplei DNA and compared them with 215 healthy controls in order to check whether T.

Testing a theoretical model of exercise behavior for older adults.

Background: Although there are many known benefits to exercise, only 10-30% of older adults report regular exercise. Understanding the factors that explain exercise behavior in older adults will help structure interventions that motivate these individuals to initiate and adhere to regular exercise.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the impact of components from two theoretical perspectives that explain exercise behavior, social cognitive theory, and the transtheoretical model.

Evaluation of a healthy-lifestyle approach to weight management.

Background: Obesity and overweight have reached near-epidemic proportions in the United States. There is a need to further investigate intervention strategies designed to help individuals manage their weight by improving diet and exercise behaviors. We designed a multidisciplinary weight management program that included healthy eating, regular exercise, and behavioral changes based on the Transtheoretical Model.

Theory-comparison and multiple-behavior research: common themes advancing health behavior research.

Research that seeks to compare and contrast theories of behavior change and assess the utility of a particular theoretical model for changing two or more health-related behaviors is critical to advancing health behavior research. Theory-comparison can help us learn more about the processes by which people change and maintain health behaviors than does study of any single theory alone and thus has the potential to better guide the development of intervention. Multiple-behavior interventions promise to have much greater impact on public health than single-behavior interventions.

The Study of Exercise and Nutrition in Older Rhode Islanders (SENIOR): translating theory into research.

Innovative and effective health promotion interventions targeted on older adults within a public health framework will be increasingly important as the US population ages dramatically. The benefits of healthier lifestyles for older adults include increased functional ability and improved quality of life. The Study of Exercise and Nutrition in Older Rhode Islanders (SENIOR) Project is a multibehavioral health promotion intervention for community-dwelling older adults focusing on increasing exercise and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Exercise and older adults: changing behavior with the transtheoretical model.

The loss of muscle strength, decreased flexibility and range of motion, and decreased sense of balance that frequently accompany aging contribute to falls and functional decline. Even in advanced old age, one can improve strength, decrease the risk of falls, improve cardiorespiratory fitness, and improve ability to live independently. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change is an internationally recognized model that holds much promise for health behavior changes of all types.

[22-year-old patient with left groin pain].

A 22 year old man from Ethiopia suffered from progressive left inguinal pain and weight loss for ten months. The pain aggravated with leg movement, in particular with flexion of the left hip. ESR and CRP were slightly elevated, and a PPD was strongly positive.

Construct validity of the stages of change of exercise adoption for different intensities of physical activity in four samples of differing age groups.

Purpose: To examine whether the stages of change of exercise adoption appropriately address strenuous, moderate, and mild intensities of physical activity.

Design And Setting: Secondary analysis of four data sets investigating transtheoretical model (TTM) constructs for exercise adoption.

Subjects: Four samples of differing age groups (adolescents, n = 400; college students, n = 240; adults, n = 346; seniors, n = 504).

[Incidental finding: left sided cystic adrenal mass].

Because of the widespread use of imaging techniques the incidental diagnosis of an adrenal mass without clinical symptoms and pathologic laboratory values becomes more and more common. To avoid unnecessary therapeutic interventions an intensive evaluation should take place including blood and urine testing as well as radiologic examination. An accurate assessment is often helpful in making the diagnosis of a benign process to avoid an invasive procedure and to determine the frequency and intensity of further controls.

[Incidental finding: left sided solid adrenal mass].

In a 49 year old male patient diagnostic evaluation of pneumonia performed by computed tomography revealed a left sided adrenal mass. The results of laboratory examination and MR-imaging of the adrenal glands suggested a hormonal inactive adrenal adenoma. Two years later, due to an increase in size, a surgical procedure was performed which revealed a gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the posterior gastric wall, rather than the suspected adrenal mass.

Validating motivational readiness for exercise behavior with adolescents.

The stages of motivational readiness as conceptualized by the Transtheoretical Model have been widely used among adult samples to assess readiness for adopting exercise behavior. To date, little research has been conducted using a staging framework with adolescent samples. There is a need for validation of the staging framework prior to a substantial amount of research with this age group.

Explaining adolescent exercise behavior change: a longitudinal application of the transtheoretical model.

The developmental decline and benefits of exercise are documented, however, relatively little is known about the mechanisms and motivations underlying adolescent exercise behavior This project investigates which variables drive exercise or are a consequence thereof, within the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Baseline questionnaires (N = 819) were collected through 5 Canadian high schools. For this longitudinal investigation, all baseline participants were approached for a 3-year follow up.

Changing health behaviors of older adults.

1. Changing lifelong unhealthy habits can have a positive effect on health for older adults. 2.

Interactive communication strategies: implications for population-based physical-activity promotion.

Physical inactivity is a recognized independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. However, a large proportion of the U.S.

Early psychological reactions to life-threatening injuries.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms and coping patterns in severely injured accident victims; to study correlations between injury severity and psychosocial variables and the presence of posttraumatic stress symptoms; and to analyze intensive care unit (ICU) personnel's global clinical appraisals in relation to patient characteristics.

Design: A study of critically ill accident victims assessed within one month of the trauma.

Setting: ICU of the traumatology department at the University Hospital, Zurich.

Stages of change across ten health risk behaviors for older adults.

Owing to the recent success of the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change and the possible relationships between health behaviors, this study investigated the stage distribution of 10 healthy behaviors (seatbelt use, avoidance of high fat food, eating a high-fiber diet, attempting to lose weight, exercising regularly, avoiding sun exposure, sunscreen use, attempting to reduce stress, stopping smoking, and conducting cancer self-exams) and their interrelationships in a representative sample of health maintenance organization (HMO) members. The majority of older adults were found to be in either precontemplation or maintenance, illustrating the need to target interventions to precontemplation. Most older individuals were in precontemplation for losing weight and/ or sunscreen use and exercise, making these behaviors a priority for intervention research.

Transtheoretical Model: examining adolescent exercise behavior.

Purpose: The entire Transtheoretical Model, consisting of stages of change, processes of change, self-efficacy, and decisional balance, was tested for its applicability to understanding exercise behavior in an adolescent population.

Methods: Students (n = 819) from five community high schools (Grades 9-12) completed self-administered questionnaires, all of which were adapted from previous literature. Stage of exercise behavior change served as the dependent variable.

A simple reinforcement strategy for increasing attendance at a fitness facility.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of a previously untested reinforcement strategy (i.e., 1 month's free membership) on attendance at a fitness facility.