Physical activity: benefits, determinants and interventions Flashcards
What is physical activity?
- any bodily movement
- produced by skeletal muscle
- results in energy expenditure
e. g. structured exercise (sports)
e. g. lifestyle exercise (walking)
What is exercise?
- activity requiring physical effort
- carried out to sustain/improve health or fitness
What is fitness?
- individual possess set of attributes relating to their ability to perform physical activity
What is the difference in physical activity in different countries?
- Extra childcare duties
- Cultural attitudes
- Wealthier countries = sedentary jobs/ increase use of motor transport/ labour saving tech
- Low income countries = more likely to be active in their jobs/ lack of infrastructure
How much are adults expected to exercise?
- recommended at least 30 minutes of exercise for 5 days a week
- at moderate intensity [get warmer, breathe harder, heart beat faster, but able to hold a convo]
OR
- 75 mins of vigorous exercise [same as above but can’t hold a convo]
- over 5 day period.
What is the recommendation for children activity?
- 60 mins exercise every day of the week
- moderate intensity
- Vigorous exercise for at least 3 days a week and to minimise sedentary time recommended.
How do you measure exercise levels?
- self-report
OR - objectively
What does self report mean?
- exercise diaries
- questionnaires
(Difficult to recall [recall bias] and bias to overestimate).
What is objective measuring?
- heart rate monitors
- step counters
- can overestimate
- be too expensive
What describes an increase in both PA and obesity?
- changes in measures of PA
- changes in peoples’ awareness of what constitutes as PA.
Why is there more obesity?
- Sedentary lifestyles (SITTING DOWN ALL THE TIME)
What are the mental health benefits of exercise?
- Reduced risk of diseases.
- Reduced risk of physical health problems as our bodies adapt to stress.
o Cortisol at high levels Heart disease/ hypertension etc. - Healthier organs
- Healthier bones
o Weight bearing exercise required to strengthen bone - More energy
- Improved sleep
Reduced anxiety/happier mood
What are the social benefits of exercise?
- Making friends + connecting with people
- Having fun link with overall wellbeing
- Challenging stigma and discrimination
Why is exercise beneficial?
- CVS – reduced risk of CVD, reduced BP, reduced body fat, increased HDL and increased fitness
- Psychological benefits – reduced depression/anxiety and increased self-esteem
- Other benefits – reduced risk of cancer (colon/breast/prostate), increased immune function and increased bone mineral density
- 30% decrease in all cause mortality.
What are the psychological benefits of exercise?
- less distraction
- thermogenic
- opioids (release of these which make you happier)
- relaxation/stress management (exercise can dampen stress response)
What allows you to perform exercise at a higher level?
- Higher socio-economic status - safer environment
- Being male - stronger sports culture
- More social support for PA
- Fewer barriers to PA – time/cost/gender/informal carer/motivation/health issues/ isolation/ pain/ injuries/ weather
- Active childhood – a positive experience of PA carried through
- Being younger –responsibilities (e.g. job, family) reduce PA
- Lower BMI –psychological and physical barriers of high BMI
- Non-smokers – smokers: non-PA culture, CV fitness hampered
- Motivations/beliefs/social support/self-efficacy
What kind of social support is beneficial to encourage exercise?
- Instrumental support: Giving a friend a ride to an exercise class
- Informational support: Sharing information about an exercise class with a friend
- Emotional support: Calling a friend to see how the exercise class went
- Appraisal support: Providing encouragement for exercise
How can physical exercise be done?
- individual (good for flexible hours)
- group (good for morale)
- organizational (designated gym time for colleagues at work)
- society (PE curriculum),
How do you stay committed to exercise?
- going gym (membership)
- having a personal trainer
- weekly/monthly target or a reward.
- When setting a goal it must be specific to an exercise (FITT – frequency, intensity, type, time).
- Also relapse procedures must be in place e.g. “If it rains I won’t jog outdoors, I will jog on the treadmill instead
What models?
- Health belief model – attitude/sub norm/ perceived control intention behaviour
- COM-B model
To change sedentary behaviour, what should be done?
- Conduct research at interventions (but this hasn’t been to successfull)
- Change environment (e.g. target better PE at school, or work or home)
- 28 - - Change culture (To exercise will be a opportunity and not a inconvenience? But, how?)
