Weight Cycling and Dieting Behavior in Fitness Club Members.

Background: Along with the rising prevalence of high body-mass index (BMI), there is also increased emphasis on leanness and fitness. Both these trends suggest that many individuals are concerned about weight management and may try to lose weight. Using data from the research project "Fitness clubs - a venue for public health?", we aimed to describe weight cycling and energy-restricted dieting in men and women at start-up of fitness club membership, and to investigate influencing factors [age, BMI, educational level, self-classified overweight/obesity, compliance with nutritional guidelines, unhealthy weight control strategies and self-perceived health (SPH)]. Methods: In a cross-sectional online survey, 250 men and women from 25 fitness clubs in Oslo, reported anthropometrics, self-classified weight group, weight cycling, weight loss/gain, eating habits/dieting, and background/health information. Enrollment was limited to adult (≥18 years) novice exercisers (exercising <60 min/week at a moderate or vigorous intensity or brisk walking <150 min/week, the past six months) with less than four weeks of membership. Factors associated with weight cycling were examined using simple and multiple logistic regression, separated for men and women. Results: In both sexes (mean age: 36.4 ± 11.3, range 18-71 years), a high number reported substantial weight fluctuation (+/-5 kg) the past 12 months (men: 50% and women: 62%, mean difference 12%, 95% CI -0.3 to 23.8, p=0.056) and unhealthy weight control strategies (men: 24.8% and women: 47.2%, mean difference 22.4%, 95% CI 10.5 to 33.4, p<0.001). Weight cyclers had a higher mean BMI compared with non-cyclers (mean difference -1.5, 95% CI -2.6 to - 0.4, p= 0.003). Further, the difference in body weight was 6.7 kg (95% CI 2.2 to 10.8, p=0.004) and 10.8 kg (95% CI 5.8 to 15.8, <0.001) in men and women, respectively. Besides BMI status, self-classified overweight/obesity was the strongest predictor of reporting weight cycling (men: OR 5.54, 95% CI 2.03 to 15.12, p<0.01 and women: OR 7.17, 95% CI 2.48 to 20.68, p<0.001). Conclusion: In novice exercisers, a large proportion reported weight cycling and unhealthy weight control strategies, and both were more prevalent in women than in men. Self-classified overweight was found to be the most important factor influencing weight cycling.

Ethical sensitivity in co-production: Openness and doubt when young women participate in research.

During the past years, co-production in medical and health related research has gained more focus. The purpose is to ensure that researchers - and the individuals that the research is relevant and has consequences for - will develop and produce the research, and accordingly also, the results together. In our understanding, the eventual success of co-production in research has to be based on some sort of sensitivity to and negotiation as to the perspectives and categories describing the research theme. In this article, based on empirical data from interviews with adolescents participating in treatment for lifestyle change, we explore the significance of the researchers' sensitivity for adolescents' resistance during the interview process. We argue that this sensitivity is embodied and requires ethical reflection helping the researcher to discover ethical moments. By being sensitive as to participants' resistance in the interview situation, we argue that new knowledge is thereby developed.

Views of policy makers and health promotion professionals on factors facilitating implementation and maintenance of interventions and policies promoting physical activity and healthy eating: results of the DEDIPAC project.

BACKGROUND: The uptake, implementation, and maintenance of effective interventions promoting physical activity (PA) and a healthy diet and the implementation of policies targeting these behaviors are processes not well understood. We aimed to gain a better understanding of what health promotion professionals and policy makers think are important factors facilitating adoption, implementation, and maintenance of multi-level interventions and policies promoting healthy eating and PA in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and Poland. METHODS: Six interventions and six policies were identified based on pre-defined criteria. Forty semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders from various sectors to elicit information on factors impacting adoption, implementation, and maintenance of these interventions and policies. All interview transcripts were coded in NVivo, using a common categorization matrix. Coding in the respective countries was done by one researcher and validated by a second researcher. RESULTS: Active involvement of relevant stakeholders and good communication between coordinating organizations were described as important factors contributing to successful adoption and implementation of both interventions and policies. Additional facilitating factors included sufficient training of staff and tailoring of materials to match needs of various target groups. The respondents indicated that maintenance of implemented interventions/policies depended on whether they were embedded in existing or newly created organizational structures in different settings and whether continued funding was secured. CONCLUSIONS: Despite considerable heterogeneity of interventions and health policies in the five countries, stakeholders across these countries identify similar factors facilitating adoption, implementation, and maintenance of these interventions and policies.

Systematic mapping review of the factors influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviour in ethnic minority groups in Europe: a DEDIPAC study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity and sedentary behaviour are associated with health and wellbeing. Studies indicate that ethnic minority groups are both less active and more sedentary than the majority population and that factors influencing these behaviours may differ. Mapping the factors influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviour among ethnic minority groups living in Europe can help to identify determinants of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, research gaps and guide future research. METHODS: A systematic mapping review was conducted to map the factors associated with physical activity and sedentary behaviour among ethnic minority groups living in Europe (protocol PROSPERO ID = CRD42014014575). Six databases were searched for quantitative and qualitative research published between 1999 and 2014. In synthesizing the findings, all factors were sorted and structured into clusters following a data driven approach and concept mapping. RESULTS: Sixty-three articles were identified out of 7794 returned by the systematic search. These included 41 quantitative and 22 qualitative studies. Of these 58 focused on physical activity, 5 on both physical activity and sedentary behaviour and none focused on sedentary behaviour. The factors associated with physical activity and sedentary behaviour were grouped into eight clusters. Social & cultural environment (n = 55) and Psychosocial (39) were the clusters containing most factors, followed by Physical environment & accessibility (33), Migration context (15), Institutional environment (14), Social & material resources (12), Health and health communication (12), Political environment (3). An important finding was that cultural and religious issues, in particular those related to gender issues, were recurring factors across the clusters. CONCLUSION: Physical activity and sedentary behaviour among ethnic minority groups living in Europe are influenced by a wide variety of factors, especially informed by qualitative studies. More comparative studies are needed as well as inclusion of a wider spectrum of the diverse ethnic minority groups resettled in different European countries. Few studies have investigated factors influencing sedentary behaviour. It is important in the future to address specific factors influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviour among different ethnic minority groups in order to plan and implement effective interventions.

Severe Obesity and the Ambivalence of Attending Physical Activity: Exploring Lived Experiences.

Physical activity is considered fundamental in lifestyle interventions. We explore experiences of physical activity prior to, during, and following a 10- to 14-week inpatient lifestyle modification program, including high volume of physical activity, for the treatment of severe obesity. Eight participants from a prospective clinical trial were selected to participate in a complementary qualitative study. The participants' experiences with physical activity during and following the treatment program represented different opposites: "pain and pleasure," "desire and duty," and "bubble and battle." We summarized the findings into one overall theme: "the ambivalence of attending physical activity." The ambivalence is experienced as a shift in how participants experience physical activity during the intervention period and as an ongoing, dynamic, and constantly shifting experience during such activity. To address and reflect upon such experiences with the participants, and acknowledge ambivalence as a legitimate part of being physically active, might be important within obesity treatment.

Practicum in adapted physical activity: a Dewey-inspired action research project.

The purpose of this study was to investigate what adapted physical activity (APA) students learn from their practicum experiences. One cohort of APA students participated, and data were generated from an action research project that included observations, reflective journals, and a focus group interview. The theoretical framework for the study was Dewey's and Wackerhausen's theories of reflections. The findings show the objects of students' reflections, the kind of conceptual resources they draw on while reflecting, and their knowledge interests. In addition, two paradoxes are identified: the tension between reflecting from and on own values, and how practicum as a valued experience of reality can become too difficult to handle. In conclusion, we reflect on how practicum learning can be facilitated.