The Specification of a Computational Model of Physical Activity Habit.

The influence of habit on physical activity is computationally modeled as the aggregated influence of past behavioral choices a person makes in a given context. We hypothesize that the influence of habit on behavior can be enhanced through engagement of the target behavior in a particular context or weakened through engagement of alternative behaviors in that context.

College Students' Day-to-Day Maladaptive Drinking Responses to Stress Severity and Stressor-Related Guilt and Anger.

BACKGROUND: Stress is a common part of college students' daily lives that may influence their physical activity (PA) and alcohol use. Understanding features of daily stress processes that predict health behaviors could help identify targets for just-in-time interventions. PURPOSE: This study used intensive longitudinal data to examine whether prior day stress processes predict current day PA or alcohol use. METHODS: Participants (N=58, Mage=20.5, 59% women, 70% White) were 18-to-25-year-old students who engaged in binge drinking at least twice monthly and used cannabis or tobacco in the past year. They wore activity (activPAL4) and alcohol (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) monitors for 11 days to assess daily PA (e.g., step counts) and alcohol use (e.g., drinking day), and completed daily surveys about yesterday's stress, including number of stressors (i.e., frequency), stressor intensity (i.e., severity), and frequency of affective states (e.g., guilt). Multilevel models examined prior day stress predicting current day PA or alcohol use. RESULTS: Participants had higher odds of current day drinking (odds ratio=1.21) and greater area under the curve (B=0.08) when they experienced greater than usual stress severity the prior day. Participants had higher current day peak transdermal alcohol concentration (B=0.12) and area under the curve (B=0.11) when they more frequently experienced guilt due to stressors the prior day. CONCLUSIONS: College students' unhealthy response of increasing alcohol use due to stress could adversely impact health outcomes. There is a critical need for interventions addressing students' ability to effectively manage and respond to the stress-inducing, daily demands of student life.

College students experience stress regularly, which may influence their physical activity (PA) and drinking behaviors. Understanding how daily stress predicts health behaviors could be useful for stress-reduction interventions. This study examined whether prior day stress predicted current day PA or alcohol use. Participants (N = 58) were 18- to 25-year-old college students who binge drank at least twice per month and used cannabis or tobacco in the past year. They wore PA and alcohol sensors for 11 days to assess daily PA and alcohol use, and completed daily surveys about yesterday's stress, including the number of stressors experienced (i.e., frequency), stressor intensity (i.e., severity), and mood responses related to stress (anger, anxiety, guilt, sadness). Participants were 21% more likely to drink and drank at higher intensity when they experienced greater than usual stress severity the prior day. Participants had higher current day alcohol use intensity when they more frequently experienced guilt due to stressors the prior day. College students' unhealthy response of increasing alcohol use due to stress could negatively impact short- and long-term health outcomes. There is a critical need for interventions addressing students' ability to effectively manage and respond to the stress-inducing, daily demands of student life.

Wearable device adherence among insufficiently-active young adults is independent of identity and motivation for physical activity.

Wearable devices are increasingly being integrated to improve prevention, chronic disease management and rehabilitation. Inferences about individual differences in device-measured physical activity depends on devices being worn long enough to obtain representative samples of behavior. Little is known about how psychological factors are associated with device wear time adherence. This study evaluated associations between identity, behavioral regulations, and device wear adherence during an ambulatory monitoring period. Young adults who reported insufficient physical activity (N = 271) were recruited for two studies before and after the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic declaration. Participants completed a baseline assessment and wore an Actigraph GT3X + accelerometer on their waist for seven consecutive days. Multiple linear regression indicated that wear time was positively associated with age, negatively associated with integrated regulation for physical activity, and greater after (versus before) the pandemic declaration. Overall, the model accounted for limited variance in device wear time. Exercise identity and exercise motivation were not associated with young adults' adherence to wearing the physical activity monitors. Researchers and clinicians can use wearable devices with young adults with minimal concern about systematic motivational biases impacting adherence to device wear.

Passive sensing of smartphone use, physical activity and sedentary behavior among adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research that links excessive screen time to adverse health outcomes is based on self-reported screen use. Few studies have documented how passively-sensed smartphone and app use relate to health behaviors like activity and sitting. Furthermore, they have not considered that daily fluctuations in smartphone/app use may have different relationships to these behaviors than a person's usual smartphone/app use. This study evaluated whether physical activity or sedentary (sitting) behavior are associated with either smartphone screen time or specific smartphone app use by adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adolescents and young adults aged 13-29 years wore activPAL4 micro activity monitors while their smartphones logged daily screen time and app use durations for nine days. Data were collected in 2020-2021 and analyzed in 2022-2023. Participants (N = 125) had a mean (SD) age of 19.7 (4.3) years. Participants' usual smartphone screen time was negatively associated with daily step counts. Daily deviations in smartphone screen time were negatively associated with daily step counts and moderate-vigorous physical activity durations. Time spent on Instagram, YouTube and, to a lesser extent, TikTok were linked with reduced activity levels. Daily sedentary behavior was not associated with usual or daily screen time. Interventions to promote physical activity during the transition into adulthood may benefit from limiting excessive smartphone screen time. Specific intervention targets could include limiting use of apps with infinite scrolling feeds algorithmically tuned to maintain user engagement, such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Implementing a behavioral physical activity program in children and adolescent survivors of childhood cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Purpose We aimed to document the acceptability (enrollment rate) and feasibility (phone call delivery rate) of implementing a behavioral PA intervention over 12 weeks, in addition to documenting its effects on patient-reported outcomes and physical functioning. This study also describes the costs of carrying out a behavioral PA intervention. A total of 40 participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio. The tailored behavioral PA intervention was developed based on the most recent PA guidelines in pediatric oncology and on the COM-B framework to enact PA behavior changes. The prescription (frequency, intensity, time and type (FITT)) was adjusted each week during the weekly support calls. The control group did not receive the intervention. 26 males and 14 females (13.6 years old on average and 2.9 years post-cancer treatment on average) participated in our study. The acceptability rate was 90.9% and the feasibility rate was > 85%. We found that 85% improved PA frequency, 80% improved PA intensity, 100% improved PA time, and 50.0% achieved the recommended PA guidelines. No adverse events were reported over the duration of the intervention. Physical function improved with longer 6-minute walk distances in the intervention group (465.8 ± 74.5 m) than in the control group (398.7 ± 92.9 m) (p = 0.016). PROs scores for all participants were within the limits of the normal range. The estimated cost per participant of carrying out this intervention was USD $126.57. Our 12-week behavioral PA intervention, based on the COM-B framework, was found to be acceptable, feasible and safe in childhood cancer survivors. This study is an important step in the right direction to make exercise standard practice in pediatric oncology.

Daily Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior and Alcohol Use in At-Risk College Students.

BACKGROUND: The college years present an opportunity to establish health behavior patterns that can track across adulthood. Health behaviors tend to cluster synergistically however, physical activity and alcohol have shown a positive association. PURPOSE: This study applied a multi-method approach to estimate between- and within-person associations between daily physical activity, sedentary behavior and alcohol use among polysubstance-using college students. METHODS: Participants were screened for recent binge drinking and either tobacco or cannabis use. They wore an activPAL4 activity monitor and a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor continuously in the field for 11 days, and completed daily online questionnaires at the beginning of each day to report previous day physical activity, sedentary behavior, and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: Participants (N = 58, Mage = 20.5 years, 59% women, 69% White) reported meeting national aerobic physical activity guidelines (75%) and drinking 2-4 times in the past month (72%). On days when participants reported an hour more than usual of daily sedentary behavior, they reported drinking for less time than usual (γ = -.06). On days when participants took 1,000 more steps than usual, the longest episode of continuous transdermal alcohol detection was shorter (γ = -.03). CONCLUSIONS: Daily physical activity and sedentary behavior were negatively associated with time-based measures of alcohol use with the lowest risk on days characterized by both activity and sedentary behavior. Intensive longitudinal monitoring of time-based processes can provide new insights into risk in multiple behavior change and should be prioritized for future work.

Physical Activity Dynamics During a Digital Messaging Intervention Changed After the Pandemic Declaration.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted physical activity, but little is known about how contextual changes following the pandemic declaration impacted either the dynamics of people's physical activity or their responses to micro-interventions for promoting physical activity. PURPOSE: This paper explored the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dynamics of physical activity responses to digital message interventions. METHODS: Insufficiently-active young adults (18-29 years; N = 22) were recruited from November 2019 to January 2020 and wore a Fitbit smartwatch for 6 months. They received 0-6 messages/day via smartphone app notifications, timed and selected at random from three content libraries (Move More, Sit Less, and Inspirational Quotes). System identification techniques from control systems engineering were used to identify person-specific dynamical models of physical activity in response to messages before and after the pandemic declaration on March 13, 2020. RESULTS: Daily step counts decreased significantly following the pandemic declaration on weekdays (Cohen's d = -1.40) but not on weekends (d = -0.26). The mean overall speed of the response describing physical activity (dominant pole magnitude) did not change significantly on either weekdays (d = -0.18) or weekends (d = -0.21). In contrast, there was limited rank-order consistency in specific features of intervention responses from before to after the pandemic declaration. CONCLUSIONS: Generalizing models of behavioral dynamics across dramatically different environmental contexts (and participants) may lead to flawed decision rules for just-in-time physical activity interventions. Periodic model-based adaptations to person-specific decision rules (i.e., continuous tuning interventions) for digital messages are recommended when contexts change.

Physical inactivity is recognized as one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many cancers. Most American adults fail to achieve recommended levels of physical activity. Interventions to promote physical activity in young adults are needed to reduce long-term chronic disease risk. The COVID-19 pandemic declaration abruptly changed many individuals' environments and lifestyles. These contextual changes adversely impacted physical activity levels but little is known about how these changes specifically impacted the dynamics of people's physical activity or responses to micro-interventions for promoting physical activity. Using data collected from Fitbit smartwatches before and after the pandemic declaration, we applied tools from control systems engineering to develop person-specific dynamic models of physical activity responses to messaging interventions, and investigated how physical activity dynamics changed from before to after the pandemic declaration. Step counts decreased significantly on weekdays. The average speed of participants' responses to intervention messages did not change significantly, but intervention response dynamics had limited consistency from before to after the pandemic declaration. In short, participants changed how they responded to interventions after the pandemic declaration but the magnitude and patterns of change varied across participants. Person-specific, adaptive interventions can be useful for promoting physical activity when behavioral systems are stimulated to reorganize by external factors.

Factors That Influence Walking Intervention Adherence for Older Adults Living in Retirement Communities.

Walking interventions improve health outcomes among older adults. However, few clinical trials evaluate long-term behavior change adherence. The authors explored factors that influence walking adherence in older adults following their participation in a clinical trial. They conducted n = 7 focus groups with n = 23 participants enrolled in the parent study (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT03654807). The authors used content analysis to code data according to the social-ecological model. They found that supportive services (exercise classes) in retirement communities have multilevel impacts on adherence to walking activity. Residents from communities offering services continued walking because of increased confidence gained in the parent trial, while residents in communities without services were motivated by their functional improvements. Residents voiced frustration with retirement community physical activity programs that did not address the full spectrum of physical functioning. Findings support the need for retirement communities to account for various motivational factors in tailoring programs to promote increased physical activity for older adults.

Seasons, weather, and device-measured movement behaviors: a scoping review from 2006 to 2020.

BACKGROUND: This scoping review summarized research on (a) seasonal differences in physical activity and sedentary behavior, and (b) specific weather indices associated with those behaviors. METHODS: PubMed, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus were searched to identify relevant studies. After identifying and screening 1459 articles, data were extracted from 110 articles with 118,189 participants from 30 countries (almost exclusively high-income countries) on five continents. RESULTS: Both physical activity volume and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were greater in summer than winter. Sedentary behavior was greater in winter than either spring or summer, and insufficient evidence existed to draw conclusions about seasonal differences in light physical activity. Physical activity volume and MVPA duration were positively associated with both the photoperiod and temperature, and negatively associated with precipitation. Sedentary behavior was negatively associated with photoperiod and positively associated with precipitation. Insufficient evidence existed to draw conclusions about light physical activity and specific weather indices. Many weather indices have been neglected in this literature (e.g., air quality, barometric pressure, cloud coverage, humidity, snow, visibility, windchill). CONCLUSIONS: The natural environment can influence health by facilitating or inhibiting physical activity. Behavioral interventions should be sensitive to potential weather impacts. Extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change may compromise health-enhancing physical activity in the short term and, over longer periods of time, stimulate human migration in search of more suitable environmental niches.

Motivational profiles and change in physical activity during a weight loss intervention: a secondary data analysis.

BACKGROUND: High levels of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) are strongly associated with sustained weight loss, however the majority of adults are unsuccessful in maintaining high levels of MVPA long-term. Our goal was to identify profiles based on exercise motives, and examine the association between motivational profile and longitudinal changes in MVPA during a weight loss intervention. METHODS: Adults with overweight or obesity (n = 169, mean ± SE; age 39 ± 0.7 years, BMI 34.4 ± 0.3 kg/m2, 83% female) underwent an 18-month behavioral weight loss program, including 6 months of supervised exercise, followed by 6 months of unsupervised exercise. Participants self-reported behavioral regulations for exercise at baseline (BREQ-2). Latent profile analysis identified subgroups from external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic regulations measured at baseline. Mean differences in device-measured total MVPA were compared across motivational profiles at baseline, after 6 months of supervised exercise and after a subsequent 6 months of unsupervised exercise. RESULTS: Three motivational profiles emerged: high autonomous (high identified and intrinsic, low external regulations; n = 52), high combined (high scores on all exercise regulations; n = 25), and moderate combined (moderate scores on all exercise regulations; n = 92). Motivational profile was not associated with baseline level of MVPA or the increase in MVPA over the 6-month supervised exercise intervention (high autonomous: 21 ± 6 min/d; high combined: 20 ± 9 min/d; moderate combined: 33 ± 5 min/d; overall P > 0.05). However, during the transition from supervised to unsupervised exercise, MVPA decreased, on average, within all three profiles, but the high autonomous profile demonstrated the least attenuation in MVPA (- 3 ± 6 min/d) compared to the moderate combined profile (- 20 ± 5 min/d; P = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: Results were in alignment with the Self-Determination Theory. Adults motivated by autonomous reasons (value benefits of exercise, intrinsic enjoyment) may be more likely to sustain increases in MVPA once support is removed, whereas participants with moderate-to-high scores on all types of exercise regulations may need additional long-term support in order to sustain initial increases in MVPA. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01985568. Registered 24 October 2013.

Engineering Person-Specific Behavioral Interventions to Promote Physical Activity.

Physical activity is dynamic, complex, and often regulated idiosyncratically. In this article, we review how techniques used in control systems engineering are being applied to refine physical activity theory and interventions. We hypothesize that person-specific adaptive behavioral interventions grounded in system identification and model predictive control will lead to greater physical activity than more generic, conventional intervention approaches.

Bidirectional Associations of Momentary Affect with Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors in Working Adults.

BACKGROUND: Affective experiences and movement-based behaviors form a system that has been shown to influence exercise adherence and mental health outcomes. Little is known about the naturalistic dynamics of the reciprocal associations in this system. PURPOSE: We examined the time intervals at which momentary affect precedes and follows movement-based behaviors in everyday life. METHODS: A community sample of working adults (n = 111) completed ecological momentary assessments (EMA) asking about current affect states (sad, happy, tired, and interested) six times a day for three consecutive days. Ratings were used to generate scores for momentary affective arousal and valence. Participants also wore an activity monitor. Total activity counts and sedentary duration in the shorter to longer time intervals (5-120 min) before or after EMA were used as indicators of movement-based behaviors. RESULTS: Multilevel modeling showed that current affective arousal predicted higher subsequent activity counts in the longer time intervals (120 min) and less subsequent sedentary behavior in the shorter to longer time intervals (5, 60, and 120 min). For the reversed sequence, neither movement-based behavior predicted subsequent momentary arousal or valence. Affective valence was unrelated to movement-based behaviors in either temporal direction. CONCLUSIONS: Some naturally occurring affective experiences (i.e., arousal) might precede, rather than follow, movement-based behaviors. Understanding affective arousal may contribute to improved management of subsequent movement-based behaviors in everyday life.

Patterns of sun safety behaviors in parents: Associations with physical activity, sedentary behavior, and access to neighborhood physical activity resources.

Exposure to ultraviolet rays is associated with increased risk of sunburn - a biomarker of skin cancer risk - and physical activity can increase exposure. Sun safety behaviors can mitigate the increased risk of skin cancer. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine associations between physical activity behaviors, access to neighborhood physical activity resources, and sunburn across different patterning of sun safety behaviors. Data collected in 2014 from parents in the United States were analyzed (N = 1680; 75% female, primarily between the ages of 35-44 and 45-59, and 67% White). Latent class analysis was conducted to identify classes of sun safety behaviors based on engagement in sun protective behaviors (wearing a hat, shirt with sleeves, and seeking shade) and sun exposure (tanning outdoors). The latent classes were then examined as moderators of the association between physical activity related variables and sunburn. Three classes were identified corresponding to Low, Moderate, and High Risk for sunburn. There was no evidence of moderation, so equality constraints were imposed across the classes. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.09) and neighborhood environments favoring physical activity (OR = 1.39) were associated with an increased likelihood of sunburn. Greater engagement in physical activity and access to built environments that favour activity are associated with a higher likelihood of sunburn, regardless of sun safety behaviors. Physically active parents are a vulnerable population for melanoma, and cancer prevention efforts focused on physical activity should also address sun safety.

Associations between alcohol consumption and physical activity in breast cancer survivors.

Alcohol use and physical inactivity are associated with increased risk of cancer diagnosis and recurrence. Physical activity (a health protective behavior) is positively associated with alcohol use (a health risk behavior) in the general population but has yet to be examined in breast cancer survivors. This study examined associations between weekly alcohol use and physical activity in 197 post-treatment breast cancer survivors (Mage = 55.04, SDage = 10.92). Participants wore an accelerometer and provided self-reported alcohol intake for five 7-day waves every 3 months. Survivors who engaged in more light intensity physical activity had increased odds of consuming alcohol (odds ratio = 1.14, p = .02) but did not differ in the amount of alcohol consumed. When promoting physical activity among this population, it is important to consider the increased likelihood of alcohol consumption.

Everyday stress components and physical activity: examining reactivity, recovery and pileup.

The experience of naturally-occurring stress in daily life has been linked with lower physical activity levels. However, most of this evidence comes from general and static reports of stress. Less is known how different temporal components of everyday stress interfere with physical activity. In a coordinated secondary analysis of data from two studies of adults, we used intensive, micro-longitudinal assessments (ecological momentary assessments, EMA) to investigate how distinct components of everyday stress, that is, reactivity to stressor events, recovery from stressor events, and pileup of stressor events and responses predict physical activity. Results showed that components of everyday stress predicted subsequent physical activity especially for indicators of stress pileup. In both studies, the accumulation of stress responses over the previous 12 h was more predictive of subsequent physical activity than current stress reactivity or recovery responses. Results are compared to the effects of general measures of perceived stress that showed an opposite pattern of results. The novel everyday stress approach used here may be fruitful for generating new insights into physical activity specifically and health behaviors in general.

Daily physical activity and alcohol use among young adults.

Evidence suggests that physical activity and alcohol use are positively related among young adults. Two studies have examined daily relations, and results have shown conflicting findings. We examined relations between physical activity and alcohol use at both within- and between-individual levels and investigated moderators of the relation at both levels. 269 college students wore accelerometers to collect physical activity data over a 2-week period. At the end of each day, they indicated whether or not they drank alcohol. Multilevel logistic regression indicated neither within- nor between-subject relations were statistically significant. Positive affect, negative affect, and drinking motives moderated these relations at the between-subject level. Contrary to previous research, we did not observe a relation between physical activity and alcohol use at the daily level. Unique features of the current study suggest next steps for future research examining the perplexing PA-alcohol relation in this population.

Sedentary behavior after breast cancer: motivational, demographic, disease, and health status correlates of sitting time in breast cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: Sedentary behavior is associated with poor health outcomes including obesity, lower quality of life, and mortality in breast cancer survivors. This study sought to identify motivational, demographic, and disease characteristics of breast cancer survivors who engage in greater amounts of sedentary behavior. METHODS: Multivariate linear regression models estimated associations between demographic, disease, and health characteristics with reported sitting in breast cancer survivors (n = 279; Mage = 60.7 (± 9.7) years). Regression models estimated associations between motivational factors and reported sitting adjusted for demographic and disease and health covariates. RESULTS: Working at least part-time and marital status were associated various sitting domains including weekday and non-leisure sitting. Higher BMI was associated with more average daily, weekend, and weekday sitting. High income was additionally associated with less non-leisure sitting. The belief that sedentary behavior is bad for health, physical function, and self-evaluative OE, and lifestyle self-efficacy were associated with multiple sitting domains in both univariate and covariate-adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS: Future work should examine the relationships between motivational, demographic, and disease predictors and objectively measured sedentary behavior over time and across different sedentary behavior domains. Understanding activity changes during and after treatment is needed to identify intervention targets and develop effective interventions.

Understanding stress reports in daily life: a coordinated analysis of factors associated with the frequency of reporting stress.

Although stress is a common experience in everyday life, a clear understanding of how often an individual experiences and reports stress is lacking. Notably, there is little information regarding factors that may influence how frequently stress is reported, including which stress dimension is measured (i.e., stressors-did an event happen, subjective stress-how stressed do you feel, conditional stress-how stressful a stressor was) and the temporal features of that assessment (i.e., time of day, day of study, weekday vs. weekend day). The purpose of the present study was to conduct a coordinated analysis of five independent ecological momentary assessment studies utilizing varied stress reporting dimensions and temporal features. Results indicated that, within days, stress was reported at different frequencies depending on the stress dimension. Stressors were reported on 15-32% of momentary reports made within a day; across days, the frequency ranged from 42 to 76% of days. Depending on the cutoff, subjective stress was reported more frequently ranging about 8-56% of all moments within days, and 40-90% of days. Likewise, conditional stress ranged from just 3% of moments to 22%, and 11-69% of days. For the temporal features, stress was reported more frequently on weekdays (compared to weekend days) and on days earlier in the study (relative to days later in the study); time of day was inconsistently related to stress reports. In sum, stress report frequency depends in part on how stress is assessed. As such, researchers may wish to measure stress in multiple ways and, in the case of subjective and conditional stress with multiple operational definitions, to thoroughly characterize the frequency of stress reporting.

Personalized models of physical activity responses to text message micro-interventions: A proof-of-concept application of control systems engineering methods.

OBJECTIVES: The conceptual models underlying physical activity interventions have been based largely on differences between more and less active people. Yet physical activity is a dynamic behavior, and such models are not sensitive to factors that regulate behavior at a momentary level or how people respond to individual attempts at intervening. We demonstrate how a control systems engineering approach can be applied to develop personalized models of behavioral responses to an intensive text message-based intervention. DESIGN & METHOD: To establish proof-of-concept for this approach, 10 adults wore activity monitors for 16 weeks and received five text messages daily at random times. Message content was randomly selected from three types of messages designed to target (1) social-cognitive processes associated with increasing physical activity, (2) social-cognitive processes associated with reducing sedentary behavior, or (3) general facts unrelated to either physical activity or sedentary behavior. A dynamical systems model was estimated for each participant to examine the magnitude and timing of responses to each type of text message. RESULTS: Models revealed heterogeneous responses to different message types that varied between people and between weekdays and weekends. CONCLUSIONS: This proof-of-concept demonstration suggests that parameters from this model can be used to develop personalized algorithms for intervention delivery. More generally, these results demonstrate the potential utility of control systems engineering models for optimizing physical activity interventions.

Feasibility of an Outdoor Mindful Walking Program for Reducing Negative Affect in Older Adults.

Mindful walking has emerged as a potential intervention strategy to improve mental health and promote well-being in adult and clinical populations. This strategy has not been implemented specifically with older adults to date. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, sustainability, and preliminary efficacy of a mindful walking program for reducing negative affect in older adults. Community-dwelling older adults (n = 29) completed a 1-month, outdoor mindful walking program distributed across eight 30-min sessions. Responses from postprogram and follow-up questionnaires revealed that mindful walking was well-accepted, highly valued, and maintained after the program ended. Analysis from the pre- and postwalk surveys also suggested the preliminary efficacy of a mindful walking program for reducing negative affect. Positive results identified in the current feasibility study indicate readiness for randomized controlled trials to further examine the efficacy and effectiveness of a mindful walking intervention for promoting health and well-being in older populations.