Views of the public about Snacktivity™: a small changes approach to promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour.

BACKGROUND: Many people do not meet the recommended health guidance of participation in a minimum of 150-300 min of moderate intensity physical activity per week, often promoted as at least 30 min of physical activity on 5 days of the week. This is concerning and highlights the importance of finding innovative ways to help people to be physically active each day. Snacktivity™ is a novel approach that aims to encourage people to do small, 2-5 min bouts of physical activity 'snacks' throughout the whole day, such that they achieve at least 150 min of moderate intensity activity per week. However, before it can be recommended, there is a need to explore whether the concept is acceptable to the public. METHODS: A survey to assess the views of the public about Snacktivity™ was distributed to adult patients registered at six general practices in the West Midlands, UK and to health care employees in the same region. RESULTS: A total of 5989 surveys were sent to patients, of which 558 were returned (9.3%). A further 166 surveys were completed by health care employees. A total of 85% of respondents liked the Snacktivity™ concept. The flexibility of the approach was highly rated. A high proportion of participants (61%) reported that the ability to self-monitor their behaviour would help them to do Snacktivity™ throughout their day. Physically inactive participants perceived that Snacktivity™ would help to increase their physical activity, more than those who were physically active (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.25-0.67). Approximately 90% of respondents perceived that Snacktivity™ was easy to do on a non-working day compared to 60% on a working day. Aerobic activity 'snacks' were preferred to those which were strength based. CONCLUSIONS: The Snacktivity™ approach to promoting physical activity was viewed positively by the public and interventions to test the merits of such an approach now need to be developed and tested in a variety of everyday contexts.

Concurrent and prospective associations among biological maturation, and physical activity at 11 and 13 years of age.

This study examined concurrent and prospective associations between objective measures of biological maturation, body composition and physical activity (PA) in adolescent males (n = 671) and females (n = 680). Participants born to women recruited to the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children birth cohort study were assessed at 11 and 13 years. Percentage of predicted adult stature was used as an estimate of biological maturation. PA and time sedentary was assessed over 7 consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometers. Body composition was assessed using whole-body DXA scans. At 11 and 13 years, maturity in males was inversely associated with accelerometer counts-per-minute (CPM) and time engaged in light PA, and positively associated with time sedentary. In females, maturity was inversely associated with accelerometer (CPM) at 11 but not 13 years. Adjusting for accelerometer wear times and corresponding activity levels at 11 years, maturity and percentage fat mass at 11 years did not predict any indices of PA or sedentary behavior in males or females at 13 years. Whereas advanced maturation in males is associated with less PA and more sedentary behavior at 11 and 13 years, maturity at 11 does not predict PA or sedentary behavior at 13 years in either sex.

The relationship between girls' (8-14 years) physical activity and maternal education.

BACKGROUND: Mothers with higher levels of education are more likely to engage in health-promoting behaviour; thus, it is intuitive that a child's physical activity would be positively related to maternal education. The literature on this area, however, is inconclusive and may be due to the methods used to assess physical activity (i.e. the use of aggregated and self-reported physical activity that may not reflect the true and detailed variation of physical activity). AIM: To profile the physical activity behaviours of girls with mothers of differing educational attainment. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 77 girls (grades 4-8) wore an Actical accelerometer for 7 days. Minutes spent sedentary and in light, moderate and vigorous physical activity per day over 7 days, 5 weekdays, 2 weekends, and 1 h commuting period to and from school of girls of University educated (UE) and non-UE mothers were analysed. RESULTS: After controlling for confounders, girls with UE mothers were more likely to participate in vigorous physical activity at the weekend and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during the morning commute to school. CONCLUSIONS: Research investigating the relationship between maternal education and child's physical activity should explore, at higher resolution, when activity is accumulated, in particular separating weekday and weekend physical activity.

Validation of the Actiheart activity monitor for measurement of activity energy expenditure in children and adolescents with chronic disease.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to develop an activity energy expenditure (AEE) prediction equation for the Actiheart activity monitor for use in children with chronic disease. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In total, 63 children, aged 8-18 years with different types of chronic disease (juvenile arthritis, hemophilia, dermatomyositis, neuromuscular disease, cystic fibrosis or congenital heart disease) participated in an activity testing session, which consisted of a resting protocol, working on the computer, sweeping, hallway walking, steps and treadmill walking at three different speeds. During all activities, actual AEE was measured with indirect calorimetry and the participants wore an Actiheart on the chest. Resting EE and resting heart rate were measured during the resting protocol and heart rate above sleep (HRaS) was calculated. RESULTS: Mixed linear modeling produced the following prediction equation: This equation results in a nonsignificant mean difference of 2.1 J/kg/min (limits of agreement: -144.2 to 148.4 J/kg/min) for the prediction of AEE from the Actiheart compared with actual AEE. CONCLUSIONS: The Actiheart is valid for the use of AEE determination when using the new prediction equation for groups of children with chronic disease. However, the prediction error limits the use of the equation in individual subjects.