FBC UPFRONT

IHRSA Healthcare Report

Excerpted with permission from the IHRSA* Healthcare Report, a newsletter provided to its member clubs with sponsor support from Star Trac.

The key to a healthy lifestyle is in the mind

T

he main factors infl uencing the amount of physical

exercise people carry out are their self-perceived ability and the extent of their desire to exercise. A study of 5167 Canadians, reported in the open ac- cess journal BMC Public Health, has shown that psychological concerns are the most impor- tant barriers to an active lifestyle. Sai Yi Pan, from the

Public Health Agency of Canada, led a team of re- searchers who carried out a study which examined data from a nationwide series of telephone interviews. She said “Our fi nd- ings highlight the need for health promo- tion programs to enhance people’s confi - dence and motivation, as well as providing education on the health benefi ts of physi- cal activity”. One interview question asked partici-

pants how confi dent they were that they could regularly do a total of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity (PA) three or four times a week and a total of 60 minutes of light PA each day. This ‘self- effi cacy’ score was consistently found to be related to higher PA across gender, age group, education level and family

income level. According to the authors, “Confi dence in one’s personal ability to carry out exercise plays a central role in the direction, intensity and persistence of health-behavior change. People who have higher PA self-effi cacy will perceive few- er barriers to PA, or be less infl uenced by them, and will be more likely to enjoy PA”. Likewise, participants were asked to

what extent they intended to be physically active over the next six months. This ‘in- tention score’ was another important inde- pendent correlate of physical activity. Conclusions suggest that interventions

designed to increase Physical Activity should target self perceived ability and ex- tent of motivation.

Physically able stroke patients oft en sedentary

Many people who have survived a stroke have the ability to be physically ac- tive but aren’t, according to research published in the journal Stroke. “We were surprised and troubled at how little physical activity our participants with stroke were doing at home and in their community,” study investigator Dr. Janice Eng told Reuters Health.

“These were not people with severe stroke, but they had what we consider mild stroke; all could walk independently, yet their physical activity was less than half of what similar aged persons without stroke normally do.” Their sedentary lifestyle could increase their risk of a second stroke, Eng warned.

14 Fitness Business Canada March/April 2009

January/February 2009

Chronically ill or disabled kids need exercise too

Children with chronic illnesses or disability can oft en benefi t from the right exercise program, showing improved quality of life, greater aerobic capacity and better function, according to a report published this month.

But chronically ill or disabled children and teens who aren’t ac- tive can get out of shape and too fat, just like their peers who aren’t challenged by illness or disability, warns Dr. Patrick J. Morris of the University of Minnesota in Minne- apolis.

Morris notes that children with cerebral palsy oft en have move- ment problems that make it diffi - cult to walk, let alone exercise. But he points to a study in seven teens with the disease that showed three months of training improved their aerobic capacity and their ability to stand, walk, jump and run.

New U.S. President has faith in fitness

This comes from The Washington Post: Being elected President forces a man to take inventory of his life, so Barack Obama has trimmed his schedule to the bare essentials. But one habit

endures: Obama has gone to the gym, for about 90 minutes a day, for at least 48 days in a row. He always has treated exercise less as recreation than requirement, but his devotion has intensifi ed during the past few months.

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