跳至主要内容

Walk Your Life to Health—Motivating Young Adolescents to Engage in a Brisk Walking Program

Read full paper at:
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=50280#.VDN2ulfHRK0

Increasing numbers of overweight and obese children resulting from sedentary and abundant lifestyles are a health concern in Hong Kong and other affluent communities around the globe. The importance of physical activity is well documented for health and wellbeing, with sedentary behavior emerging as an independent risk factor for chronic diseases and mortality. In this study, Pender’s Health-Promotion Model informed the development of an intervention program aimed to engage junior high school students in increased physical activity, specifically brisk-walking. The model set out to motivate participants to engage in behaviors to enhance their health across the life span, including developing self-efficacy with regard to brisk walking. The intervention featured four stages. First, participants were provided with information about the benefits and in stage two were trained in the technique of brisk walking. Next they engaged in the brisk walking program and in stage four were encouraged to serve as health ambassadors by introducing brisk walking and its associated benefits to others, thereby exercising peer influence to diffuse the practice of brisk walking more widely among members of the community. Motivational strategies were used as incentives in the program, including the involvement of a popular singing band to award certificates at the completion of the program. This 7-week intervention program including a 4-week brisk walking component was conducted in a high school context with 71 participants. Data were collected to enable paired-sample t-tests to be conducted to statistically analyze the data at pre- and post-intervention. Findings indicate significant differences among the mean Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR), knowledge and attitudes of the participants at pre- and post-intervention. These findings suggest that the intervention was effective as a strategy to reduce sedentary behavior with the concomitant effect of positive shifts in measurable indicators and attitudes.
Cite this paper
Ma, W. , Chung, L. , Fong, C. and Pendergast, D. (2014) Walk Your Life to Health—Motivating Young Adolescents to Engage in a Brisk Walking Program. Health, 6, 2303-2312. doi: 10.4236/health.2014.617265. 
 

[1] Lau, W.C. and Yip, C.Y. (2006) Childhood Obesity in Hong Kong: A Developmental Perspective and Review, 1986-2005. Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness, 4, 67-84.
[2] Schmid, D. and Leitzmann, M. (2013) Television Viewing and Time Spent Sedentary in Relation to Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 106, 1-19.
[3] Ko, T.C., Ozaki, R., Wong, W.K., Kong, P.S., So, W.Y., Tong, C.Y. and Chan, C.N. (2008) The Problem of Obesity Among Adolescents in Hong Kong: A Comparison Using Various Diagnostic Criteria. BMC Pediatrics, 8, 10.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2431-8-10
[4] Chung, L.M.Y., Chung, J.W.Y. and Wong, T.K.S. (2010) Importance of a Balanced Diet on the Physical Fitness Level of School Children Aged 6 - 12. Journal of Child Health Care, 14, 280-295.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1367493510374065
[5] Chung, J.W.Y., Chung, L.M.Y., Wong, F.H.T. and Chen, B. (2009) The Impact of Lifestyle on the Physical Fitness of Primary School Children. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18, 1002-1009.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02420.x
[6] Cheung, C.H., Ip, L.S., Lam, S.T. and Bibby, H. (2007) A Study on Body Weight Perception and Weight Control Behaviours among Adolescents in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Medical Journal, 13, 16-21.
[7] Brownson, R. and Boechmer, T. (2013) Does the Built Environment Influence Physical Activity? Examining the Evidence. TRB Special Report 282, Paper Prepared for the Transportation Research Board and the Institute of Medicine Committee on Physical Activity Occupation, Transportation, Land Use and Sedentary Behaviours.
[8] Pate, R.R., Davis, M.G., Robinson, T.N., Stone, E.J., McKenzie, T.L. and Young, J.C. (2006) Promoting Physical Activity in Children and Youth: A Leadership Role for Schools: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism (Physical Activity Committee) in Collaboration With the Councils on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young and Cardiovascular Nursing. Circulation, 114, 1214-1224.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.177052
[9] Lee, A., Tsang, K.K., Lee, S.H. and To, C.Y. (2000) A “Healthy Schools” Program in Hong Kong: Enhancing Positive Health Behavior for School Children and Teachers. Education for Health, 13, 399-403.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/135762800750059516
[10] Dunton, G.F. and Schneider, M. (2006) Perceived Barriers to Walking for Physical Activity. Preventing Chronic Disease, 3.
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2006/oct/05_0185.htm.
[11] Teerarungsikul, N., Phuphaibul, R., Loveland-Cherry, C.J., Pookboonmee, R., Kijboonchoo, K. and Nityasuddhi, D. (2009) Effectiveness of a Physical Activity Promotion Program on Perceived Self-Efficacy, Physical Activity and Physical Fitness among Thai Adolescent Girls. Thai Journal of Nursing Research, 13, 81-94.
[12] Bandura, A. (1986) Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs.
[13] Bandura, A. (1997) Self-Efficacy. Harvard Mental Health Letter, 13, 4-6.
[14] Tschannen-Moran, M. and Hoy, A.W. (2007) The Differential Antecedents of Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Novice and Experienced Teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 944-956.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.05.003
[15] Ingvarson, L., Meiers, M. and Beavis, A. (2005) Factors Affecting the Impact of Professional Development Programs on Teachers’ Knowledge, Practice, Student Outcomes & Efficacy. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13, 1-28.
[16] Pendergast, D., Main, K., Garvis, S. and Kanasa, H. (2013) Teacher Self-Efficacy and Middle Years Teaching: An Insight into a Unique Cohort of Middle Years Educators. Australian Journal of Middle Schooling, 13, 4-19.
[17] Hills, A.P. and Byrne, N.M. (2006) State of the Science: A Focus on Physical Activity. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 15, 40-48.
[18] Treuth, M.S., Catellier, D.J., Schmitz, K.H., Pate, R.R., Elder, J.P., McMurray, R.G., Blew, R.M., Yang, S. and Webber, L. (2007) Weekend and Weekday Patterns of Physical Activity in Overweight and Normal-Weight Adolescent Girls. Obesity, 15, 1782-1788.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/oby.2007.212
[19] Whitt, M., Kumanyika, S. and Bellamy, S. (2003) Amount and Bouts of Physical Activity in a Sample of African-American Women. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 35, 1887-1893.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/01.MSS.0000093618.60631.C3
[20] Pender, N.J., Murdaugh, C. and Parsons, M.A. (2011) Health Promotion in Nursing Practice. 6th Edition, Pearson, Boston.
[21] Rew, L. (2005) Adolescent Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Theory, Research, and Intervention. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, London.
[22] Guedes, N.G., Moreira, R.P., Cavalcante, T.F., Araujo, T.L.D. and Ximenes, L.B. (2009) Students’ Physical Activity: An Analysis According to Pender’s Health Promotion Model. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 43, 773-780.
[23] Resnicow, K. and Allensworth, D. (1996) Conducting a Comprehensive School Health Program. Journal of School Health, 66, 59-63.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.1996.tb07910.x       eww141007lx
标签：

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

Does Immigration Promote the Investment of the Monopolistic Firm?

In the present paper, we examine the effect of increasing uncertainty of immigrants’ growth on the optimal timing of investment of a firm that has a monopolistic power over the labor market. It is revealed that when the uncertainty of immigrants’ growth is more than a threshold level, increasing uncertainty of immigrants’ growth accelerates the optimal timing of firms’ investment and enhances the economic growth, even if the uncertainty of immigrants’ growth is formulated by the geometric Brownian motion, which is in sharp contrast to the standard result that an increase in the uncertainty postpones the optimal timing. With an increase in the immigrants over the past ten years, workforces in the host countries have been growing significantly to the extent that the immigrants represent 70% of the increase in the workforce in Europe, and 47% in the United States as OECD indicates. In the present paper, we attempted to investigate the effect of increased uncertainty caused by the growi...
发表评论
阅读全文

Education Policy Implementation: A Mechanism for Enhancing Primary Education Development in Zanzibar

Education is one of the fundamental rights of individuals; therefore, the government of a country needs to develop and strengthen educational policy and quality as well as to ensure that everyone has equal access to basic education. The improvement of access and quality of education in the world is becoming as an essential factor in development, whereas the basic education (primary school), is acknowledged as a foundation of the higher educational development for every country. To fulfill this goal, governments introduce several policies and procedures; however, it requires some reforms and participation from the politician, policymakers, and other stakeholders to re-examine educational policy so that it can lead to multiplication and betterment of the reforms. Educational reforms actually focus on accountability. A positive educational development and reform is very challenging and needs more effort and strategy on how to use and utilize the resources effectively as such it can achie...
发表评论
阅读全文