Search Results

Recall of physical activity is a known problem affecting all forms of self-report. Participants age 8–16 years contributed to 16 focus groups and 24 interviews based on cognitive interviewing (n = 8) and think-aloud (n = 8) and general probing (n = 8) techniques. When unassisted, participants readily described physical activity mode but gave vague descriptions of daily activities. In contrast, the close detail of frequency, intensity, and duration of these activities was only more fully developed through prompting. Talk-based methods can provide considerable insight into developing more reliable and valid physical activity self-reports.

An ecological model of motor behavior presented by Davis and Burton (12) suggests that the qualitative and quantitative aspects of motor behavior for all persons emerge from three sets of constraints: performer, environmental, and task. The involvement and performance of movement activities by children with physical impairments may be optimized by carefully manipulating one or more of these three types of constraints, and by recognizing and accepting that the optimal movement patterns used by these children with unique performer constraints may differ from those exhibited by other children.

This study compared aerobic, cardiac, and ventilatory changes in 11 premenarcheal girls ages 9–13 years with those of 13 women ages 20–31 during 40 min of steady-load cycling at an intensity of 63% VO₂max. Forty-five percent of the girls were cycling above their ventilatory anaerobic threshold, compared to 77% of the women. Between 10 and 40 min of exercise, mean VO₂ increased 8.6% (SD = 3.8) and 8.3% (SD = 6.3) in the girls and women, respectively (p > .05), with no significant differences in rise in body temperature. Pattern and magnitude of ventilatory drift (increased V_E and respiratory rate with fall in tidal volume) were similar in the two groups. Likewise, the rise in cardiac output and heart rate (with no change in stroke volume) was not significantly different in the two groups. These findings indicate that physiological responses to prolonged aerobic exercise are both quantitatively and qualitatively similar in girls and young women.

In adults, maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂max) serves as a useful indicator of cardiopulmonary reserve as well as performance in endurance exercise events. Whether VO₂max can be interpreted in the same manner in children is less certain, since maximal oxygen uptake per kg body weight remains essentially stable during the growing years while endurance performance improves dramatically. Gains in ability in endurance events may be achieved through improved submaximal exercise economy, qualitative changes in oxygen delivery not indicated by VO₂max, or the development of nonaerobic factors (speed, strength). Maximal oxygen uptake in children may therefore be a less valid indicator of cardiopulmonary function, endurance capacity, and response to training than in adult subjects.

Youth encounter physical activity barriers, often called problems. The purpose of problem solving is to generate solutions to overcome the barriers. Enhancing problem-solving ability may enable youth to be more physically active. Therefore, a method for reliably assessing physical activity problem-solving ability is needed. The purpose of this research was to report the development and initial validation of the physical activity problem-solving inventory for adolescents (PAPSIA). Qualitative and quantitative procedures were used. The social problem-solving inventory for adolescents guided the development of the PAPSIA scale. Youth (14- to 17-year-olds) were recruited using standard procedures, such as distributing flyers in the community and to organizations likely to be attended by adolescents. Cognitive interviews were conducted in person. Adolescents completed pen and paper versions of the questionnaire and/or scales assessing social desirability, self-reported physical activity, and physical activity self-efficacy. An expert panel review, cognitive interviews, and a pilot study (n = 129) established content validity. Construct, concurrent, and predictive validity were also established (n = 520 youth). PAPSIA is a promising measure for assessing youth physical activity problem-solving ability. Future research will assess its validity with objectively measured physical activity.

The first objective was to review and analyze self-reported measures used for assessing mode and frequency of commuting to and from school in youngsters (4–18.5 years old). The secondary objective was to conduct a qualitative appraisal of the identified studies. We searched five online databases: PubMed, SportDiscus, ProQuest, National Transportation Library, and Web of Knowledge. Four categories of search terms were identified: self-report, active transportation, school-aged children and school. Titles and abstracts were reviewed to determine whether the studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the reporting of the measures was assessed using a tailored list. The electronic search strategy produced 5,898 studies. After applying the inclusion criteria, we identified 158 studies. Sixty-three studies (39.8%) specified the question about modes of commuting to school. One hundred seven studies (67.7%) directly questioned the study subjects (i.e., children and/or adolescents). Twenty studies (12.7%) posed a valid and reliable question. The quality assessment of the self-report measures was medium. The self-report measures used in the literature for assessing commuting to school tend to be heterogeneous and make difficult interstudies comparisons. Therefore we put forward the idea of a standard question designed to elicit reliable, comparable information on commuting to school.

This study examined the influence of maturation on the oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) in healthy male subjects. Seventy-six healthy male subjects (8–27 yr) were divided into groups based on maturation status: prepubertal (PP), midpubertal (MP), late-pubertal (LP), and young-adult (YA) males. Puberty status was determined by physical examination. Subjects performed a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine OUES. Group differences were assessed using a one-way ANOVA. OUES values (VO₂L·min¹/log₁₀V_EL·min⁻¹) were lower in PP and MP compared with LP and YA (p < .05). When OUES was expressed relative to body mass (VO₂mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹/log₁₀V_EmL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) differences between groups reversed whereby PP and MP had higher mass relative OUES values compared with LP and YA (p < .05). Adjusting OUES by measures of body mass failed to eliminate differences across maturational groups. This suggests that qualitative factors, perhaps related to oxidative metabolism, account for the responses observed in this study.