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Background: Requiring individuals to obtain medical clearance to exercise prior to participation in physical activity interventions is common. The impact this has on the socio-demographic characteristic profiles of participants who end up participating in the intervention is not clear., Methods: As part of the multi-component eligibility screening for inclusion in a three-arm randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of a web-based physical activity intervention, individuals interested in participating were required to complete the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). The PAR-Q identified individuals as having lower or higher risk. Higher-risk individuals were required to obtain medical exercise clearance prior to enrolment. Comparisons of the socio-demographic characteristics of the lower- and higher-risk individuals were performed using t tests and chi-square tests (p = 0.05)., Results: A total of 1244 individuals expressed interest in participating, and 432 were enrolled without needing to undergo further screening. Of the 251 individuals required to obtain medical clearance, 148 received clearance, 15 did not receive clearance and 88 did not return any form of clearance. A total of 105 individuals were enrolled after obtaining clearance, and the most frequent reason for being required to seek clearance was for using blood pressure/heart condition medication. Higher-risk individuals were significantly older, had a higher body mass index and engaged in more sedentary behaviour than lower-risk individuals., Conclusions: Use of more inclusive participant screening protocols that maintain high levels of participant safety are encouraged. Allowing individuals to obtain medical clearance to participate can result in including a more diverse population likely to benefit most from participation., Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( ACTRN12611000157976 ). Registered on 9 February 2011.

Issue Addressed: Firefighting is physically and mentally taxing and recruits are expected to have optimal health and fitness. However, physical fitness tends to decline following initial training, placing firefighters at an increased risk for stress and injury. Efforts are needed to engage and support firefighters in maintaining adequate health and fitness to withstand the rigorous demands of their occupation. This study examined the feasibility of TARP, a pragmatic strength and conditioning intervention for metropolitan‐based firefighters, delivered in collaboration with a professional National Rugby League club. Methods: A mixed‐methods approach was utilised to examine program implementation, recruitment and sample characteristics, intervention satisfaction and acceptability, and participants' response to the intervention. Evaluation measures included field notes taken during steering committee meetings, participant flow data, baseline and follow‐up outcome measures, self‐report questionnaires, and telephone interviews with a sample of participants. Results: Participants (N = 113) were predominantly men (82%) with a mean age of 43 ± 9.3 years and BMI of 26.6 ± 2.9 kg/m2. Program satisfaction was high (95% very satisfied or somewhat satisfied) among program completers (42% retention). Key strengths of the program included delivery through the professional sports club, quality of facilities and equipment, and scheduling flexibility. Future programs should consider incorporating education or training to support behaviour change maintenance and strategies to retain participants at follow‐up. Conclusions: Results provide valuable insights into the design and delivery of interventions for firefighters and demonstrate the importance of strong partnerships between community stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular physical activity supports children's physical and psychological health and wellbeing, and provides opportunities to build social and emotional skills such as resilience, confidence, and self-efficacy. Research has demonstrated that mass participant sporting events can serve as important social and environmental correlates of physical activity. This study sought to explore parents and children's perceived motivations and perspectives of participation in the Australian Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon (a non-competitive triathlon series), on children's health and well-being. An exploratory qualitative design utilizing seven focus groups were conducted with 27 family units including 31 parents and 61 children (age 7–15 years old). Data were recorded, professionally transcribed and then analyzed using thematic analysis. Three overarching themes were identified, including (1) motivations for event and physical activity participation , revealing social interaction, peer support and friendly competition as motivators for participation as well as parents' interest in supporting the development of healthy habits; (2) Perceived physical activity, fitness, and developmental benefits , detailing changes to the types of physical activity children performed as well as opportunities for children to develop physical skills and competencies; and (3) Perceived psychosocial benefits of participation , highlighting opportunities for children to develop and demonstrate independence and autonomy through event participation. Notably, parents and children identified benefits beyond immediate participation including increased family engagement and social support. Mass participant events hold the potential to elicit a range of benefits for children and their families; however, further efforts may be needed to engage less active or disengaged families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the use of diet and the use of exercise for prostate cancer (and/or its treatments’ side effects) by long-term survivors and whether such use is associated with selected socio-demographic, clinical, health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) and psychological factors. Design, setting and participants: Population-based cohort study in New South Wales, Australia of prostate cancer survivors aged <70 years at diagnosis and who returned a 10-year follow-up questionnaire. Methods: Validated instruments assessed patient’s HRQOL and psychological well-being. Poisson regression was used to estimate adjusted relative proportions (RRs) of prostate cancer survivor groups who were currently eating differently (‘using diet’) or exercise differently (‘using exercise’) to help with their prostate cancer. Results: 996 (61.0% of 1634) participants completed the 10-year questionnaire of whom 118 (11.8%; 95%CI[9.8–13.9]) were using diet and 78 (7.8%; 95%CI[6.2–9.5]) were using exercise to help with their prostate cancer. Men were more likely to use diet or use exercise for prostate cancer if they were younger (p-trend = 0.020 for diet, p-trend = 0.045 for exercise), more educated (p-trend<0.001, p-trend = 0.011), support group participants (p-nominal<0.001, p-nominal = 0.005), had higher Gleason score at diagnosis (p-trend<0.001, p-trend = 0.002) and had knowledge of cancer spread (p-nominal = 0.002, p-nominal = 0.001). Use of diet was also associated with receipt of androgen deprivation therapy (RR = 1.59; 95%CI[1.04–2.45]), a greater fear of cancer recurrence (p-trend = 0.010), cognitive avoidance (p-trend = 0.025) and greater perceived control of cancer course (p-trend = 0.014). Use of exercise was also associated with receipt of prostatectomy (RR = 2.02; 95%CI[1.12–3.63]), receipt of androgen deprivation therapy (RR = 2.20; 95%CI[1.34–3.61]) and less satisfaction with medical treatments (p-trend = 0.044). Conclusions: Few long-term prostate cancer survivors use diet or exercise to help with their prostate cancer. Survivors may benefit from counselling on the scientific evidence supporting healthy eating and regular exercise for improving quality-of-life and cancer-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical inactivity is one of the main modifiable risk factors for a range of noncommunicable diseases. Of particular interest are adult males, a hard-to-reach population group for health promotion interventions. The purpose of this review is to provide a critical evaluation of the published health-related physical activity interventions that have targeted adult males. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, CINAHL®, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus™ was conducted for intervention studies published in English, between January 1990 and August 2010. Studies including community-dwelling adult men (⩾18 years), or including both males and females where data on male participants could be extracted and examined, were included in this review. Studies assessing changes in levels of physical activity, physical fitness or changes in biomarkers of disease risk relevant to physical activity (e.g. body weight, waist circumference, lipids, blood pressure) were the primary focus. A total of 14 studies focusing on physical activity only and nine combined physical activity and nutrition studies were also included in this review. Ten of the 14 physical activity only studies and four of the nine combined physical activity and nutrition studies demonstrated significant increases in physical activity outcomes. Face-to-face, group-based and print-based methods were most commonly employed in these interventions. Within each mode of delivery, a number of elements including regular feedback, access to self-monitoring tools, elements of social support, variety in activities and a degree of friendly competition, were revealed as positive inclusions for this population group. Males are generally under-represented in health-promotion interventions and should therefore be targeted specifically, and while results of the included studies are encouraging, there is a lack of intervention studies targeting adult males. Further research into this population group is therefore required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aims of this study were to examine temporal trends in the prevalence of sufficient moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA), high levels of screen time, combined measures of these behaviors and overweight or obesity in Australian adults during the period 2002-2008. Trends over this time period in overweight or obesity within each behavior group (sufficient/insufficient MVPA, high/low screen time and combined behaviors) were also examined. Methods: Data were collected via annually conducted cross-sectional computer-assisted-telephone-interviews (CATI) of adults (n=7908) living in Central Queensland, Australia (2002-2008). Self-reported MVPA, screen time (TV viewing and computer use), and BMI were used to create dichotomous classifications of physical activity (Sufficient MVPA (S-MVPA), Insufficient Physical Activity (I-MVPA)), screen time (High Screen Time (HST), Low Screen Time (LST)), combined behavior categories (S-MVPA/LST, I-MVPA/LST, S-MVPA/HST, I-MVPA/HST) and BMI (Overweight or Obese, Healthy Weight) respectively. Results: The prevalence of S-MVPA, HST, and overweight or obesity increased at approximately the same rate over the study period in the overall sample and females (p?0.05). In the overall sample and in females, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased over the study period in those individuals classified as I-MVPA/HST (p≤0.05). Conclusion: Results provide evidence that while the prevalence of S-MVPA appears to be modestly increasing, the proportion of the population engaging in HST and classified as overweight or obese are increasing at approximately the same rate. These observations highlight the need to increase levels of total physical activity (including light intensity physical activity) and decrease sedentary behavior including screen time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Compared to females, males experience higher rates of chronic disease and mortality, yet few health promotion initiatives are specifically aimed at men. Therefore, the aim of the ManUp Study is to examine the effectiveness of an IT-based intervention to increase the physical activity and nutrition behaviour and literacy in middle-aged males (aged 35-54 years). Method/Design: The study design was a two-arm randomised controlled trial, having an IT-based (applying website and mobile phones) and a print-based intervention arm, to deliver intervention materials and to promote self-monitoring of physical activity and nutrition behaviours. Participants (n = 317) were randomised on a 2:1 ratio in favour of the IT-based intervention arm. Both intervention arms completed assessments at baseline, 3, and 9 months. All participants completed self-report assessments of physical activity, sitting time, nutrition behaviours, physical activity and nutrition literacy, perceived health status and socio-demographic characteristics. A randomly selected sub-sample in the IT-based (n = 61) and print-based (n = 30) intervention arms completed objective measures of height, weight, waist circumference, and physical activity as measured by accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X). The average age of participants in the IT-based and print-based intervention arm was 44.2 and 43.8 years respectively. The majority of participants were employed in professional occupations (IT-based 57.6%, Print-based 54.2%) and were overweight or obese (IT-based 90.8%, Print-based 87.3%). At baseline a lower proportion of participants in the IT-based (70.2%) group agreed that 30 minutes of physical activity each day is enough to improve health compared to the print-based (82.3%) group (p = .026). The IT-based group consumed a significantly lower number of serves of red meat in the previous week, compared to the print-based group (p = .017). No other significant between-group differences were observed at baseline. Discussion: The ManUp Study will examine the effectiveness of an IT-based approach to improve physical activity and nutrition behaviour and literacy. Study outcomes will provide much needed information on the efficacy of this approach in middle aged males, which is important due to the large proportions of males at risk, and the potential reach of IT-based interventions. Trial registration: ACTRN12611000081910 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A close examination of epidemiological data reveals burdens of disease particular to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants, as these individuals adjust to both culture and modernization gaps. Despite theincreased risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, overweight/obesity and cardiovascular disease, individuals from CALD groups are less likely to be proactive in accessing healthcare or undertaking preventative measures to ensure optimal health outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to review literature that outlines the barriers, challenges and enablers of physical activity in CALD groups who have recently migrated to Western society, and to identify key strategies to increase physical activity participation for these individuals. Electronic and manual literature searches were used to identify 57 publications that met the inclusion criteria. Findings from the review indicate that migration to Western societies has a detrimental effect on the health status and health behaviours of CALD groups as they assimilate to their new surroundings, explore different cultures and customs, and embrace a new way of life. In particular, there is evidence that physical inactivity is common in migrant CALD groups, and is a key contributing risk factor to chronic disease for these individuals. Challenges and barriers that limit physical activity participation in CALD groups include: cultural and religious beliefs, issues with social relationships, socioeconomic challenges, environmental barriers, and perceptions of health and injury. Strategies that may assist with overcoming these challenges and barriers consist of the need for cultural sensitivity, the provision of education sessions addressing health behaviours, encouraging participation of individuals from the same culture, exploration of employment situational variables, and the implementation of 'Health Action Zones' in CALD communities. This information will inform and support the development of culturally appropriate programmes designed to positively influence the physical activity behaviours of individuals from CALD populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contrasted the effects of an enhanced group intervention program against a standard group intervention, with specific reference to the influences of group cohesion on changes in health-related physical activity of older adults. Older adults (N = 122) took part in a 12-week intervention with repeated post-intervention follow-up (6 & 12 months) assessing physical activity behaviour and perceptions of group cohesion. Results indicated significant positive change (p < 0.05) across time. but a non-significant difference between groups, for physical activity behaviour. For group cohesion, results indicated a significant negative (p < 0.05) change across time and similar to physical activity behaviour, a nonsignificant difference between the intervention groups. Further research is needed to understand the mechanism that fosters group cohesion in order to develop future interventions aimed at increasing physical activity behaviour and adherence in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]