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Background: Scant research has examined the determinants of primary exercise dependence symptoms in youth. Study purposes were to examine sex differences across leisure-time exercise behavior, motivation, and primary exercise dependence symptoms in youth and the extent to which exercise behavior and motivation predicted exercise dependence within the Self-Determination Theory framework., Methods: Adolescents (N = 805; mean age = 15 years; 46% girls) completed measures of exercise behavior, motivation, and exercise dependence in health/PE classes., Results: One-way ANOVA revealed boys scored higher than girls on leisure-time exercise behavior, exercise dependence symptoms, and most of the exercise motivation subscales. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated a) sex, exercise behavior, motivation, and their interaction terms explained 39% of the variance in primary exercise dependence; b) Integrated Regulation and Introjected Regulation were important determinants of exercise dependence; and c) sex moderated the contributions of External Regulation for predicting exercise dependence such that boys in the high and low external regulation groups had higher symptoms than girls in the high and low external regulation groups., Conclusions: These preliminary findings support the controlled dimensions of Integrated Regulation (boys, girls), Introjected Regulation (boys, girls), and External Regulation (boys only) are important determinants of primary exercise dependence symptoms.

Background: Research examining women's pregnancy physical activity (PA) behaviors with objective measures is scant. Therefore, 2 studies were conducted to determine the feasibility of pregnant women wearing pedometers and to examine women's self-reported and objectively measured PA behaviors., Methods: Participants were pregnant women (Study 1 N=50, Study 2 N=30) who completed the Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ) and wore a Yamax pedometer for 3 consecutive days during free living at 20- and 32-weeks gestation., Results: As predicted in Study 1, we found (a) 100% participant agreement in wearing the pedometer and (b) LTEQ min and pedometer-determined indices classified 67% to 86% of the participants as insufficiently active at 20-weeks gestation. In Study 2, as hypothesized, (a) mean steps/d, LTEQ total, strenuous, and mild min of PA were positively associated at 20- and 32-weeks gestation; (b) mean steps/d and LTEQ strenuous min significantly declined from 20- to 32-weeks gestation; and (c) more women were classified as sedentary and low active at 32-weeks (73%) compared with 20-weeks gestation (50%)., Conclusions: These findings are consistent with previous epidemiological evidence documenting the decline in women's PA behaviors across the trimesters. They also illustrate that pedometer-determined indices might be a useful tool facilitating PA adoption and maintenance during pregnancy.

Background: Limited research has prospectively examined women's exercise and psychological health behaviors before, during, and after pregnancy., Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between and the extent to which depressive symptoms (DS), body image satisfaction (BIS), and exercise behavior (EB) prospectively explained trimester-specific and postpartum depression., Methods: Participants (N = 230 pregnant women) completed self-reported measures midway through their first, second, and third trimesters and at 6-weeks postpartum from 2005 to 2007. Women were also classified based on current activity guidelines as active and somewhat active to examine the moderating influence of pre-pregnancy EB on the contributions of the study variables for explaining DS., Results: We found that : (a) DS, BIS, and EB were associated across the three pregnancy time points and postpartum, (b) DS and BIS were main determinants of later depression in pregnancy and postpartum, and (c) the moderating influence of pre-pregnancy EB was evident in early pregnancy., Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that DS and BIS are important psychological factors for intervention to improve women's pregnancy and postpartum psychological health and that EB in the pre-pregnancy period may offer women protective effects against DS in early pregnancy.

An Extension-implemented parent-focused childhood obesity intervention designed to improve family functioning around healthful eating and exercise was evaluated. Thirty-six parents and their children, aged 5-13, were randomized to a 12-week intervention condition or control condition. Intervention parents, compared to control group parents, felt more confident in promoting children's healthful eating and exercise, worried less about their children's weight, and engaged in fewer counterproductive parenting behaviors. The children of these parents, as compared to children of control group parents, lost weight and displayed better social-emotional functioning. These results highlight Extension's important role in disseminating evidence-based childhood obesity interventions.

Background: Scant research has examined the determinants of primary exercise dependence symptoms in youth. Study purposes were to examine sex differences across leisure-time exercise behavior, motivation, and primary exercise dependence symptoms in youth and the extent to which exercise behavior and motivation predicted exercise dependence within the Self-Determination Theory framework. Methods: Adolescents (N = 805; mean age = 15 years; 46% girls) completed measures of exercise behavior, motivation, and exercise dependence in health/PE classes. Results: One-way ANOVA revealed boys scored higher than girls on leisure-time exercise behavior, exercise dependence symptoms, and most of the exercise motivation subscales. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated a) sex, exercise behavior, motivation, and their interaction terms explained 39% of the variance in primary exercise dependence; b) Integrated Regulation and Introjected Regulation were important determinants of exercise dependence; and c) sex moderated the contributions of External Regulation for predicting exercise dependence such that boys in the high and low external regulation groups had higher symptoms than girls in the high and low external regulation groups. Conclusions: These preliminary findings support the controlled dimensions of Integrated Regulation (boys, girls), Introjected Regulation (boys, girls), and External Regulation (boys only) are important determinants of primary exercise dependence symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Evaluate effects of a theoretically-based, semi-intensive (Face-to-Face; F2F) exercise intervention and minimum-contact (Home) exercise intervention to the standard care (Control) on exercise, its motivational determinants, blood glucose levels, and insulin use of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Design Randomized control trial with two intervention arms and control (standard care). Method Participants ( N = 65) were randomized to a Control (standard prenatal care/GDM dietary counseling), Home (standard care + phone education/support + home exercise), or F2F (standard care + on-site education/support + guided exercise with instructor on 2 days/week) group from ∼20 weeks gestation to delivery. Assessments of exercise and motivational determinants were obtained at baseline (20-weeks gestation) and follow-up (32-weeks gestation). Blood glucose levels (fasting/postprandial mg/dL) and insulin use were extrapolated from medical records. Results At the 32-week follow-up, the F2F group had significantly higher exercise min, pedometer steps/day, and motivational determinants (attitude, subjective norm, perceived control, intention) than controls ( p 's < 0.05) and significantly higher exercise min and subjective norm than the Home group ( p 's < 0.05); these effect sizes were medium-large (η 2 = 0.11-0.23). There was a medium effect (η 2 = 0.13) on postprandial blood glucose at 36-weeks gestation with the F2F group having lower values than controls. Although not significant, the F2F group started insulin later (33 weeks gestation) than the Home (27 weeks) and Control (31 weeks) groups. Conclusion A theoretically-based, F2F exercise intervention has multiple health benefits and may be the necessary approach for promoting exercise motivation and behavior among GDM women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this study were to extensively review the gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and exercise literature and to provide recommendations for future research. We found (1) that exercise improved glucose utilization, decreased the need for insulin, or increased cardiorespiratory fitness in 62% of the intervention/treatment studies; (2) that pre-pregnancy exercise was associated with GDM risk reduction in 45% of the correlational studies; (3) a greater risk reduction for overweight women in 27% of the correlational studies; and (4) a lack of consistency in reporting study characteristics and outcomes across all study types. Findings illustrate the positive effect of exercise on GDM outcomes, and the need for more consistency in data reporting across studies to systematically determine the protective mechanism and causal pathway of exercise for preventing GDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]