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Promoting physical activity soon after treatment for childhood cancer may benefit health because sedentary lifestyle during curative therapy may perpetuate physical and emotional complications. The primary goals of this study are to evaluate the effects of a 6-month web-based, rewards-based physical activity intervention on fitness, biomarkers of cardiometabolic health, inflammation, adipokine status, quality of life and school attendance, and determine if effect of intervention on markers of cardiometabolic health is mediated by changes in fitness. The primary outcome of interest is fitness (physiological cost index, six-minute walk test) measured at end of intervention.This ongoing study is a two-arm, prospective, randomized design with accrual goals of 192 children for intervention and control groups. Children ≥8 years and 16 years of age, not meeting recommended levels of physical activity, who completed therapy within the past 12 months are eligible. Both groups receive: 1) educational materials encouraging physical activity, 2) activity monitor, 3) access to web-based interface designed to motivate physical activity, 4) rewards based on physical activity levels, and 5) access to their activity data on the web-interface. Those randomized to intervention: 1) can view others' activity and interact with other participants, and 2) receive rewards based on physical activity levels throughout the intervention (vs. at the end of the intervention for control group).Unique, scalable, and portable physical activity interventions that motivate young survivors are needed. This study will inform future web-based physical activity interventions for children with cancer by demonstrating effects of rewards and social interaction.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03223753; COG Identifier: ALTE1631.

Aim: Few studies have addressed impact of participation in exercise programs on caregivers or family members of individuals with disabilities.Purpose: To evaluate the impact of interaction rich wel...

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with loss of motor control and difficulty exercising. This study measured skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity and endurance in individuals with and without PD using novel non-invasive methods. We hypothesized that individuals with PD will have decreased mitochondrial capacity, reduced oxygen recovery, and decreased endurance compared to controls. Methods: Eight participants with PD and nine healthy controls were tested. Mitochondrial capacity was measured as the rate of recovery of muscle metabolism after electrical stimulation using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and repeated short arterial occlusions. Oxygen recovery was measured as the half time of recovery of oxygen levels after 5 minutes of ischemia. Muscle endurance was determined from changes in twitch contraction acceleration during electrical stimulation at 2, 4, and 6 Hz. Results: Mitochondrial capacity was lower in individuals with PD compared to controls (1.5±0.1min-1 vs. 1.7±0.1min-1, p=0.02). Individuals with PD had slower oxygen recovery after ischemia compared to controls (8.9±2.3s vs. 5.4±0.8s, p=0.01). Endurance was not different between groups at 6 Hz (PD vs controls: 58±23% vs. 69±16%, p=0.34). The effect sizes for mitochondrial capacity and oxygen recovery were large (Cohen's d >0.8). The Cohen's d for endurance was 1.11. Conclusion: Individuals with PD had slight impairments in mitochondrial capacity and blood flow but did not have reduced muscle endurance. While our study suggests that muscle metabolic dysfunction may play a minor role in exercise intolerance in people with PD, it demonstrates the use of noninvasive technologies to evaluate muscle function in people with neurological disorders.

Background: For individuals with disabilities, adherence and participation in wellness programs is a challenge. Adherence and participation were explored in a wellness class for people with disabilities. Objective: Understand what factors impact participant adherence and participation in the wellness class. Methods: Eight wellness class participants, who have been in the class for 6 to 36 months, were chosen for qualitative interviews. Interview responses were coded and analyzed for overarching themes. Results: A total of 77 codes were obtained from interview data. The primary theme identified from the codes was related to social interaction with the student-trainers, divided into subthemes of social accountability, motivation, supporting classroom environment, and participant-student interaction. Conclusion: The primary factor influencing adherence and participation was related to social interaction with student-trainers. These results suggest that social interaction can play a major role in continued participation in exercise as well as exercise adherence.