Unit 3Physiological and Participatory Perspectives Physiological and Participatory Perspectives of Physical Activityof Physical Activity

Chapter 1•National Physical Activity Guidelines & Methods of Assessing Physical Activity

Text Sources

1. Nelson Physical Education VCE Units 3&4: 4th Edition – Malpeli, Horton, Davey and Telford 2006.

2. Live It Up 2: 2nd Edition – Smyth, Brown, Judge, McCallum and Pritchard 2006.

National Physical Activity GuidelinesNational Physical Activity Guidelines & Methods of Assessing Physical Activity

National Physical Activity Guidelines

• The Australian Department of Health and Ageing has produced a set of guidelines on the minimum levels of physical activity required for optimum health and body weight.

• They are not designed for high-level fitness or sports training, but are intended to provide realistic strategies for incorporating physical activity into our daily lives.

Age & Training Principles

Group Frequency Intensity Duration Type of Activity

Child & Youth

7 days Moderate to

Vigorous

60 min+ Weight bearing / impact

Adult Minimum of 5 days

Moderate 30 min All types

Obese 7 Low-moderate

60 min Aerobic

p.6

Domains of Physical Activity

 Domains

Examples

Leisure-time physical activity Various types of activity; different surveys use generic or activity specific questions, and may ask details of activity frequency, duration and intensity.

Gardening and yard work Various definitions, of varied intensities; may range from light-intensity gardening to vigorous chores or digging/moving heavy objects.

Household chores Heterogeneous set of tasks; large gender differences; energy expenditure across tasks not well understood.

Active transport Walking or cycling for transportation.

Occupational physical activity

Diverse occupations, with changes in energy expended in many occupations over recent decades.

Need for and Benefits of Physical Activity National Physical Activity Guidelines & Methods of Assessing Physical Activity

The Need for Physical Activity

Physical activity can be defined as ‘any body movement produced by the skeletal muscles that results in expenditure of energy’.

• Technology has lessened the need for human movement.• It is now much easier to live, work and play as a result of

technology.• However, this reliance has made Australians more sedentary.• Human movement is essential for the health and maintenance of

our bodies.• Sedentary lifestyles account for an estimated 1/3 of all deaths.• The most common deaths include heart disease, colon cancer and

diabetes.• 30 minutes a day of activity has a range of health and social

benefits.

Benefits of Physical Activity

•On average, every minute of walking can extend your life by one and a half to two minutes •A brisk walk can burn up to 300 calories per hour •Physical activity increases your circulation •Boosts energy levels and enhances your mood •Decrease your risk of many health problems including cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, some forms of cancer and mental health conditions.

•Improves your balance and flexibility •Increase muscle and bone strength •Physical activity helps maintain weight control •Improve health outcomes for people who are overweight or obese •Assist in managing diseases (heart disease, diabetes) •Increase the ability of people with certain chronic, disabling conditions to perform activities of daily living

Benefits of Physical Activity

Physical Activity Pyramid

National Physical Activity Guidelines & Methods of Assessing Physical Activity

Physical Activity Pyramid & Ladder

•Educates people about the types of activities required to enhance fitness, health and wellbeing.

•People need to participate in all activities in all levels.

•Like the healthy eating food pyramid, the bottom of the pyramid is activities that we should participate in the most, were as the top is the least.

•Fitness ladder

How Active are Australians?National Physical Activity Guidelines & Methods of Assessing Physical Activity

How Active are We?

•Over 6.5 million Australians are active participants is sports•60% of men and 53% of women successfully achieve the recommended time and frequency to enjoy the benefits of physical activity •However, frequency has declined since 1997.•62% of children participate in sport outside of school hours.•20-25% of children and adolescents are overweight.

•Fewer older people were involved in sport than younger people•Just of 50% of those aged 15-24 were active participants

Adult Participation•57% of adults engage in sufficient physical activity for health benefits.•However adult male participation is decreasing.•Tertiary educated adults more active.

•Retiree participation rates are increasing due to recent health awareness programs.•Most common activities (See table 1.3-1.6)

Data Analysis 1.1 p.9

Data Analysis 1.2 p.14

Data Analysis 1.1 p.115

p.9

Adolescent ParticipationNational Health Survey Findings•23% of adolescents don’t regularly participate in physical activity.•Only one-third of adolescents participate in vigorous activity.•Males more active than females.

•Adolescents are significantly more active during warmer months of the year (See fig 1.5 p.15)

Data Analysis 1.5 p.16

MET (Metabolic equivalent) 3.5ml/kg/min of O2

•Rest 1MET•Moderate activity 3MET•Vigorous activity 6+

Children Participation

ABS findings•62% of children participate in organised sport.•Boys had a higher participation than girls.•Peak participation between 10-12 years of age.•Soccer is the most popular boys sport and netball for girls.

Accelerometer findings•5-6 year old children average four hours of physical activity per day. •10-12 year olds only average 10 minutes.

Tips for keeping kids active

Australian Sports Commission Link

Active After school program

Structured Questions 1.6 p.19

Age and Gender

Sport Participation Rates

Organised Activities

Barriers to ParticipationGender - Greater proportions of males participate in sport and physical activity than females. Females generally have less opportunity and less access to sporting activities.

Socioeconomic Status – Well educated white collar workers are the most physically active Australians.

Income – People with higher incomes can participate in a wider variety of activities and more often.Race – People born in Australia are more active than those who were not. Race is often used as a form of discrimination, thus reducing participation. Geographic Location – Where you live can limit access to facilities and specific sports

Who am I?

Barriers to ParticipationOther Barriers•Lack of time due to other commitments•Lack of fun and enjoyment•Lack of self-motivation•Low self-efficiency•Injury

•Lack of self-management skills•Lack of encouragement and support•Poor coaching•Negative environmental factors

Barriers to Participation

Measuring levels of Physical ActivityNational Physical Activity Guidelines & Methods of Assessing Physical Activity

Measuring Physical Activity among Individuals and Populations

•Measuring the amount of physical activity is a complex procedure.•Information collected needs to address the types of activities, frequency, intensity and duration.•Physical activity covers many domains.

Why measure our levels of activity?•Document how active our population is•Gives feedback on government health programs•An active nation is a healthy nation•Study the factors that influence our participation

Methods of Measuring Physical Activity

Dimensions of Physical Activity

• Frequency – Number of times a person engages in an activity

• Duration – Length of time engaged in an activity

• Intensity – How hard an activity is• Type – Domains• Context – Where you are, when, who with

etc.• Energy – Measured in METs• Expense – Cost in dollars• Reactivity – How much the measure biases

towards the result.

METS, Time and Intensity

Subjective Measures• Examples of subjective (remembering physical

activity done) are self-reported recall measures, diaries and logs. Eg. Active Australia Survey and IPAQ.

Written Report 1.7 p.23

Strengths Weaknesses

Assess multiple domains

Can be quickly administered to large groups

Low reliability and validity

Social biases in answers given

Poor recall skills in children

The Active Australia Survey

Objective Measures Direct Observation

Direct Observation – Involves watching people and noting specific behaviours and activities they are participating in. Commonly used on children while playing.

Advantages•Quantitative and qualitative information•Behaviour observed•Wider variety of information gained•Software available•Used in school and community settingsDisadvantages•Difficult with large populations•Obtrusive and time consuming•Can cause bias

Physical Activity logs/diaries

Advantages Disadvantages

Objective Measures - SOPLAY

System of Observing Play and Leisure in Youth (SOPLAY)•Used to asses groups of people (Commonly school settings).•Uses a time-sampling technique in a given target area.

See table 1.8 p.1.8

See SOPLAY form

SOPLAY Laboratory 1.8 p.27

Measurement Options – Direct Observation

Advantages Disadvantages

Objective Measures – SOFIT and BEACHES

SOFIT (System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time)•Measures physical activity during PE classes•Content and behaviour is observed (See graph)

BEACHES (Behaviours of Eating Activity for Children’s Health Evaluation System)•Measures children’ eating and physical activity patterns at home and at school.

Measurement Options – Direct Observation

Objective Measures HR Monitors

HR monitors measure our hearts response to exercise intensity and energy expenditure.

HR is very useful in the laboratory and in sports training. Is unobtrusive and gives quick data collection.

However, HR is not influenced by intensity alone. There is also a lag between HR change and intensity.

Measurement Options – HR monitors

Advantages Disadvantages

Objective Measures - PedometersAdvantages•Low cost & non-invasive•Easy to use motion sensor•Determine distance travelled on foot•Newer models also measure energy expended and time.•10,000 steps a day is recommended.

Heart foundation planner

Disadvantages•Assess only hip movement•Can’t store data•Unable to record magnitude of the movement•Not useful when comparing different age groups•Energy expenditure based on adult results only.

Laboratory 1.9 & 1.10 p.31

Measurement Options - Pedometers

Advantages Disadvantages

Laboratory 1.9 & 1.10 p.31

Measurement Options - Accelerometers

Advantages

Disadvantages

See fig.1.20 p.32

Objective Measures Doubly Labelled Water

DLW – Used to accurately measure total energy expenditure in field settings.A person is given a known sample of two isotopes (Deuterium and oxygen-18) and a urine sample is given.A fortnight later, another urine sample is given and the level of isotopes is recorded.The greater the difference in isotopic concentrations, the greater the energy expenditure.The method is based on two stable isotopes (naturally occurring compounds) of water found in the body:2H2O (deuterium-labelled water).

– Is lost from the normal body routes via sweat, urine, evaporative losses.

H218O (oxygen-18 labelled water)

– Is lost at a slightly faster rate because in addition to the normal routes of loss it also lost via carbon dioxide production.

The difference between the two isotopes is the rate of carbon dioxide production. The subject is given a dose of the two isotopes orally. The new levels are then measured via a urine sample.The person then returns to normal living for 7-14 days. Then returns to the lab where a final urine test is performed and the difference between the two isotopes is established. Hence the rate of carbon dioxide production is determined.

p.35

Doubly labelled Water

Advantages•Unobtrusive and non invasive.•Accurately measures total energy expenditure related to physical activity over a one or two week period.•Allows for the calculation of VO2 •Can be used with any age group.

Disadvantages•Extremely expensive, around $2000 per person per test.•Doesn’t provide any information relating to activity type, frequency, intensity or duration. •Doesn’t provide any contextual information (settings where someone is being active) about the physical activity behaviour of an individual.

Web Links – Chapter 1•Australian Sports Commission: http://www.ausport.gov.au •Find 30 promotion (Government of WA Department of Health): http://www.find30.com.au •Walking School Bus promotion (UK): http://www.walkingbus.com •Ministry of Health (New Zealand) toolkits: http://www.newhealth.govt.nz •The 10,000 Steps Rockhampton project: http://www.10000steps.org.au/rockhampton/ •Travelsmart Australia: http://www.travelsmart.gov.au •World Health Organisation: http://www.who.int •Heart Foundation Australia: http://www.heartfoundation.com.au •VicHealth (The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation): http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au •Be Active promotion (Government of South Australia): http://www.beactive.com.au •Go For Your Life: http://www.goforyourlife.vic.gov.au •Physical Activity Resources for Health Professionals – Introduction (Centre for disease control and prevention – USA): http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/health_professionals/index.htm •Health Promotion (Public Health Agency of Canada): http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/index.html •Strategic Inter-Governmental Forum on Physical Activity and Health (SIGPAH): http://www.nphp.gov.au/workprog/sigpah/ •Healthy youth (Centre for disease control and prevention (USA): http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/ •America On The Move promotion: http://www.americaonthemove.org •Papers from the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity: http://www.ijbnpa.org/home •Department of health and aging (Australian government): http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/content/home •Building a healthy, active Australia (Australian government): http://www.healthyactive.gov.au •National Public Health Partnership: http://www.nphp.gov.au •Be Active promotion (Government of South Australia): http://www.beactive.com.au •Sport and Recreation Australia: http://www.sport.vic.gov.au

•Australian government physical activity recommendations for children and young people: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-active-recommend.htm •Children’s leisure activities report (Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research – Deakin University): http://www.deakin.edu.au/hbs/cpan/be.php •Australian Sports Commission: http://www.ausport.gov.au •VicHealth (The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation): http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au •Physical Activity Resources for Health Professionals – Introduction (Centre for disease control and prevention (USA): http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/health_professionals/index.htm •Strategic Inter-Governmental Forum on Physical Activity and Health (SIGPAH): http://www.nphp.gov.au/workprog/sigpah/ •Sport and Recreation Australia: http://www.sport.vic.gov.au