Physical activity declines from childhood to adolescence. Affective factors may partially account for this decline. The present study investigated whether within-person changes in children’s enjoyment of physical activity are associated with the age-related decline in physical activity. Children (N = 169, 54% female, 56% Hispanic; 8–12 years old at enrollment) took part in a longitudinal study with six assessment waves across 3 years. At each wave, enjoyment of physical activity was reported, and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was measured with an accelerometer across seven consecutive days. MVPA and enjoyment of physical activity both declined across waves. Multilevel analyses revealed that within-person changes in enjoyment moderated the effects of age on within-person changes in MVPA. Enjoyment appeared to be a dynamic factor that buffered against the age-related decline in physical activity in youth. These findings call for health promotion interventions that encourage enjoyable physical activities.
Objective: Negative affect in daily life is linked to poorer mental and physical health. Activity could serve as an effective, low-cost intervention to improve affect. However, few prior studies have assessed physical activity and affect in everyday life, limiting the ecological validity of prior findings. This study investigates whether daily activity is associated with negative and positive evening affect in young adults.Design: Young adults (N = 189, Mdn = 23.00) participated in an intensive longitudinal study over 10 consecutive days.Main Outcome Measures: Participants wore accelerometers to objectively assess moderate-to-vigorous physical activity continuously throughout the day and reported their affect in time-stamped online evening diaries before going to sleep.Results: On days when participants engaged in more activity than usual, they reported not only less depressed and angry evening affect but also more vigor and serenity in the evening.Conclusion: Young adults showed both less negative and more positive affect on days with more activity. Physical activity is a promising health promotion strategy for physical and mental well-being. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 Introduction How we feel is crucial for mental and physical health. Transient and subjective episodes of feelings that can be easily changed by context constitute affect (Cranford et al., 2006). Negative affect (e.g., depressed, angry, and anxious affect) in everyday life is associated with poorer mental and physical health (Charles, Piazza, Mogle, Sliwinski, & Almeida, 2013; Kiecolt-Glaser, McGuire, Robles, & Glaser, 2002). Positive affect (e.g., vigor, serenity) in everyday life is associated with, for instance, longevity (Diener & Chan, 2011).Short-term fluctuations in negative and positive affect from day to day or within days are a common phenomenon (Eid & Diener, 1999). In addition, during early adulthood (between 20 and 30 years of age), negative affect is reported more frequently (Stone, Schwartz, Broderick, & Deaton, 2010) and positive affect is lower than in later adulthood (Carstensen et al., 2011). Because of the association between affect in everyday life and health, this age group is the focus of the present study. Identifying processes that may help young adults improve their everyday affective experiences is important for both individuals (e.g., to improve health and well-being) and for society (e.g., to reduce health care costs) and may have benefits for health promotion. Prior studies on the association between physical activity and affectPhysical activity is "any bodily movement […] healthy samples: Conn, 2010). Importantly, the intensity and frequency of physical activity seem to moderate the effect on affect (Dunn, Trivedi, & O'Neal, 2001).Engaging regularly in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity has been linked to...
Background Executive functions are pivotal for future academic and social functioning. Causal effects of physical activity on executive functions have been shown in adults. The primary objective of this study was to test the proof-of-concept (i.e., feasibility of implementation and acceptance) of a motor coordination intervention and a sedentary control condition in kindergartners and its preliminary effectiveness on subsequent executive function performance. Methods The study used a two-group post-test only design. All children aged between 4 and 7 years old were eligible. One hundred and three children (46% girls; age: M = 5.71 years, 95% CI = 5.50 to 5.92) recruited in a middle-sized town in Germany were randomly assigned to a 20-min motor coordination intervention (n = 51) or a sedentary control condition (n = 52), both of which were conducted in a one-on-one experimenter-child setting in the university or kindergarten. A second blinded-to-condition experimenter assessed the executive function outcomes directly following the conditions. Proof-of-concept criteria were the implementation of the intervention with a moderate-to-vigorous physical activity level assessed via heart rate sensors, and with motor coordination demands, analyzed via video recordings; children’s acceptance via self-reported enjoyment of the conditions; and the post-assessments of executive functions with a behavioral and computerized task. Results The motor coordination intervention and the control condition were feasible in a one-on-one setting with kindergartners. The intervention revealed heart rate increases and challenging motor coordination tasks. Children in both conditions indicated they enjoy them. Performance in the two executive function tasks did not differ between children in the motor coordination intervention and the control condition. Conclusions A one-on-one experimenter-child setting was feasible to deliver in kindergartners. Future intervention studies should consider pre-testing of executive functions and take into account children’s characteristics as potential moderators, such as motor coordination skills.
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