Southern Women's Response to a Walking Intervention

Abstract

The need to change the sedentary habits of many American adults is well recognized. Middle-aged women are an important target group for increased physical activity because of certain health risks such as osteoporosis. In the current study, 31 women between the ages of 30 and 60 from high- and low-income groups (high-income >$50,000; low-income <$50,000 per year) took part in a physical activity intervention. The goal was to increase walking activity to a minimum of 90 min per week. Each woman received 16 telephone calls over a 6-month period in which she was asked to reflect upon the benefits of walking, goal setting, restructuring plans, social support, exercise efficacy, relapse prevention, and maintenance. Content analysis revealed a number of themes emerging from intervention conversations. There were differences between races in walking location and walking partners. Furthermore, there were differences between income groups in beliefs about the benefits of walking and social support. Overall, the intervention appeared to provide a basis for women to develop a walking routine. The women were able to reflect upon their walking routine and attempts to begin a walking routine and to identify how each component of the intervention affected their individual daily routine.

Playgroups as a setting for nutrition and physical activity interventions for mothers with young children: exploratory qualitative findings

“…Telephone motivational interviewing used in other studies 11,35,37,38 was not a preferred method of communication for a significant proportion of our mothers. Access to e-mail among our participants was high (91%) and mothers suggested they would like program material to be delivered via email, a method successfully used with mothers in another study.…”

Leisure Time Physical Activity of People with Spinal Cord Injury: Mainly with Clubs of Spinal Cord Injury Patients in Busan-Kyeongnam, Korea

“…For example, it was found out that men are more active than women, and that younger patients are even more physically active. The suggestion has been women are less active because they have less knowledge of physical activities and more fear of outside activities than men 26,27. Similarly, in case of older patients, physical aging and health problems were said to be impediments to the adoption and maintenance of physical exercise activities 28.…”

The Social Ecological Model and Physical Activity in African American Women

“…Mayo (1992) found that support of an exercise partner was the most motivating factor in maintenance of a structured activity program for African American women. Nies, Reisenberg, Chruscial, & Artibee (2003) identified a theme of companionship as a benefit of physical activity; African American women felt that walking as a physical activity enabled them to spend time with friends or family. Walking partners were most often other women, including mothers, daughters, and nieces.…”