Comparison of pre- and post-intervention levels of physical activity among sedentary Finnish mothers
Date
2010Weldon T. Green and Elizaveta Novoradovskaya, 2012. Comparison of pre- and post-intervention levels of physical activity among sedentary Finnish mothers. Master’s Thesis in Sport and Department of Sport Sciences. University of Jyvaskyla. 39 p.
The 1990’s marked a shift in the academic understanding of health-enhancing physical activity that was different from the exercise-based physical fitness paradigm that ruled public health policy at the time. Since then, lifestyle physical activity has been incorporated into physical activity recommendations worldwide and recognized medically and culturally for its impact on many chronic health conditions. Lifestyle physical activity interventions (LPAI) increase moderate-intensity physical activity and decrease sedentarism. Interventions are mostly developed for big population clusters, like elderly people, children and adolescents, and people with chronic deseases, thus there is a knowledge gap concerning other population groups. In 1998 Dunn, Anderson and Jakicic called for testing LPAI in specific populations, such as mothers with newborns, in order to improve interventions targeting those populations.
This study examines if there is any change in physical activity and sedentary behavior for two groups of stay-at-home (n = 14) and working Finnish mothers (n = 8) after a one year, group based LPAI. The LPAI was conducted by LIKES Foundation of Sport and Health Sciences. The LPAI was a small-group discussion based intervention that covered themes such as time use, social relationships, goal-setting, and barriers to physical activity. The structure of the LPAI was a once-per-month session that began and ended with a round of discussion, with a break for walking and socializing in the middle. Participant preferences for intervention structure and topics was solicited monthly and incorporated into the design.
All mothers in the study but one had returned to work by the post measurement; therefore transitions to work and to motherhood are both well represented in this group. Measures of physical activity were taken via Harmonized European Time Use Survey and ActiGraph GT3X and GT1M accelerometers. The time use surveys were coded using MET values, assigned according to Ainsworth’s (2000) compendium of physical activity. Non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare values within group and a Kruskal-Wallis test with a post hoc Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare values between location and number of children. The aim of this study was to describe the change in physical activity among the intervention groups after a one year LPAI.
Overall there was no increase in physical activity detected. Differences in physical activity at baseline between intervention groups were revealed: working mothers were significantly less active than stay-at-home mothers prior to intervention. The fact that levels of physical activity did not decrease, as is typical during the life transitions to motherhood and returning to work, is promising for future interventions and research in LPAI.
...


Keywords
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
- Pro gradu -tutkielmat [23362]
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Correlates of Sedentary Behaviour in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities : A Systematic Review
Oppewal, Alyt; Hilgenkamp, Thessa I. M.; Elinder, Liselotte Schäfer; Freiberger, Ellen; Rintala, Pauli; Guerra-Balic, Myriam; Giné-Garriga, Maria; Cuesta-Vargas, Antonio; Oviedo, Guillermo R.; Sansano-Nadal, Oriol; Izquierdo-Gómez, Rocio; Einarsson, Ingi; Teittinen, Antti; Melville, Craig A. (MDPI AG, 2018)Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at high risk for high levels of sedentary behaviour. To inform the development of programmes to reduce sedentary behaviour, insight into the correlates is needed. Therefore, ... -
Comparison of Classroom-based Sedentary Time and Physical Activity in Conventional Classrooms and Open Learning Spaces Among Elementary School Students
Hartikainen, Jani; Haapala, Eero A.; Poikkeus,Anna-Maija; Lapinkero, Eero; Pesola, Arto J.; Rantalainen, Timo; Sääkslahti, Arja; Gao, Ying; Finni, Taija (Frontiers Media, 2021)European children and adolescents spend most of their daily life and especially their school hours being sedentary which may increase their risk for chronic non-communicable diseases later in life. After the curriculum ... -
Relationships Between Youth Sports Participation and Mental Health in Young Adulthood Among Finnish Males
Appelqvist-Schmidlechner, Kaija; Vaara, Jani; Häkkinen, Arja; Vasankari, Tommi; Mäkinen, Juha; Mäntysaari, Matti; Kyröläinen, Heikki (Sage Publications, 2018)There is a growing body of evidence that higher level of physical activity is associated with a better state of mental health. Less is known about the relationships between youth competitive sports and mental health in ... -
The effects of mothers’ musical background on sedentary behavior, physical activity, and exercise adherence in their 5-6-years-old children using movement-to-music video program
Tuominen, Pipsa; Raitanen, Jani; Husu, Pauliina; Kujala, Urho; Luoto, Riitta M. (Public Library of Science, 2018)Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine whether mothers’ musical background has an effect on their own and their children’s sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA). The aim was also to assess ... -
The Effectiveness of Physical Activity-Promoting Web- and Mobile-Based Distance Weight Loss Interventions on Body Composition in Rehabilitation Settings : Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-Regression Analysis
Lahtio, Heli; Rintala, Aki; Immonen, Jaakko; Sjögren, Tuulikki (JMIR Publications Inc., 2022)Background: Overweight and obesity are major problems worldwide, and they lead to an increased risk for several diseases. The use of technology in the treatment of obesity is promising, but in the existing literature, ...