Focus group methodology was used to explore in depth the perceptions of older adults who had participated in a 12-week pedometer-based intervention. Nineteen women and 8 men, ages 55-86 years, volunteered to take part in the focus groups following participation in the intervention. Four focus groups of six to eight participants were scheduled at…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the number of days per week a child participates in physical education class and physical fitness test scores among elementary students. A total of 1,122 boys and 1,129 girls from 31 elementary schools located in the Midwest region of the U.S. took part in the study. The results of…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to apply Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB) and a measure of past physical activity behavior to predict first-year students' physical activity intentions and behavior. Participants and Methods: First-year university students (N = 212) completed measures of TPB variables and past physical activity at…

All teachers can be supportive of children's active play by running, jumping, and playing with them and by reducing the time spent simply standing around "supervising" their play. In this article, the authors describe the benefits of active play and offer some encouragement that will get teachers and their coworkers to run around with children.…

Sports facility planning by the public authorities should be considered to be one of the main policies to have an indirect influence on the aim of ensuring a healthy population, as well as reducing its physical inactivity. Our research aims to study and compare the state of sports infrastructures in the regions of Spain, using a synthetic…

The youth of today are faced with a big problem; they are becoming more obese every day. The time of children playing outside all day and being extremely active has been overtaken by the television and video games. The days of sitting down as a family and eating a good healthy meal has been replaced by the rush to the nearest fast food…

This study examined student health-related fitness (HRF) knowledge and its relationship to physical activity (PA). The participants were undergraduate students from a large U.S. state university. HRF knowledge was assessed using a test consisting of 150 multiple choice items. Differences in HRF knowledge scores by sex, ethnicity, and years in…

The promotion of an active lifestyle is one of the central aims of physical education (PE). The present study aimed at investigating the relation between students' motivation for PE and activity levels using self-determination theory as a guiding framework. A retrospective design was used involving 2617 university students, of which 878 (33.5…

This paper aims to present what is currently known about Indigenous Australians and their engagement in physical activity and to then challenge some of the "taken-for-granted" ways of thinking about promoting or researching physical activity with Indigenous Australians. Major health, education and sport databases, as well as government…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the construct validity of the Self-Efficacy/Social Support for Activity for persons with Intellectual Disability (SE/SS-AID) scales developed by Peterson, Peterson, Lowe, & Nothwehr (2009). A total of 146 participants with intellectual disabilities completed 6 self-efficacy (SE) items and 18 social…

Background: The increased prevalence in recent childhood obesity rates raises concern about youth health and the role that lack of physical activity plays in this trend. A focus on how children today choose to spend their discretionary time is one approach that may yield ideas for how to reduce childhood obesity. The purpose of the present study…

An early 15th century drawing by Leonardo da Vinci depicted a device that used gears and a pendulum that moved in synchronization with the wearer as he or she walked. This is believed to be the early origins of today's physical activity monitoring devices. Today's devices have vastly expanded on da Vinci's ancient concept with a myriad of options…

Because many college students engage in low levels of physical activity, the current study used a qualitative framework to interview 11 college students to examine the meaning physically active college students assign to the practice of fitness and health. Students discussed the importance of healthy eating, but that it was difficult to accomplish…

Physical activity can have a positive impact on health disparities among African Americans. Objective: In this study, we assessed physical activity behaviors and correlates of students of a Historically Black College. Methods: In September 2004, an online survey and pedometers were used to measure physical activity behavior and correlates.…

This systematic review presents research on the physical activity levels of preschool-aged children (aged 2-6 years). Thirty-nine primary studies (published 1986-2007) representing a total of 10,316 participants (5236 male and 5080 female), from seven countries are described and the physical activity behaviors of this population are considered in…