Ac King

Stanford University | SU · Stanford Prevention Research Center

This study examined the feasibility and effectiveness for increasing physical activity of a print-based intervention, and a print- plus telephone-mediated intervention among mid-life and older Australian adults. A randomised controlled trial study design was used. In mid-2002, 66 adults (18 men, 48 women) aged 45–78 years, who identified themselves...

As new multifaceted programs are developed to facilitate increased physical activity in older adults, it is increasingly important to understand how useful various program components are in achieving program goals. On concluding a community-based physical-activity-promotion program, 80 older adults (M= 74 years) completed a helpfulness survey of 12...

Health-promotion programs' success depends on their ability to enroll representative samples of the target population, particularly those who are hard to reach and those who can benefit the most from such programs. This article evaluates enrollment bias in the recruitment process, examines the usefulness of a 2-phased recruitment strategy in enroll...

This study examined gender differences in cardiovascular responses to laboratory-based stress, as well as in ambulatory hemodynamic (i.e., blood pressure and heart rate) functioning among caregivers of persons with dementia. Participants were 25 men and 25 women caregivers, matched on age, type of care recipient's dementia, and relationship to the...

Despite well-known benefits of physical activity for older adults, about two thirds are underactive. Community-based programs are needed to facilitate increased physical activity. We examine the effectiveness of CHAMPS II, an inclusive, choice-based physical activity promotion program to increase lifetime physical activity levels of seniors. CHAMPS...

Purpose: To assess stage of readiness to exercise and readiness to be physically active in a national survey of women aged 40 yr and over from various racial/ethnic groups (the U.S. Women's Determinants Study). Method: The prevalence of each stage was determined and compared across race/ethnicity. In addition, the level of misclassification between...

The present study examined, prospectively and within the context of stress experienced in the natural environment, whether situational control served as a mediator between perceived social support and caregiver's mood. Data came from baseline assessments of individuals participating in health promotion interventions for women caregivers. Participan...

The purpose of this study was to examine whether change in satisfaction with physical function (SF), satisfaction with physical appearance (SA), and self-efficacy (SE) mediate the effects that increased physical activity has on change in subjective well-being (SWB). Participants in this investigation consisted of 854 men (n = 471) and women (n = 38...

Determinants of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in rural middle aged and older women of diverse racial and ethnic groups are not well understood. This study examined: (1) urban-rural differences in LTPA by sociodemographic factors, (2) urban-rural differences in LTPA determinants, and (3) the pattern of relations between LTPA determinants and...

Associations between psychological functioning and natural killer cell activity (NKA) were examined in 23 older (62.2 ± 7.5 years) family caregivers randomized to a moderate intensity four-month exercise program or to a wait-list control condition. At baseline, although NKA was related to anger-control (r = -.42; trend p < .06) and anger-out (r = ....

Environmental and policy approaches to promote physical activity, such as walking trail construction and promotion, are being widely recommended, yet sparse data exist on their effectiveness. In conjunction with ongoing community-intervention projects in Missouri, walking trails are being built, promoted, and evaluated. Objectives include determini...

This study describes the patterns of physical activity among minority women by using a variety of definitions and determines sociodemographic and behavioral correlates of physical activity in this population. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1996 and 1997 among US women 40 years and older (n = 2912) of the following racial/ethnic groups: Af...

Although inactivity is an important contributor to impaired functioning and disability with age, little is known concerning how improvements in physical functioning and well-being in older adults vary with the type of physical activity undertaken. One hundred three adults age 65 years and older, recruited via population-based methods, were randomiz...

Physical activity interventions are most effective when they are tailored to individual preferences. This study examined preferences for exercising on one's own with some instruction vs. in a class in 1,820 middle- aged and 1,485 older adults. Overall, 69% of middle-aged and 67% of older adults preferred to exercise on their own with some instructi...

This study explored the prevalence of and factors associated with physician suggestions to exercise in a sample of older adults. We conducted telephone interviews of a random sample of members of two Medicare health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in Northern California. Participants were 893 community-dwelling older adults of whom 63% were women,...

Providing care to a family member with dementia has significant psychological and physical consequences. Sleep quality is likely affected by caregiving, yet this domain has received surprisingly little empirical study. In this study, sleep complaints were examined in 90 older women who were family caregivers of adults with dementia. Caregivers repo...

Key informant surveys are important tools for planning and evaluating community health programs. A survey was conducted to gather views on policies toward physical activity from four sets of key informants: physicians, church leaders, business leaders and civic leaders. Surveys were mailed to 797 key informants who were selected from 12 southeaster...

Data on chronic disease risk behaviors and related variables, including barriers to and attitudes toward physical activity, are lacking for women of some racial&sol;ethnic groups. A test-retest study was conducted from July 1996 through June 1997 among US women ( n &equals; 199) aged 40 years or more who were white, black, American Indian&sol;Alask...

An earlier study reported on the development of a scale to measure feeling states during acute bouts of exercise: the Exercise-induced Feeling Inventory (EFI-A). The present study reports on the psychometric properties of a revised scale to assess responses to habitual or chronic physical activity: the EFI-C. The EFI-C was administered during basel...

Although many of the chronic conditions plaguing older populations are preventable through appropriate lifestyle interventions such as regular physical activity, persons in this age group represent the most sedentary segment of the adult population. The purpose of the current paper was to provide a critical selected review of the scientific literat...

Few physical activity research studies have been conducted with minority women. The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of physical activity among minority women. Focus groups were conducted with volunteers older than age 40. Each group was led by a trained moderator familiar with the ethnic community targeted. The sessions were audiotape...

Counseling by health care providers has the potential to increase physical activity in sedentary patients, yet few studies have tested interventions for physical activity counseling delivered in health care settings. The Activity Counseling Trial (ACT) is a 5-yr randomized clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of two primary care, practice-based...

The Activity Counseling Trial (ACT) is a multicenter, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to promote physical activity in the primary health care setting. ACT has recruited, evaluated, and randomized 874 men and women 35-75 yr of age who are patients of primary care physicians. Participants were assigned to on...

3024 residents of 12 rural Missouri counties were interviewed by telephone to measure their support for policies supporting physical activity. The majority supported zoning regulations to promote exercise (85%), use of local funds for exercise facilities (77%), employers providing time to exercise during work (58%), mandatory physical education (95...

To investigate the relationships among self-efficacy, changes in self-efficacy, past exercise participation, future exercise adherence, and exercise program format. Two-year randomized trial involving subjects (n = 63) participating in an aerobic exercise program. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three exercise conditions: higher-intensity...

Employees of San Mateo County were invited to participate in a 1-year stress management program. The 81 volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three groups. All three groups completed a Job Content Survey at baseline and 1 year and a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) at baseline, 6 months and, 1 year. The 'materials plus phone' group also received m...

To determine the effects of moderate-intensity exercise training on self-rated (subjective) sleep quality among healthy, sedentary older adults reporting moderate sleep complaints. Randomized controlled trial of 16 weeks' duration. General community. Volunteer sample of 29 women and 14 men (of 67 eligible subjects) aged 50 to 76 years who were sede...

Most community-based physical activity interventions for older adults prescribe class-based activities that may not appeal to everyone. This paper describes physical activity format preferences in a sample of 98 older adults (mean age = 76 ± 8 years) enrolled in an exercise promotion program encouraging participation in class-based activities offer...

An accumulation of international scientific evidence indicates that physical inactivity is detrimental to health and that moderate levels of physical activity confer significant health benefits. Unfortunately, in countries where major surveys of physical activity have been conducted, the prevalence of sedentary behaviour has been found to be as hig...

This article investigates the extent to which a proactive two-phased recruitment approach resulted in recruitment of a representative sample of older adults from two lower income congregate housing facilities into a physical activity promotion program. Enrollees were similar to nonenrollees with respect to education, gender, marital status, race/et...

The majority of Americans remain inactive despite evidence of significant health benefits from even moderately intense activity. Previous intervention efforts have generally focused on changing individual behavior. This article discusses the use of policy, legislative and regulatory, and environmental interventions in promoting physical activity to...

Although exercise parameters such as intensity and format have been shown to influence exercise participation rates and physiological outcomes in the short term, few data are available evaluating their longer-term effects. The study objective was to determine the 2-year effects of differing intensities and formats of endurance exercise on exercise...

This paper describes the support mechanisms of a 6-month program designed to increase the physical activity levels of older adults in congregate housing facilities and in the community at large. It also reports participant ratings of perceived helpfulness of the various mechanisms to determine the relative value of these mechanisms to enrollees att...

OBJECTIVE--To encourage increased participation in physical activity among Americans of all ages by issuing a public health recommendation on the types and amounts of physical activity needed for health promotion and disease prevention. PARTICIPANTS--A planning committee of five scientists was established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prev...

Objective: To encourage increased participation in physical activity among Americans of all ages by issuing a public health recommendation on the types and amounts of physical activity needed for health promotion and disease prevention. Participants: A planning committee of five scientists was established by the Centers for Disease Control and P...

Examines types of social support that best predicts adherence at different time points during a 1-year endurance exercise program in 269 women and men ages 50 to 65 years. Results indicate that social support had similar effects on exercise participation for women and men, and support specific to exercise was a better predictor of exercise adherenc...

Although the informal caregiving role is associated with a range of stressors that are both chronic and severe, little is known concerning the acute physical and psychological effects of caregiving in the natural setting. This study evaluated the hemodynamic and psychological responses of five women identified as family caregivers who also worked o...

Two questionnaire formats for assessing alcohol consumption in a community sample were compared. Subjects completed the Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire and a questionnaire specifically targeting alcohol use. Across all alcoholic beverages, subjects reported lower consumption on the alcohol questionnaire than on the food frequency que...

Health-related quality of life was evaluated in relation to endurance exercise over the prior year for 194 previously sedentary, healthy men and women aged 50–65 using a posttest-only design. Three exercise regimens were studied that varied in format (class-based vs home-based) and intensity (higher vs lower). In all regimens, subjects who particip...

To determine predictors of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and triglyceride (TG) concentrations in postmenopausal women. Cross-sectional study. Clinical research facility. One hundred twenty-seven healthy, relatively sedentary, postmenopausal women not on estrogen replacement, mean age 57 years. Alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, aerobic...

Reports an error in the original article by A. C. King et al ( Health Psychology, 1993[Jul], Vol 12[4], 292–300). On page 295, the significance levels for Table 1 were left out. A corrected version of Table 1 is presented. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1993-47465-001 .) The 12-mo effects of exercise training...

The intervention strategies that have been applied in the physical activity area show promise in enhancing physical activity participation, particularly in the short-term. However, most systematic study has occurred on personal and interpersonal levels of intervention, with variable effect sizes reported. Few studies have evaluated the specific eff...

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a six month aerobic exercise training regimen on cardiovascular responsivity to mental arithmetic in healthy middle-aged men and women. Subjects were randomly assigned to a moderate intensity exercise intervention or to an assessment-only control group. Before and after the intervention subj...

Low plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration is a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) and is frequently associated with high triglyceride concentration. Both of these abnormalities have been related to insulin resistance as estimated by plasma insulin concentrations and to measures of obesity, regional adiposity, and...

--To determine the effectiveness of group- vs home-based exercise training of higher and lower intensities among healthy, sedentary older adults. --Year-long randomized, controlled trial comparing (1) higher-intensity group-based exercise training; (2) higher-intensity home-based exercise training; (3) lower-intensity home-based exercise training;...

While worksite exercise programs offer a number of potential advantages with respect to increasing physical activity levels in American adults, typical participation rates remain relatively low. The purpose of this study was to explore employee preferences and needs related to physical activity programming in a major work setting in northern Califo...

The effect of a minimal intervention strategy on maintenance of weight lost through either energy restriction alone or exercise alone during the previous year was studied in a sample of middle-aged men. At the end of the initial year of weight loss, dieters (n = 44) and exercisers (n = 46) were randomly assigned to either an intervention condition,...

Although a variety of psychological benefits have been attributed to regular exercise, few experimentally controlled studies of healthy individuals currently exist. One hundred twenty healthy, sedentary, middle-aged men and women were randomly assigned to either a 6-month home-based aerobic exercise training program or to an assessment-only control...

We examined the immediate and long-term effects of a school-based, behaviorally focused dietary change program for tenth-graders. Our behavioral change objectives included increased consumption of complex carbohydrates and decreased intake of saturated fats, sugar, and salt, particularly in the form of snack foods. We randomly assigned tenth-grade...

The present study examined the effectiveness of a community-based smoking contest in helping 500 smokers maintain three months postcontest and one year postcontest abstinence. The majority were chronic smokers with a limited number of previous quit attempts. The three- and 12-month postcontest quit rates were 19 per cent and 15 per cent, respective...