John C Spence

University of Alberta | UAlberta · Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation

Parental support is the critical family-level variable linked to child physical activity (PA), yet the antecedents of support are poorly understood, and its relationship with intention is modest. The purpose of this study was to apply a framework designed to evaluate the intention-behavior gap, known as multiprocess action control (M-PAC), to under...

Parental support has been established as the critical family-level variable linked to child physical activity with encouragement, logistical support, and parent-child co-activity as key support behaviors. This study aims to model these parental support behaviors as well as family demographics as mediators of mothers' perceptions of child physical a...

Introduction: Exercise training within the Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) context is considered the most effective strategy to reduce Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) symptoms. However, participation in PR and continuing exercise training following program completion is low. Previous research has examined factors related to attendance an...

RÉSUMÉ Cette étude a identifié les facteurs qui influencent la participation à l’activité physique (AP) chez les adultes âgés de milieu rural en Nouvelle-Écosse, et a étudié comment le contexte rural peut influer sur la participation et la promotion de l’AP. Les données ont été recueillies au moyen d’entrevues semi-structurées individuelles avec 2...

The built and natural environment can facilitate (un)healthy behaviors in adolescence. However, most previous studies have focused on examining associations between singular aspects of the environment. This study examined the association between the mixture of health‐promoting and health‐constraining environmental features in a Healthy Location Ind...

Objectives In chronic diseases, there have been issues with low levels of participant adherence and retention during well‐supported lifestyle behaviour change interventional studies. Theoretically informed, the objective was to explore the types of challenges participants are experiencing to inform future designs. Design We conducted an explorator...

Background : Social climate refers to the general feelings, norms, and opinions in a society and may be affected by experiences of discrimination. This study examined whether experiences of discrimination are associated with the social climate of physical (in)activity and support for policies addressing dual benefits of physical activity (PA) and c...

Canada is unique in that it has established four national strategies in support of sport, physical activity, and/or recreation (SPAR). Though some of these strategies identify potential social and environmental correlates of SPAR, and articulate societal outcomes such as changes in behaviour and health, there are no explicit links to larger global...

Background The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of physical activity research and the comprehensiveness of national physical activity policies and surveillance systems in Canada. Methods A systematic review was conducted by the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA! ) on physical activity and health publications between 1...

Background : Given the emergence of climate change and health risks, this review examined potential relationships between varying indicators of climate change, movement behaviors (ie, physical activity [PA], sedentary behavior, and sleep), and health. Methods : Seven databases were searched in March 2020, April 2023, and April 2024. To be included,...

To inform future learning opportunities, we performed a scoping review to identify competencies relevant to physical activity (PA) specialists in supporting the PA and mental health of people experiencing mental health concerns. CINAHL, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus databases were searched up to June 22, 2022, for research studies and commentaries. Per...

Background Weather and season are determinants of physical activity. Therefore, it is important to ensure built environments are designed to mitigate negative impacts of weather and season on pedestrians to prevent these losses. This scoping review aims to identify built environment audits of pedestrian environments developed for use during a speci...

Physical activity program interventions often lack sensitivity to the needs of older immigrant adults. The objective of this systematic realist review is to explain how, why, for whom, and under which circumstances community group-based physical activity programs work for immigrant older adults. The initial program theory was developed using prior...

A scoping review was conducted to synthesize the literature examining impact of the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC) on the physical activity (PA) of Canadian children. Specifically, we posed two research questions seeking evidence for: (1) equitable take-up (e.g., claiming, use) of the CFTC by Canadian families; and (2) effectiveness of the CF...

Background Nutrition and exercise are the mainstay of therapy for the prevention and treatment of frailty in cirrhosis. This pilot study assessed feasibility of the online delivery of an app-based semi-supervised nutrition and exercise intervention in this population. Methods The 11-week pilot recruited adults with cirrhosis who owned internet-con...

Background Insufficient physical activity, high screen time, and unhealthy dietary patterns among adolescents may have worsened during the pandemic, but data are lacking. This study compared physical activity, screen time and fruit and vegetable intake in adolescents from Dunedin, New Zealand, 5–6 years before (Study 1) and during (Study 2) the COV...

Background: Calls to action addressing the interconnections between physical (in)activity and the climate crisis are increasing. The current study aimed to investigate public support for policy actions that potentially have co-benefits for physical activity promotion and climate change mitigation. Methods: In 2023, a survey through the Angus Rei...

Social-ecological models suggest that a strategy for increasing population physical activity participation is to reconstruct the “social climate” through changing social norms and beliefs about physical activity (PA). In this study, we assessed whether the PA social climate in Canada has changed over a five-year period after controlling for sociode...

Background Weather and season are determinants of physical activity. Therefore, it is important to ensure built environments are designed to mitigate negative impacts of weather and season on pedestrians to prevent these losses. This scoping review aims to identify built environment audits of pedestrian environments developed for use during a speci...

Background The ActivityStat hypothesis proposes that an increase or decrease in physical activity (PA) greater than a certain set point activates behavioural and/or energy compensatory responses to maintain a stable level of total energy expenditure. Few studies have tested this hypothesis in children and even fewer have focused on young children....

Background and Aims: People with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) experience high rates of mental distress and fatigue despite standard of care therapy. We aimed to assess the impact of an online mind-body intervention on these symptoms. Methods: This 12-week RCT used sequential mixed-methods evaluation. Alongside standard of care, participants...

Objectives: To examine public support for active transportation (AT) policies and to identify demographic and behavioural predictors of support for each policy approach.Methods: Canadian adults aged 18 years and older (N = 2,868) provided information on demographic factors (e.g., age, income), place of residence (e.g., region, size of community), a...

Background Persons with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) experience significantly higher rates of mental distress and impaired health related quality of life (HrQoL) than the general population. Given limited evidence, but a high need, our primary aim was to assess feasibility and acceptability of a 12-week, online, mind–body wellness program in p...

Youth with congenital heart disease (CHD) have reduced exercise capacity via various physical and psychosocial mechanisms. In addition to limited physiologic exercise capacity, these patients experience lower levels of physical activity (PA), PA self-efficacy, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and endothelial function. The study of exercise in...

This study explores how the built environment can support and challenge a bubble strategy designed to protect older adults from virus transmission while at the same time allowing them maintain their physical and social activities during COVID-19. We conducted a case study of older adults in an independent-living building and the surrounding neighbo...

Paediatric heart transplant recipients (HTRs) have reduced exercise capacity, physical activity (PA), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and self-efficacy towards PA. Exercise interventions have demonstrated improvements in exercise capacity and functional status in adult HTRs, with a specific emerging interest in the role of high-intensity in...

Objectives: To present the best and most up-to-date evidence on associations between built environment (BE) attributes and overall and specific domains of physical activity (PA) (i.e., leisure, transport, walking, and cycling) in older adults (≥60 years). Methods: An umbrella review was undertaken to compile evidence from systematic reviews using t...

Background: Physical activity (PA) is an important contributor to the health of Canadians. However, the extent that PA is included in family medicine residents' education is largely unknown. This study surveyed curriculum experts in Canadian family medicine residency programs to understand what residents learn about PA and to what extent this varie...

Youth homelessness is at an all-time high in Canada and is a complex social issue. The vast majority of interventions and research focuses on addressing the immediate needs of people experiencing homelessness, such as housing, harm reduction (due to substance use, violence, and crime) food security, and illness. The important role that recreation,...

Objectives: To synthesize the current available evidence on the changes in food intake and food selection after physical relocation in non-refugee populations. Methods: The inclusion criteria were studies with a measurement of food selection and/or food intake in non-refugee populations where physical relocation had occurred with self-reported or o...

Background Pedometer-facilitated interventions encourage physical activity via the accumulation of steps. Mixed evidence suggests that neighborhood walkability might influence the effectiveness of physical activity interventions, including pedometer-facilitated interventions. Our study investigated the moderating effect of neighborhood walkability...

Background: Walking and cycling to school have been extensively studied in urban settings, whereas data from rural areas remain sparse. This study examined perceptions of walking and cycling to school amongst adolescents living within 4.8 km of school in rural New Zealand. Methods: Adolescents (n=62; 53.2% females; 15.6±1.5 years; five schools) res...

Background: Neighborhoods are one setting to promote children's physical activity. This study examined associations between neighborhood features and children's physical activity and whether season or socioeconomic status modified these associations. Methods: Parents (n = 641) of children aged 6-10 years completed the Neighborhood Environment Wa...

Background The importance of all movement behaviours (i.e., sleep, sedentary behaviour, and physical activity) for children's health has led to the creation of national and international 24-h movement behaviour guidelines for children. Few studies have examined the associations between guideline adherence and a broad array of health indicators in e...

The importance of integrated movement behaviours (MB, i.e., physical activity [PA], sedentary behaviour, and sleep) and their interdependence for health has been recently discussed in the literature. The proposition that the amount of time spent in any one of these behaviours may impact the amount of time spent in another is supported by the Activi...

Background App-based strategies are a promising solution to deliver nutrition and exercise interventions during social distancing. With limited RCT data in individuals with chronic disease, further information is required both to determine impact, and to guide delivery. The Heal-Me app is an evidence-based, theoretically informed nutrition and exer...

Background: Obesity interventions for parents of children with obesity can improve children's weight and health. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated whether a parent-based intervention based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles was superior to a parent-based intervention based on a psychoeducation program (PEP) in improving...

This investigation sought to examine physical activity (PA) as a potential determinant of chronic boredom and associated well-being within the context of COVID-related restrictions. A representative sample of U.K. adults ( N = 1,521) completed a survey on June 1, 2020. Bivariate analyses demonstrated that individuals who met guidelines and maintain...

Background Adolescents perceive different barriers for walking versus cycling to school. This study examined whether adolescents’ perceptions of walking and cycling differ by home-to-school distance. Methods Adolescents (n = 1,401; age: 15.1 ± 1.4 years; 55.1% females) completed an online survey about their school travel and perceptions of walking...

The purpose of this study was to examine the content of physical activity inputs in Canadian family physician electronic medical records. Of 1 225 948 patients aged 18–64 years, a sample of 1535 patients’ charts were reviewed. A minority (n = 148; 9.6%) of patients had at least 1 mention of physical activity at any time. Insufficient information ex...

Lay Summary Primary care providers can deliver tailored advice and support to patients who are overweight or have obesity. The 2020 Canadian Adult Obesity Practice Guideline for primary care providers recommended that patients’ waist circumference (WC) be measured if their height and weight place them in the overweight or Class I obesity category....

Recensement des caractéristiques que les parents jugent pertinentes pour les jeux actifs de leurs enfants, leurs propres loisirs actifs et les activités à pratiquer ensemble. Des parents (N = 145, Mâge = 36,2 ans) ayant des enfants d’âge préscolaire (Mâge = 3,9 ans) habitant à Edmonton, au Canada, ont été recrutés au sein de chacune des circonscrip...

Background In collaboration with building developers, the Housing for Health team is contributing to the design of community-based congregate living facilities to support healthy living in older adults. There may also be opportunities to improve the surrounding neighbourhoods by collaborating with the municipalities where the developments are locat...

This scoping review summarizes the literature about how ambient (outdoor) air pollution impacts movement behaviours (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep), or beliefs about movement behaviours. Of 6552 potential documents, 58 documents and 218 findings were included in the final synthesis. Most studies were from the United States...

Objective To develop and evaluate the reliability of a 24-hour movement behavior questionnaire for physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep for youth in South Korea. Design Mixed-methods study using literature review, expert panels, pilot tests, and test-retest reliability. Setting Seoul and Gyeongg-do, South Korea. Participants A conven...

Daily life has changed for families due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this repeated cross-sectional study was to describe movement behaviours in Canadian children and youth six months into the pandemic (T2; October 2020) compared with the start of the pandemic (T1, April 2020). An online survey was distributed to parents ( N = 1568) of child...

Background: Potential income disparities were examined in the (1) awareness and uptake of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC), and (2) physical activity (PA) of children from families who did and did not claim the credit in Alberta, Canada in 2012 and 2014. Methods: Secondary analyses of 3 cross-sectional data sets of grade 5 students (10-1...

Aim: This study compared accelerometer-measured physical activity (PA) patterns in adolescents living in diverse urban and rural areas of Otago, New Zealand. Method: Participants (n=377; age: 14.9±1.4 years; 66.8% female; 23 schools) completed an online school travel survey, anthropometry and seven-day PA accelerometer assessment. Participants r...

This study examined the associations of parental movement behaviors (MBs; sleep, stationary time, light-intensity physical activity [LPA], and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity [MVPA]) and parent–child proximity with preschool-aged children’s MBs. Parent–child MBs and proximity were assessed with Bluetooth-enabled accelerometers. Pa...

Objective To create a sleep duration classification technique for waist-worn ActiGraph accelerometers in preschool-aged children. Methods Children wore ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers on their right hip for 7 days (24 h/day). Ground truth nap, sleep, and wake were estimated through visual inspection of accelerometer data, guided by sleep log-she...

Objectives This study examined the impact of the COVID‐19 lockdown on the physical activity (PA) of UK adults and potential motivational determinants of such behaviour. Design and methods A survey was conducted with 1,521 UK adults recruited through Prolific.co in early June 2020. Along with demographic information, questions assessed current PA,...

Background Accumulating evidence suggests that the built environment is associated with physical activity. The extent to which the built environment may support adherence to physical activity interventions is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the neighbourhood built environment constrains or facilitates adherence and steps t...

COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social disruption has left many to struggle with changes to routines and feelings of uncertainty as the impact of the virus continues to unfold. Evidence suggests an increase in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress...

Purpose: Sedentary time (ST) and lack of physical activity increase the risk of adverse outcomes for those living with coronary artery disease (CAD). Little is known about how much ST, light physical activity (LPA), and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) that CAD participants not attending cardiac rehabilitation engage in, the locations...

Background: The ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Adults is a knowledge exchange tool representing a synthesis of the literature and data available at the national level. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the results of the inaugural 2019 edition. Methods: Thirteen physical activity indicators, grouped into 4 categories...

Background Despite national-level initiatives to encourage active transport (AT) in New Zealand since 2005, rates of AT have continued to decline in most parts of the country, with negative impacts on health and the environment. This article describes the development of key policy recommendations for increasing AT in New Zealand. The goal was to es...

Background Home-to-school distances and the need for students to be driven to/from school may limit adolescents' physical activity levels. School choice and school zoning policies can influence rates of active transport to/from school, and traffic volumes during school commuting times. This study aimed to quantify the effects of adolescents' enrolm...

Background Movement behaviours (e.g., sleep, sedentary behaviour, and physical activity) in isolation have demonstrated benefits to preschool-aged children’s development. However, little is known on the integrated nature of movement behaviours and their relationship to healthy development in this age range. Thus, the objective of this study was to...

Objective The physical activity (PA) sector has an important role to play within the treatment of mental illness (MI). This review aims to summarize the literature examining healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) perceptions related to the PA sector to: 1) develop an understanding of the potential factors influencing collaboration with the PA sector in t...

Background: Healthy childhood development is fostered through sufficient physical activity (PA; including time outdoors), limiting sedentary behaviours (SB), and adequate sleep; collectively known as movement behaviours. Though the COVID-19 virus outbreak has changed the daily lives of children and youth, it is unknown to what extent related restr...

Background: Healthy child and youth development is fostered through sufficient physical activity (PA; including time outdoors), limiting sedentary behaviours (SB), and adequate sleep; collectively known as movement behaviours. Though the COVID-19 virus outbreak has changed the daily lives of children and youth, it is unknown to what extent related...

Objectives School-based daily physical activity (DPA) policies represent a promising intervention for increasing physical activity levels among children. Between 2005 and 2010, five Canadian provinces adopted and implemented DPA policies. This national case study explored facilitators and challenges to developing, adopting and implementing DPA poli...

Background Parental perceptions towards different modes of transport correlate with adolescents’ mode choice for school trips. Whether parental attitudes differ for walking versus cycling and/or home-to-school distance is unknown. We compared parental perceptions of walking versus cycling to school in adolescents in Dunedin, New Zealand and examine...

Background We evaluated a cohort of 35 children diagnosed with long QT syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy with regard to physical and psychosocial well-being. Material and Methods Patients wore an accelerometer to record their time involve...

The purpose of this project was to examine the experiences of participants enrolled in a fee assistance program for recreation in Mississauga, Canada. Adults living in low income (N = 24) who were registered with ActiveAssist engaged in individual semi-structured interviews and data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Benefits associated...

Objective To propose a new anthropometric index that can be employed to better predict percent body fat (PBF) among young adults and to compare with current anthropometric indices. Design Cross-sectional. Setting All measurements were taken in a controlled laboratory setting in Seoul (South Korea), between 1 December 2015 and 30 June 2016. Parti...

Context This scoping review examines the literature as it relates to autonomous vehicles and impact on movement behavior (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep) or mode choice (e.g., public transit), beliefs about movement behavior or mode choice, or impact on environments that may influence movement behavior or mode choice. Evide...

The purpose of this research was to evaluate a population level mass media campaign using implicit and explicit measures of evaluations and to determine if discrepant or summed evaluations were associated with endorsing campaign objectives: that physical activity can improve relationship-related, mind-related, or body-related outcomes. Participants...