Sarah J Woodruff

• University of Windsor

This study evaluated a leadership-based physical activity program, Girls Organizing and Learning Sport (GOALS), by assessing changes in health behaviours, physical competence, self-esteem, and leadership. Of the 466 participants who enrolled in the program, 102 (22%) completed a pre-and post-program survey containing questions concerning demographi...

Despite their increasing popularity, especially among young adults, there is a dearth of research examining the effectiveness of digital detoxes focused on restricting or limiting social media use. As such, the purpose of this exploratory study was to create and carry out a social media digital detox among young adults and evaluate its effectivenes...

This study aimed to explore current-day young adults’ experiences with their smartphones and social media and the impacts of their usage on well-being. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed via inferential statistics and content analysis. Results suggest that young adults’ perceptions of their smartphone and social media use...

This study explores relationships between experiences of embodiment and intuitive eating, and with the psychological resources of life satisfaction, affect, optimism, and self-compassion. A central aim is to increase understanding of positive dimensions of embodiment, eating behaviour, and wellbeing beyond a deficit-based framework and is the first...

Smartphone and social media research continue to be plagued by concerns regarding their dependence on self-report measures of usage. Specifically, the extent to which self-report measures of usage reflect actual objective usage continues to be questioned and warrants further investigation. Thus, the purpose of this study was to leverage mobile data...

With increased social media (SM) use, users are becoming frequently more exposed to SM influencers. This study aimed to explore SM influencer aspirations among young adults, specifically investigating the desire and rationale to become a SM influencer. Moreover, aspirations of becoming a SM influencer were explored by perceptions of SM influencers...

Background/Aims: Positive embodiment describes a positive experience of inhabiting one’s body that previous research has begun exploring with relationship to wellbeing. The positive psychology perspective aims to promote flourishing, beyond the prevention of dysfunction. This study is the first to explore relationships among embodiment, mindful sel...

This study explored the dynamics of mother/daughter dyads on social networking sites (SNSs). 40 mother/daughter dyads completed online surveys. Predictor variables included overall SNS use, photo activities, and interaction activities. Outcome variables included Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES), body shape satisfaction scale (BSSS), sociocultural...

This study explored social media (SM) usage amongst young adults. Participants (N = 750) completed an online survey about their usage of/relationship with SM and the sacrifices they would make to remain on SM. Almost half of participants reported checking SM 9+ times/day and more than three-quarters spent 1+ hour/day on SM. SM addiction scores aver...

Social media that caters to societal appearance ideals can be harmful to psychological well-being, particularly within the health/fitness industry. The purpose of this study was to determine whether racial/ethnic diversity, appearance ideal depiction, fitness competency, objectification, and sexualization differed between men and women in fitness a...

The present study aimed to examine the tone and focus of the conversation associated with #childathlete on Instagram. Additionally, the visual content of five child athlete Instagram accounts were analyzed to determine if fitspiration (e.g., exercise, healthy eating, inspiration, showcase strength, and empowerment) or objectification (e.g., emphasi...

Best health practice and policy are derived from research, yet the adoption of research findings into health practice and policy continues to lag. Efforts to close this knowledge-to-action gap can be addressed through knowledge translation, which is composed of knowledge synthesis, dissemination, exchange, and application. Although all components w...

Research provides evidence of take-home effects in school-based nutrition interventions, citing children as important influencers of family nutrition, acting as agents of change in the household and potentially influencing family food consumption. Therefore, the purpose of this randomized control trial was to examine whether implementation of a cen...

A documented disparity exists in media coverage of men and women athletes. Women receive less coverage and much of it focuses on stereotypes instead of athletic performance, undermining women’s sport and status. Social media, like Instagram, are user-generated and more interactive than traditional media and provide a space for alternative narrative...

Purpose: Knowledge is fundamental to helping children make nutritional choices that support lifelong healthy behaviours. This study (i) investigates elementary school children’s knowledge about food and nutrition and (ii) identifies sociodemographic factors influencing children’s reported knowledge. Methods: In 2017–2019, a survey was administered...

(1) Background: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused disruptions in the daily lives of individuals in Canada. Purpose: Examine how total and specific (i.e., watching television, using social media, going on the Internet, playing video games, and engaging in virtual social connection) recreational screen time behaviours changed throughout...

Introduction Cette étude qualitative s’intéresse à la perception qu’ont les enfants de l’influence d’un programme d’alimentation scolaire à approvisionnement centralisé sur leurs comportements alimentaires et à leurs recommandations sur la manière d’améliorer le programme. Méthodologie Les observations de 208 élèves de 9 à 14 ans (de la 5e à la 8e...

Introduction This qualitative study investigates children’s perceptions of the influences of a Centrally Procured School Food Program on their dietary behaviours and their recommendations on how to improve the program. Methods The observations of 208 students aged 9 to 14 years (Grades 5–8) at 21 elementary schools were collected through focus gro...

This study investigated how stress, physical activity and sedentary behaviours, of a small sample of Canadians, changed within the first month (i.e. March/April) of the COVID-19 pandemic and the reasons/barriers associated with such changes. Individuals who regularly wear activity trackers were recruited via social media. Participants (N = 121) com...

The purpose was to create and assess the impact of food literacy curriculum alongside a centrally procured school snack program among grade five students in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Grade five students (N = 287) from five intervention and three controls schools participated in an 8-week food delivery program. In addition to the food delivery p...

Objectives The mother/daughter relationship has been deemed critical for the positive development of self-esteem, body image, and eating behaviors for adolescent girls. As maternal modeling exists offline between mothers and adolescent daughters, a similar influence could be exercised by the fast evolution of digital culture, such as social network...

This paper investigated how traditional media headlines framed the release of Canada's Food Guide (CFG) online in 2019 and how audiences reacted to its release on social media. Titles of online news articles, Facebook comments on news stories, and tweets from Twitter were collected using Meltwater and manual data collection. Leximancer software con...

This mixed methods research study sought to investigate associations among women’s body image, self-esteem, and eating behaviors in the CrossFit environment within 5 affiliates (i.e., gymnasiums). Women (n = 149) completed surveys composed of open- and closed-ended items. Focused ethnographies were conducted at all affiliates. Multiple linear regre...

Objectives #selfharm has been blocked by Instagram, but manoeuvring hashtags (e.g. #selfharn) are beginning to appear in order for secret non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) communities to communicate. The purpose of this study was to (a) determine the nature of the #selfharn conversation on Instagram, (b) analyze common properties of the visual conten...

This study used Instagram to explore the 2016 ESPN: The Magazine’s Body Issue, with a particular focus on the women athletes featured. A two-prong content analysis was utilized for this study. Photo analysis of “ESPN’s Body Issue photos” (i.e., released on ESPN’s website; N = 141) and “ESPN’s Body Issue photos posted on athlete’s Instagram” (i.e.,...

ESPN The Magazine’s The Body Issue positions itself as an inclusive and sport-focused publication. With a focus on gender, the purpose of the current study was to examine the online thoughts and opinions that resulted from #BodyIssue on Instagram. In addition, the Instagram posting activity of ESPN (@espn) and espnW (@espnw) as it pertained to the...

A paucity of research exists on using action research with parents, particularly within the framework of parent education. The current study explores the development phase of a community-academic partnership (CAP) that designed a workshop and interactive toolkit to educate mothers on how to navigate social networking sites. The CAP (N = 10) was com...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the introduction of a fundamental movement skills (FMS) program to grade 4–6 physical education (PE) classes could improve students’ physical literacy (PL) and influence the amount of effort exerted in PE class. Athletics Canada’s grassroots Run Jump Throw Wheel (RJTW) Program was delivered for 10...

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a relatively new phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the #orthorexia conversation on Instagram (using the Netlytic software), and (2) among a random subsample of images (N = 245), analyse the types of images (N = 145) and author biographies (N = 68). Among the 4,533 downloaded records, there were...

Purpose: To examine overall usual fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and preferences among grade 5–8 students participating in the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program (NFVP) over 3 years (2014–2016). Methods: In each year, a survey was administered 4 months into the NFVP in Northern Ontario, Canada. Results: A total of 4744 students participated (201...

The present study aimed to examine the tone and focus of the conversation associated with #childathlete on Instagram. Additionally, the visual content of five child athlete Instagram accounts were analyzed to determine if fitspiration (e.g., exercise, healthy eating, inspiration, showcase strength, and empowerment) or objectification (e.g., emphasi...

The present study aimed to explore the interactions and influences that occurred on Twitter after Joey Julius's (NCAA athlete, Penn State Football) and Mike Marjama's (MLB player, Seattle Mariners) eating-disorder (ED) diagnoses were revealed. Corresponding with the publicizing of each athlete's ED, all publicly tagged Twitter media using @joey_jul...

Objectives To investigate social networking site (SNS) use and frequency, and their potential associations with self-reported general health, mental health, and well-being among the Canadian population using the nationally representative 2013 General Social Survey (GSS). Methods Data were collected via Statistics Canada GSS 2013 (cycle 27). Six se...

Background: The Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) assesses the capacity of children to lead a physically active lifestyle. It is comprised of a battery of standardized assessment protocols that reflect the Canadian consensus definition of physical literacy. The Royal Bank of Canada Learn to Play - Canadian Assessment of Physical Lite...

Background: The associations between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and physical literacy in children are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between CRF, measured using the 20-m shuttle run test (20mSRT), and components of physical literacy among Canadian children aged 8-12 years. Methods: A total of 9393 (49...

Background Physical literacy is the foundation of a physically active lifestyle. Sedentary behaviour displays deleterious associations with important health indicators in children. However, the association between sedentary behaviour and physical literacy is unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify the aspects of physical literacy that ar...

Background: The current physical literacy level of Canadian children is unknown. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Learn to Play - Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) project, which is anchored in the Canadian consensus statement definition of physical literacy, aimed to help establish the current physical literacy level of Canadian child...

Background: Physical literacy is a complex construct influenced by a range of physical, behavioural, affective, and cognitive factors. Researchers are interested in relationships among these constituent factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate how age, gender, and physical competence components of physical literacy relate to a child's...

Abstract Background Quality physical education (PE) contributes to the development of physical literacy among children, yet little is known about how teacher training relates to this development. We assessed the association between teacher training, and the likelihood that children met recommended achievement levels for components of physical liter...

Background: Physical literacy is defined as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, and knowledge and understanding to engage in physical activity for life. Physical literacy knowledge and understanding encompasses movement (how to move), performance (evaluation of movement), and health and fitness (value of exercise, need for relaxation...

Abstract Background Physical literacy is an emerging construct in children’s health promotion, and may impact their lifelong physical activity habits. However, recent data reveal that only a small portion of Canadian children are regularly physically active and/or meet sedentary behaviour guidelines. To our knowledge, no study has investigated the...

Background: The Motivation and Confidence domain questionnaire in the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) was lengthy (36 single items that aggregate to five subscales), and thus burdensome to both participants and practitioners. The purpose of this study was to use factor analysis to refine the Motivation and Confidence domain to be u...

The growth of the digital environment provides tremendous opportunities to revolutionize health behavior change efforts. This paper explores the use of Web-based, mobile, and social media health behavior change interventions and determines whether there is a need for a face-to-face or an in-person component. It is further argued that that although...

The present study aimed to explore using popular technology that people already have/use as a health promotion tool, in a campus wide social media health promotion initiative, entitled #LancerHealth. During a two-week period the university community was asked to share photos on Twitter and Instagram of What does being healthy on campus look like to...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether problematic social networking site (SNS) use (i.e., degree of dependent relationship with SNSs), total SNS time/day, total SNS friends, and specific SNS activities were related to body image (BI), self-esteem (SE), and eating disorder (ED) symptoms/concerns. A sample of young adults (N = 147) complet...

Many social media users rely on photo editing techniques in order to receive more positive attention (i.e., likes/comments) online. This study used a mixed methods approach to conduct a descriptive analysis of #nofilter use by Instagram users. By using #nofilter users are making a point that they did not edit/manipulate their images. Of particular...

The #fitspo ‘tag’ is a recent trend on Instagram, which is used on posts to motivate others towards a healthy lifestyle through exercise/eating habits. This study used a mixed-methods approach consisting of text and network analysis via the Netlytic program (N = 10,000 #fitspo posts), and content analysis of #fitspo images (N = 122) was used to exa...

Purpose: To describe dietary intake associated with intentional weight gain among grade 7 students. Methods: Data were collected using the Waterloo web-based Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (WEB-Q) and measured heights/weights were taken to assess Body Mass Index (BMI). Dietary intake and the Canadian Healthy Eating Index-2009 were compared among...

Recently, public health messaging has included having more family meals and involving young adolescents (YAs) with meal preparation to improve healthful diets and family dinner frequency (FDF). Kinect-Ed, a motivational nutrition education presentation was created to encourage YAs (grades 6–8) to help with meal preparation and ultimately improve FD...

The Bod Pod has been found to be reliable/valid against several criterion methods including hydrostatic weighing, and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, and under different conditions, such as clothing, dehydrated states, and body temperature changes. However, questions remain regarding the effects of an acute bout of exercise. Therefore, the purpos...

Background: Research has shown the positive associations of family meals and diet quality. However, little is known about how other meals/snacks may be associated with family meals. Objective: The purpose was to determine the associations among the frequency and calorie consumption of meals/snacks and family dinners. Design: Cross-sectional. D...

The purpose of this study was to determine the associations among evening snacking (food choices, portion sizes), afterschool–evening screen time, overall diet quality, and weight status. Participants consisted of 1008 young adolescents (secondary analyses, n = 651) from schools in Windsor–Essex, Ontario. The Web-based Food Behaviour Questionnaire,...

Nutrition behaviors of children have been known to track into adulthood [1, 2]; thus, it is important to develop healthy eating attitudes/behaviors at a young age. Health promotion professionals have looked for effective/easy/cost-effective strategies to support healthy eating in children and families. A social ecological perspective to health prom...

researCH speCial interest GrOup (rsiG) abstraCts 89 Objectives Although there are numerous resources avail-able regarding physical activity and strength exercises for the general population, when working with people who have an intellectual disability (ID) these activities must be adapt-ed to meet their specific needs and poten-tial mobility challe...

Objective: The purpose was to examine the associations among body weight status, blood pressure and daily Na intake among grade 7 students from south-western Ontario, Canada. Design: Cross-sectional. Data were collected using the Food Behaviour Questionnaire, including a 24 h diet recall. Measured height and weight were used to determine BMI. Bl...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe family dinner frequency (FDF) by food preparation frequency (prep), self-efficacy for cooking (SE), and food preparation techniques (techniques) among a small sample in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Design: A cross-sectional survey was administered under the supervision of the research team....

Female athletes should aim to achieve energy balance in order to maintain health and have a high performance output. The purpose of this study was to investigate energy availability (EA) among members of a medium sized Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) women's volleyball team, and to describe exercise energy expenditure (ExEE) during practices,...

The family can directly determine the physical and social environment for their children and adolescents which can ultimately influence food behaviors. The family meal, in particular, may provide insight into family food behaviors and potentially influence childhood and adolescent diet quality. Family meals can be used as a learning environment (e....

The purpose of this study was to determine diet quality and physical activity behaviours of grade 6 students by sex and body weight status, and to determine the associations between diet quality and physical activity behaviours. The Web-based Food Behaviour Questionnaire, which included a 24-h diet recall and the modified Physical Activity Question...

Among students, little is known about the physical and social context of eating lunch. The objective of this study was to determine if food intake (including the type of food and beverages and portion sizes) was associated with specific aspects of the physical and social lunch environment (location, with whom lunch was consumed, who prepared the fo...

Schools can be an efficient venue for promoting physical activity (PA) among adolescents. Physical education (PE) requires investigation because it is a variable associated with adolescent PA levels and its existence in schools represents a significant opportunity for strategies to combat declining PA levels among this population. This article exam...

The purpose was to update the Healthy Eating Index-C (HEI-C) with Canada's new food guide recommendations (HEIC-2009) and compare scores and ratings among a small sample of grade 6 students. Updates to the HEI-C were completed with Canada's new food guide recommendations for daily number of servings. HEI-C and HEIC-2009 scores were computed for a s...

Unhealthy eating behaviours may contribute to the rising prevalence of childhood obesity in Canada. The purpose of this study was to describe family dinner frequency (FDF) and its associations with overall diet quality. The sample included grades six (n=372), seven (n=429) and eight (n=487) students from Southern Ontario. Data were collected with t...

To examine energy expenditure (EE) when playing active and inactive videogames (VG). Predicted EE was measured among 51 undergraduate students while playing active and inactive VG (Ontario, Canada). Predicted EE was significantly higher playing the active VG compared to the inactive VG according to heart rate monitor (97.4 kcal vs 64.7 kcal) and Se...

Family dinner frequency has recently been associated in the literature with improved dietary profiles and healthy body weight in children and adolescents. However, it is not known whether family dinners are associated with other commonly reported food behaviors (fast food and soft drink consumption, breakfast skipping, and dieting) and attitudes (b...

Family meals have been associated with improved dietary quality in children and adolescents, and yet very little is known about family meals beyond their frequency. Specific aspects of the breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal environments were described and compared, and the associations with overall diet quality were investigated. Data on food intake...

The objective was to describe weight concerns, dieting, and meal skipping of adolescents and to determine associations with the Healthy Eating Index-C (HEI-C). Data, that were collected using the Food Behaviour Questionnaire, revealed that participants (male=810, female=1016) in grades 9/10 reported weight concerns (n=518), dieting (n=364), and ski...

In 2002/2005, separate energy requirement equations were generated by the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Dietary Reference Intake process for normal weight and overweight/obese children and adolescents. The current paper questions the theoretical rationale of having two sets of equations (based solely on body-weight classification): when body weight...

The purpose of the present paper was to assess dietary energy reporting as a function of sex and weight status among Ontario and Alberta adolescents, using the ratio of energy intake (EI) to estimated BMR (BMRest). Data were collected using the FBQ, a validated web-based dietary assessment tool (including a 24 h dietary recall, FFQ, and food and ph...

Recent concerns about adolescent nutrition and unhealthy weights have prompted an examination of the myriad influences on dietary intake during adolescence. Included here are a summary of the literature on family influence on dietary intake, specifically during adolescence and within the family context, a summary of family meal patterns, and a syst...

The increased prevalence of overweight in Canadian children has stimulated interest in their lifestyle behaviours. The purpose of this research was to investigate dietary intake and food behaviours of Ontario students in grades six, seven, and eight. Males and females from grades six to eight were recruited from a stratified random selection of sch...

The influence of gender on aerobic energy expenditure (EE) during weight training has not been systematically researched. We determined the absolute and relative EE during the performance of two weight training programs of different intensities, durations and total work in males and females. Eight male and seven female recreational weight trainers...

Objectives To evaluate ultrasound’s effectiveness after eccentric-exercise-induced muscle damage. Participants 22 subjects. Intervention Random assignment to ultrasound (UT) or placebo (PT). Ultrasound was applied immediately and 24, 48, and 72 h after 50 maximum eccentric contractions of the biceps. Outcome Measures Concentric and eccentric pea...

The purpose was to develop an index of walking performance and to examine gait pattern classifications of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The San Diego database (Sutherland, Olshen, Biden, & Wyatt, 1988) provided data for our calculation of the index and for determining that the index was able to differentiate between gait...

The purpose was to develop an index of walking performance and to examine gait pattern classifications of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The San Diego database (Sutherland, Olshen, Biden, & Wyatt, 1988) provided data for our calculation of the index and for determining that the index was able to differentiate between gait...

Eating patterns of children and adolescents have changed significantly over the past several decades. Data from the latest US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES IV) suggest that more meals are consumed away from home, portion sizes are larger, consumption of energy-dense convenience foods has increased, beverage consumption pa...