Chapter 6

Activities

1. Bowmore & Wembley International is a (fictitious) company that sells dog food over the Internet. Its sales office has 50 employees who spend long days sitting in front of computer terminals, taking orders, and answering customers’ questions. Because of their sedentary jobs, many employees have started to gain weight and are now concerned about their increasing risk for diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle. The company has hired you to help the employees become more active. Using what you have learned about behavioral and social approaches for increasing physical activity, design an intervention program to help the employees increase their activity levels. Your program should include at least three specific behavioral intervention techniques and three specific social intervention techniques.
2. Diabesityville is a rural community with a population of 10,000 people. The town’s mayor is concerned about the rising rates of obesity and diabetes among her constituents. She knows that the vast majority of the town’s residents are sedentary. The mayor has given you an unlimited budget and the task of getting every man, woman, and child in Diabesityville to become more physically active. Develop an intervention program to increase physical activity in Diabesityville. It should include a community-wide campaign, environmental and social policy approaches, and one other approach of your choosing. Be sure to describe the specific intervention techniques that will be included in your program.
3. Conduct a survey of fitness websites to create a list of tips and techniques that are commonly given to help people become more physically active. Given what you now know about the importance of linking intervention techniques with theory and research-based determinants of physical activity, identify the tips that you think might be most effective and those that will be least effective. Explain the rationale behind your choices.
4. Design an online physical activity information resource for a particular segment of the population (e.g., a cultural or ethnic group, older adults, people with a health condition). Use the information presented in Exhibit 6.2 to tailor the resource to the characteristics and needs of this group.
5. Conduct a literature search to identify a study in which a physical activity intervention has been tested in an experimental setting. Using the RE-AIM framework, determine whether this intervention will be effective in the real world and develop a case for or against its implementation.

Vocabulary

Abstinence violation effect - In behavior change, when a single lapse in behavior causes an individual to give up trying to change a behavior, resulting in a full relapse.

Action planning - Forming concrete plans that specify when, where, and how a person will translate his or her behavioral (e.g., exercise) intentions into action.

Activity log - A self-report measure in which activities are written in notebooks or recorded with a variety of electronic media.

Behavioral approaches - Approaches to physical activity intervention in which one teaches the behavioral management skills necessary for both successful adoption and maintenance of behavior changes.

Behavioral coping strategies - Strategies that involve the development and implementation of overt plans to manage high-risk situations.

Change talk - Statements regarding one’s desires, abilities, and reasons for change.

Cognitive Coping Strategies - The use of nonobservable thought processes—such as self-talk and visualization— to overcome disruptive thoughts and feelings.

Cognitive restructuring - The process of changing how one thinks about a situation or event.

Community-wide campaign - Physical activity interventions that engage different community members and organizations in the development and delivery of information aimed at increasing physical activity.

Cultural tailoring - Adapting or targeting informational interventions to specific cultural groups.

Empathy - The ability to identify with another person and understand his or her feelings.

Environmental and policy approaches - Approaches to physical activity interventions in which one changes the structure of physical and organizational environments to provide safe, attractive, and convenient places for physical activity.

Fitness appraisal - A physical activity intervention designed to provide people with personalized information about their level of fitness.

Goal-setting - The behavioral process whereby a person develops specific strategies that enhance motivation to achieve an objective.

Goal-setting worksheet - A place for exercisers to make a detailed plan for achieving success and to record daily progress notes.

Health risk appraisal - Opportunities provided within the community for people to be screened, without cost, for diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

Implementation intention - The intention to engage in a behavior, developed by creating a strong mental association between a situational cue and a specific behavior.

Informal approach - An approach to physical activity interventions in which one tries to change knowledge and attitudes about the benefits of and opportunities for physical activity.

Lapse - A brief period of inactivity (e.g., a session, a week) that precedes resumption of the regular exercise regimen.

Mass media campaign - A physical activity intervention that reaches people through some medium other than personal contact with a health professional or provider; a means for reaching large numbers of people that is less expensive than face-to-face services.

Motivational interviewing - A counseling technique that provides people with the opportunity to talk about and resolve their mixed feelings so that they can move forward with change.

Point-of-decision prompt - A physical activity intervention that involves placing motivational cues at points where people must choose between physically active and inactive options, e.g., taking the elevator versus walking up the stairs; such messages are effective because they remind people that they are about to have an opportunity to engage in a physical activity.

Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale - A scale used by an individual to rate the intensity of the physical activity in which he or she is engaging.

RE-AIM - A framework (Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) to guide the evaluation of physical activity and other health interventions in the real world.

Self-monitoring - Paying attention to one’s own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and gauging them against a standard.

Self-reinforcement - A reinforcement technique in which individuals grant themselves personally meaningful rewards for progressing toward and achieving their goals.

Self-talk - The statements people make to themselves; these can be used to increase confidence, regulate arousal, and focus effort in order to overcome high-risk situations.

Social approaches - An approach to physical activity interventions involving the creation of social environments that facilitate and enhance behavior change.

Visualization - Seeing and feeling an object or experience in one’s mind.

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