American journal of preventive medicine
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Obesity is a substantial problem in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). VHA developed and disseminated the MOVE! Weight Management Program for Veterans to its medical facilities but implementation of the program has been variable. ⋯ The use of a standard curriculum delivered with a group care-delivery format is an essential feature of successful VHA facility MOVE! Weight Management Programs, but alone does not guarantee success. Program development and policy will be used to ensure dissemination of the best practices identified in this evaluation.
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Excessive alcohol consumption causes premature death (average of 79,000 deaths annually); increased disease and injury; property damage from fire and motor vehicle crashes; alcohol-related crime; and lost productivity. However, its economic cost has not been assessed for the U.S. since 1998. ⋯ On a per capita basis, the economic impact of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. is approximately $746 per person, most of which is attributable to binge drinking. Evidence-based strategies for reducing excessive drinking should be widely implemented.
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The use of GPS devices in health research is increasingly popular. There are currently no best-practice guidelines for collecting, processing, and analyzing GPS data. The standardization of data collection and processing procedures will improve data quality, allow more-meaningful comparisons across studies and populations, and advance this field more rapidly. ⋯ This paper highlights the benefits of collecting GPS data over traditional self-report or estimated exposure measures. Information presented here will allow researchers to make an informed decision about incorporating this readily available technology into their studies. This work reflects the state of the art in 2011.
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Field tests measuring the same construct, in this case, aerobic capacity, use different scales, which makes fitness assessment of children and youth potentially confusing. The Primary Field Test Centered Equating Method has been developed to set tests on the same scale, as illustrated by the conversion of Progressive Aerobic Capacity Endurance Run (PACER) scores to 1-mile run/walk times to estimate VO(2)max. ⋯ The Primary Field Test Centered Equating Method performs as well or better in estimating VO(2)max as several other models using PACER scores, especially for boys, and thus may be successfully used in practice. More research is needed to understand the relatively low prediction and classification accuracy in girls.
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Research examining the association between environmental attributes and physical activity among youth is growing. An updated review of literature is needed to summarize the current evidence base, and to inform policies and environmental interventions to promote active lifestyles among young people. ⋯ Mode of measurement greatly influenced the consistency of associations between environmental attributes and youth physical activity. For both children and adolescents, the most consistent associations involved objectively measured environmental attributes and reported physical activity. The most supported correlates for children were walkability, traffic speed/volume, access/proximity to recreation facilities, land-use mix, and residential density. The most supported correlates for adolescents were land-use mix and residential density. These findings support several recommendations for policy and environmental change from such groups as the IOM and National Physical Activity Plan.