Distinguishing Starters From Nonstarters in an Employee Physical Activity Incentive Program

Hooper, Jacqueline; Veneziano, Louis

doi:10.1177/109019819502200106

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Improvements in exercise readiness over time are compromised by the experience of stress [124]. Whether stress has a stronger association with adoption or continued participation of an exercise routine/PA programming is undetermined [184, 278, 288]. Indeed, both subjective stress and life events negatively affect adherence to exercise programming [89, 184, 204, 287, 289, 290] and intervention attrition [145], but not all studies agree with this assessment [145, 276].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Stress on Physical Activity and Exercise

2013

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Background Psychological stress and physical activity (PA) are believed to be reciprocally related; however, most research examining the relationship between these constructs is devoted to the study of exercise and/or PA as an instrument to mitigate distress. Objective The aim of this paper was to review the literature investigating the influence of stress on indicators of PA and exercise. Methods A systematic search of Web of Science, Pub-Med, and SPORTDiscus was employed to find all relevant studies focusing on human participants. Search terms included “stress”, “exercise”, and “physical activity”. A rating scale (0–9) modified for this study was utilized to assess the quality of all studies with multiple time points. Results The literature search found 168 studies that examined the influence of stress on PA. Studies varied widely in their theoretical orientation and included perceived stress, distress, life events, job strain, role strain, and work–family conflict but not lifetime cumulative adversity. To more clearly address the question, prospective studies (n = 55) were considered for further review, the majority of which indicated that psychological stress predicts less PA (behavioral inhibition) and/or exercise or more sedentary behavior (76.4 %). Both objective (i.e., life events) and subjective (i.e., distress) measures of stress related to reduced PA. Prospective studies investigating the effects of objective markers of stress nearly all agreed (six of seven studies) that stress has a negative effect on PA. This was true for research examining (a) PA at periods of objectively varying levels of stress (i.e., final examinations vs. a control time point) and (b) chronically stressed populations (e.g., caregivers, parents of children with a cancer diagnosis) that were less likely to be active than controls over time. Studies examining older adults (>50 years), cohorts with both men and women, and larger sample sizes (n > 100) were more likely to show an inverse association. 85.7 % of higher-quality prospective research (≥7 on a 9-point scale) showed the same trend. Interestingly, some prospective studies (18.2 %) report evidence that PA was positively impacted by stress (behavioral activation). This should not be surprising as some individuals utilize exercise to cope with stress. Several other factors may moderate stress and PA relationships, such as stages of change for exercise. Habitually active individuals exercise more in the face of stress, and those in beginning stages exercise less. Consequently, stress may have a differential impact on exercise adoption, maintenance, and relapse. Preliminary evidence suggests that combining stress management programming with exercise interventions may allay stress-related reductions in PA, though rigorous testing of these techniques has yet to be produced. Conclusions Overall, the majority of the literature finds that the experience of stress impairs efforts to be physically active. Future work should center on the development of a theory explaining the...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Stress on Physical Activity and Exercise

2013

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“…Research shows that women are generally more likely to participate in worksite wellness programs than men and, overall, married employees have much higher participation rates than their single co-workers [25]. Other determinants of higher participation rates include: white-collar or secured contract employees [27,28], full-time employees [28,29], older age [26], and small company employees [30]; shift workers [31], lower income, and less education [32] displayed much lower participation rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to participation in a worksite wellness program

et al. 2010

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The purpose of this research was to determine barriers that prevent participation in an employee wellness program, Wellness Wednesdays: "Eat & Meet" About Healthy Living, conducted at East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville, North Carolina. All ECU ARAMARK employees (n = 481) over the age of 18 were eligible to participate in the wellness program. Weekly 30 minute classes, taught by a Registered Dietitian, on various nutrition- and health-related topics were conducted for 10-weeks. Five question knowledge quizzes were administered to participants at the end of each class to determine the comprehension of material presented. Qualitative interviews (n = 19) were conducted with employees (participants and non-participants) and the program organizer after the completion of the 10-week program to identify barriers to program participation. A total of 50 (10.4% of the total number of potential participants) ECU ARAMARK employees, managers, and leadership team directors attended Wellness Wednesdays at least once during the 10-week program. Employees, on average, scored 71-100% on the weekly knowledge quizzes administered at the end of each class. The most common barriers to participation reported included (most often to least often reported): insufficient incentives, inconvenient locations, time limitations, not interested in topics presented, undefined reasons, schedule, marketing, health beliefs, and not interested in the program. Results showed that employee wellness programs can be effective in increasing knowledge of employees on nutrition- and health-related topics. However, program planning that addresses identified barriers including insufficient incentives, inconvenient locations, and time limitations may facilitate higher participation in future worksite wellness opportunities.

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“…Research on regular aerobic exercise supports evidence of weight control, decreased resting heart rate and blood pressure, and increased cardiovascular endurance (Hooper & Veneziano, 1995;Paffenbarger et al, 1993). Regular exercise prevents and controls a variety of medical conditions and diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and osteoporosis (Bouchard & Shephard, 1994;Helmrich, Ragland, & Leung, 1991;Lee, Paffenbarger, & Hsieh, 1991).…”

Section: Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Evaluation of Individually Tailored Interventions on Exercise Adherence

Keele-Smith

León

2003

West J Nurs Res

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This study's purpose was to test the effects of a reversal theory-driven individualized exercise prescription on exercise consistency, weight, percentage body fat, and exercise motivation for a group of faculty, students, and staff at a southwestern university. Participants were randomly assigned to 5-week education plus monitoring or monitoring-only treatment groups. The hypothesis was that participants in the education plus monitoring group would have more consistent exercisers, higher exercise motivation scores, and greater overall weight loss and decrease in percentage of body fat than would those in the monitoring-only group. Consistent exercisers will score higher than inconsistent exercisers on exercise motivation scores. More participants were exercising at recommended levels in the education plus monitoring group than in the monitoring-only group after the study intervention. Consistent exercisers had significantly higher motivation scores than did inconsistent exercisers. Thus, individualized exercise prescriptions using reversal theory can be beneficial in promoting a consistent exercise program.

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Distinguishing Starters From Nonstarters in an Employee Physical Activity Incentive Program

Cited by 16 publications

References 36 publications

The Effects of Stress on Physical Activity and Exercise

The Effects of Stress on Physical Activity and Exercise

Barriers to participation in a worksite wellness program

Evaluation of Individually Tailored Interventions on Exercise Adherence

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