Objective: Brisk walking helps postmenopausal women to maintain body weight and fat mass losses as well cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and to feel better. However, these long-term benefits have not been fully examined. The aims of this study were to compare the effects of a 2-year follow-up with those of a 4-month walking programme on body…

In this study the effects of a 6 week spinning cycling training on the body composition of women were investigated. Twelve sedentary women (32-47 years old) voluntarily participated in this study. The 6-week training program consisted of exercise sessions on 3 days per week. The intensity of the training program that was kept low in the beginning…

Thirty-four volunteer obese housewives, who have not done exercise regularly during the last six months and have had no health problems to prevent them from exercising, have participated in the study. For the participating volunteers (n = 34), their age averages have been determined as (39.30 ± 11.30 years), their average height have been…

"Her Life Depends On It III" is the Women's Sports Foundation's comprehensive report that reviews existing and emerging research on the links between participation in sport and physical activity and the health and wellbeing of American girls and women. As with the previous editions in 2004 and 2009, this study also confirms that physical…

Low-income minority females are disproportionately affected by obesity. The relevance of summer months to weight gain is often overlooked. Some evidence suggests that summer programming, such as day camps, may offer increased opportunities for structured physical activities resulting in less weight gain. This study examined the effectiveness of…

Purpose: To compare 12-year (1997-2008) trends in the distribution of Body Mass Index (BMI) status and physical fitness test performances among 8- to 9-year-old Greek children living in rural and urban areas. Methods: Population data derived from 11 national school-based health surveys conducted from 1997 to 2008. Anthropometric measurements and…

This article offers a brief and personal account of the historical background, implementation and principal findings from the Trois-Rivieres regional project, a large-scale quasi-experimental intervention that tested the impact of providing a daily hour of specialist-taught quality physical education upon the physical and mental development of…

Background: Physical education (PE) can improve physical fitness; however, little research has evaluated PE's long-term influence. The purpose is to determine PE's longitudinal effects on fitness in a group of adolescent girls and to determine whether body mass index (BMI) status influenced any potential effects. Methods: Participants were…

Childhood obesity affects children across all ages and genders. However, Latino children and adolescents are at an increased risk, with one out of three Latino children (ages 2-19) being classified as overweight. Physical inactivity is deemed a major factor contributing to the energy imbalance that leads to excess adiposity. The aims of this study…

This paper makes use of critical discourse analysis and Bourdieu's theoretical framework to explore rural young women's meanings of health and fitness and how the healthism discourse is perpetuated through their experiences in school physical education (PE). The young women's own meanings are explored alongside interview data from their school PE…

Physical performance of Finnish adolescents (33 females, 44 males) with moderate intellectual disability (ID) was studied over a 30-year period. This study is an extension of Lahtinen's previous work on documenting the performance of individuals with intellectual disabilities over time. This study consisted of analyzing data from a total of four…

This population-based 24-year follow-up study evaluated the association of occupational physical activity (OPA) with overweight and mortality in 47,405 men and women, healthy at baseline, and reporting OPA as sedentary (reference), light, moderately heavy, or heavy. The adjusted odds ratio for overweight was slightly less than 1 for all categories…

Compared behavioral counseling with nutrition education. Initial weight losses were similar. Behavioral participants consumed fewer calories but often used diets that were nutritionally unsound. Behavioral treatment appears best for moderate obesity, but procedures are needed for nutrition education, promoting fitness, and teaching independent…

This study was designed to determine if a female physical educator's appearance of body fatness affects 1) the cognitive performance of junior high school students on a test of health-related fitness knowledge, and 2) student attitudes toward the instructor. Ninety-three seventh through ninth grade students from two schools, participated in a…

In 2004, the Women's Sports Foundation published the first edition of "Her Life Depends On It" (Don Sabo, Kathleen E. Miller, Merrill J. Melnick, and Leslie Heywood). At that time, it was clear that evidence-based research confirmed that regular physical activity and sport provides the critical foundation, in no small part, that allows girls and…