ACSM Updates

[Chris_Shugart]

This is one is pretty interesting:

WITHDRAWAL FROM EXERCISE CAN LEAD TO DEPRESSION

Health professionals should pay attention to negative mood swings

Withdrawal from regular moderate physical activity programs for even two weeks can contribute to feelings of depression and fatigue, according to research presented today at the 52nd American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

A new study found that when individuals who engaged in regular moderate physical activity stopped exercising for even one week, they experienced negative mood changes, especially feelings of fatigue, loss of vigor, and increased tension. After withdrawal from exercise for two weeks, participants felt further fatigued and experienced symptoms of depression and guilt. In addition, decreases in fitness levels were observed after two weeks of no exercise. Those who began the study with highest levels of fitness experienced the greatest loss of fitness level and the greatest feelings of depression.

The study involved 40 adults age 18 to 45. Researchers assigned participants into one of two groups. One group discontinued physical activity programs for two weeks, while the other group continued to exercise as they normally would. Those in the study were evaluated at the beginning of the study, after one week, and again after two weeks.

“After one week we began to see changes, and after two weeks we noted that those who had stopped exercising had significantly higher negative mood scores compared to those who continued with their regular exercise program,” said Ali A. Berlin, M.S., principal investigator of the study.

The participants were evaluated using the Profile of Mood States (POMS), a standard method of assessing mood state. Fitness levels were measured using a bicycle ergometry test. As those in the study experienced more loss of fitness, they experienced more loss in vigor, and felt greater depressive symptoms. Results were similar among men and women.

“We were not looking at elite athletes; the study participants were people who are regularly active at a moderate level ? yet we were able to measure negative results from withdrawal of exercise in just two weeks,” explains Berlin. “What this tells us is that any interruption in a regular fitness routine can have a negative. Given that many adults stop their regular exercise programs for short periods of time due to things such as sports injury or illness, health care professionals need to be aware that as they are treating the injury or illness, the patient may also experience depressive symptoms from exercise withdrawal.”

She also noted that individual who stop their regular outdoor exercising routine due to inclement weather, or time constraints should find an activity to maintain their fitness level, and also continue to get the psychological benefits of regular exercise. “If someone is a regular jogger or bicyclist, and find they cannot do the activity for a short time, they need to do something else like walking until they can resume their preferred activity.”

Berlin and her team hope to do further research to identify specific characteristics that may make some individuals more susceptible than others to mood swings related to exercise withdrawal. They hope this information will enable health care providers to better identify people likely to experience feelings of depression as a result of exercise withdrawal, and be better equipped to address this aspect of patient care.

[Eric_Cressey]

[quote]NateN wrote:
I’d like to hear about this!

Eric Cressey wrote:
Acute Effects Of Exercise Velocity In Resistance Exercise (I was a study subject for this one!)

[/quote]

Ah yes, this was a fun one. Essentially, I did a 1RM testing session for overhead pressing and squats on a souped-up Smith machine at visit 1, and then three follow-up visits. Over these three visits, I trained at either 60% or 80% of 1RM and did as many reps as possible. However, at each percentage, it was either volitional speed or super-slow training (10 seconds up, 10 seconds down). For those who have never done super-slow squats, they royally suck. I squatting for 1 minute, 50 seconds (5.5 reps) with 60% of my 1RM. Take home message: 10-0-10-0 tempos suck (as does super-slow in general).

[Chris_Shugart]

STUDY: WORKERS MORE PRODUCTIVE AFTER EXERCISE

Performance, safety, interpersonal relationships improve

Workers’ quality of work, mental performance and time management were better on days when they exercised, according to research presented today at the 52nd American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

After exercising, study participants returned to work more tolerant of themselves and more forgiving of their colleagues. Their work performance was consistently and significantly higher, as measured by:

•      Ability to manage time demands
  

•      Ability to manage output demands
  

•      Mental and interpersonal performance
  

The gains were widespread, with a minimum of 65 percent of workers improving in all three areas on exercise days.

The study involved 210 workers in England whose employers offered on-site exercise programs – chiefly aerobics classes, but also yoga and stretching. Participants completed questionnaires reflecting the ease of completing tasks using a seven-point scale. This was done on a day when they exercised during the workday and again on days when they did not. They estimated how typical was each day’s workload and provided details about each exercise session. Most of the workers had sedentary jobs; all were involved in voluntary workplace exercise programs and reported feeling confident in their work performance before beginning the study.

“The results are striking,” said lead researcher Jim McKenna, Ph.D. “We weren’t expecting such a strong improvement on productivity linked to exercising. Even more impressive was that these people already thought they were good at their jobs. Participants tracked mood, and as expected, exercising enhanced their mood. However, boosts in productivity were over and above the mood effects; it’s the exercise?or attitude related to exercise?that affects productivity.”

Focus groups confirmed the surprisingly strong effects of workplace exercise. “We expected to hear more about the downside, such as afternoon fatigue,” said McKenna. “But out of 18 themes raised by study participants, 14 were positive. It was almost overwhelming.”

Workplace exercise programs, said McKenna, benefit more than just the workers. “Companies see more productive employees who also work better together. From the public health side, health care costs can be expected to go down for employees who regularly exercise at work. Think of it: fewer sick days, better attendance and more tolerant co-worker relations.”

Next up for McKenna? “We’re planning a program for university employees based on these results. Academics are among the most stressed workers in the United Kingdom. Then we’ll roll it out across other employee groups, and hopefully across the country. The workplace is an ideal setting for promoting physical activity. We can now show more positive outcomes that matter to the employer.”

[Chris_Shugart]

LATE NIGHT EATING A CULPRIT FOR WEIGHT GAIN IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

Eating between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. is a contributing factor to weight gain in college students, according to the results of a study presented today at the 52nd American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn. In a 12-week assessment of college students’ eating habits, researchers found their total energy consumption did not influence weight gain as much as their late-night energy intake.

Two hundred twelve sedentary college students were recruited to participate in the study. Individual energy intake was assessed at random intervals 4 days/week, 2 meals/day for 12 weeks in a university cafeteria. Participants allowed researchers to use picture plate waste methods (digital images to quantify energy intake) and 24-hour recall procedures that used food models and standardized, neutral probing questions. Recalls were performed to assist participants in remembering their food intake outside the cafeteria.

Men and women had about the same weight change. On average, their intake during the “late-night” hours (between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.) was approximately 500 calories, about 20% of their daily energy intake of 2,300 calories.

Over the study period, participants gained an average of 1.1 lbs., which appeared to be mainly the result of energy consumed during late-night hours. In fact, the team’s analysis demonstrated that every 100 calories consumed between 8 pm and 4 am resulted in 0.25 lbs. of weight gain over the 12-week period.

“College students are especially at risk for weight gain, and this information tells us more about their eating habits that helps explain this,” said Gretchen A. Speer, ATC, lead author of the study. “Late-night eating is related to weight gain in this group, so interventions to reduce this behavior may decrease their weight gain. Limiting alcohol and avoiding fast food are two potential strategies.”

[Chris_Shugart]

And from the “No shit, Sherlock” department…

YOUNG STUDENTS REPORT DISTINCT STEREOTYPES ABOUT BODY SHAPE

“Thin and fat” attitudes shaped by ethnicity and gender early on

Middle school students have distinct views on obesity stereotypes and antifat attitudes, and are apt to change their social behavior as a result. A study, presented today at the 52nd American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn., showed teens’ perceptions of body image and attitudes are influenced by gender and ethnicity.

The study involved 176 boys and 141 girls ranging from 11 to 16 years of age. More than half were Hispanic, while 37 percent were Caucasian and 11 percent were African-American. All students completed a questionnaire to assess perceived reasons children and adolescents are fat or obese. A second questionnaire focused on body shape attitudes by presenting the students a thin or fat silhouette with a series of verbal descriptors (e.g., “Has many friends” versus “Has no friends”), and asked students to rate personal characteristics of the figure. Next, behavioral intentions were examined by asking students to indicate whether they would participate in specific activities with the thin versus fat silhouette figures.

• Overall, students reported negative stereotypes for the fat silhouettes, including negative character assessment and poor health.
• Caucasian and Hispanic students had more positive responses toward the thin figures and more negative responses toward the fat figures
• Boys were less willing than girls to spend time socially, academically, or recreationally with a person considered fat
• Caucasian and Hispanic students were less willing than African-American students to spend time socially, academically, or recreationally with a person considered fat

Additionally, 14 percent of Caucasian, 18 percent of Hispanic, and 17 percent of African-American middle school students described themselves as overweight or obese. The top reasons students believed children and adolescents are fat or obese were: (a) they eat too many calories (73%); (b) their parents let them eat junk food (69%); (c) they are lazy, couch potatoes (64%); and (d) they have access to machine dispensed junk food (63%).

“Antifat attitudes and stereotypes develop at a young age,” said Heather Chambliss, Ph.D., lead author. "Teachers, parents, and health professionals need to consider the physical and emotional needs of overweight youth and create enjoyable physical activity opportunities for all children, no matter their size or ability level. We need to teach that it is health, not size, that counts.

[Chris_Shugart]

NEW TOOL ASSESSES BODY IMAGE

Female college students rate their fatness, muscularity

A promising new index can quickly gauge how women’s perceptions of their bodies compares to the ideal, according to research presented today at the 52nd American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

What’s different, say the researchers who developed it, is that the Visual Rating Tool (VRT) looks at muscularity as well as body fat. “Existing testing instruments were inadequate in some ways,” said William J. Ryan, Ph.D., Exercise Physiologist. “We wanted to look at muscularity as well as body fat.” Jennifer Sanftner, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, said “Women have been preoccupied with body fat for a long time. Interest in women’s muscularity is something new.”

Using 24 illustrations for body fat and eight for muscularity, the VRT asks each participant:

Which figure do you think you look like?
Which figure do you feel like most of the time?
Which figure would you most like to look like?
Which figure do you think society wants you to look like?
Which figure do you think men find most attractive?
Which figure do you think women find most attractive?

102 female students at Slippery Rock completed the VRT, the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 and the Multidimensional body Self-Relations Questionnaire. 90 students returned two weeks later to re-take the VRT, which allowed researchers to measure its test-retest reliability.

Researchers found a high degree of correlation between the new VRT and the established testing instruments. Dr. Sanftner said, “With respect to body fat, the figures are highly reliable, particularly when asking ‘What do you look like, and what do you want to look like?’ When it comes to muscularity, the correlations were lower.”

Fluctuations in respondents’ attitudes toward their muscularity didn’t surprise co-researcher Patricia Pierce, Ph.D., Exercise Physiologist. "It depends on how one defines muscularity, she said. “Some women have a stigma against being muscular, while others think ‘I want to be more muscular.’” Further, said Dr. Sanftner, “Muscularity is a more state-dependent issue. Today I may feel muscular after working out. Two weeks from now, I may feel different.”

The VRT can be quickly administered by a clinician or personal trainer and lends itself to testing large numbers of people at one time. Among other uses, it can call attention to risk factors for anorexia or bulimia. “The VRT is not a diagnostic tool for eating disorders or body image disorders,” said Dr. Ryan. “But, it provides information that might indicate a tendency of someone at risk for body-image issues. If the figure they want to look like is very different from what they think they look like, that might indicate a problem that needs professional attention.”

While the VRT was validated using traditional college-age women, researchers say its applicability to other age groups has not been proven. “The VRT is probably applicable to women in their 20s, 30s and 40s,” said Dr. Ryan. “The figures we present are general enough that women in that age range should be able to relate to them. This test may not be applicable to older adults.” High school students, he pointed out, comprise a wide range of development that presents special challenges.

In summing up the research team’s goals in developing the VRT, Ryan said, “We hope to introduce an instrument that has some validity. We’d like other people to use it, try to replicate our research and do other research.”