Variety of Physical Activity in Normal to Overweight Adults Who Are Regularly Active

Many individuals, particularly those who are obese, are inactive and increasing physical activity continues to be a challenge, thus, developing strategies that assist individuals in engaging and sustaining high levels of physical activity is imperative.1,2 Incorporating a variety of activities into a physical activity program is a strategy that may be promising for increasing physical activity levels.3 Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that individuals who reported engaging in a variety of activities (i.e., walking + other leisure-time activities) were more likely to meet national physical activity recommendations compared to those who reported no variety (i.e., only walking).4 In another study, the investigators found that overweight participants in an 18-month behavioral lifestyle intervention who reported physical activity variety (i.e., ≥ 2 activities) at 6 months had higher self-reported physical activity-related energy expenditure and a lower body mass index (BMI) at 18 months than those who reported no physical activity variety (i.e., only 1 activity).5 Additionally, the investigators have also found that performing a variety of activities is related to greater engagement in objectively measured moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity in both successful weight loss maintainers and normal weight individuals.6 Based on the literature available, it appears that increasing the number of activities in a physical activity regimen can assist with increasing engagement of physical activity. However, physical activity variety has primarily been examined by summing the number of different activities a person engages in (i.e., walking + other leisure-time activities). Other environmental factors, including location, visual and auditory stimuli, and the number and types of people engaging in physical activity in close proximity, may impact on the degree of variety of differing physical activities that people engage in. Thus, the purpose of this study is to collect more information about physical activity variety.

Specific Aims:

Specific Aim 1. To determine the average minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity participants engage in.

Specific Aim 2. To determine if environmental factors influence the degree of variety of physical activities that participants engage in.

Specific Aim 3. To determine if the average number of minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity increases as the variety of physical activities increases.