Feelings About Exercise

The Miriam Hospital60 enrolled

Overview

This study seeks to investigate why some individuals exercise more than others by focusing on feelings related to exercise. This two part study first examines whether regular exercisers (n=30) and non-exercisers (n=30) differ in how a 30-minute moderate-intensity exercise bout makes them feel. All participants will walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes on two separate occasions and will be asked to report on how they feel before, during, and after exercise, how they anticipate that exercise will make them feel, and how they remembered feeling during exercise. In addition, after exercise session #2, non-exercisers will be randomized to: 1) a brief intervention focused on providing general information about the physical activity guidelines, or 2) a brief intervention which provides general information about physical activity guidelines, but also focuses on affective responses to physical activity. Non-exercisers will complete an identical, third exercise session approximately 1-week following this intervention. Further, all participants will receive a 12-week, Internet-delivered weight loss program following all exercise visits and physical activity will be assessed before and after the weight loss program.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Physical Activity Obesity

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 60 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18-60 years * BMI between 25.0 and \<40.0 kg/m2 * Either a 'Non-exerciser', defined as reporting exercising at a moderate-intensity for \<30 min/week over the past 6 months and a most recent typical week or an 'exerciser', defined as exercising for ≥150 min/week over the past 6 months and a most recent typical week. Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of any condition that would limit one's ability to exercise (e.g., orthopedic limitations) * History of coronary artery disease (i.e., myocardial infarction or symptoms of angina), stroke, diabetes, or pulmonary disease (e.g., COPD or emphysema). * Currently taking any medication that would alter heart rate (e.g., beta blocker) * Women who are pregnant or nursing * Uncontrolled hypertension (resting blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg) * Exercising \>30 min/week but \<150 min/week (i.e., neither 'non-exerciser' nor 'exerciser') * Use of medications for weight loss, or current participation in another weight loss program * Bariatric surgery

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Pre-exercise Affect (Session 1)

Measured using Feeling Scale (FS) prior to exercise bout. Scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect

Time frame: Prior to exercise

Mean During Exercise Affect (Session 1)

Average during exercise Feeling Scale (FS) score which was assessed every 5 minutes during exercise. Feeling Scale scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect.

Time frame: average score assessed every 5 minutes during exercise, up to 30 minutes

Post-exercise Affect (Session 1)

Feeling Scale (FS) score 15 minutes post-exercise. Feeling Scale scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect.

Time frame: 15 minutes post-exercise

Memory of During Exercise Affect (Session 1) - Calculated as the Difference Between Recalled During Exercise Affect and Actual During Exercise Affect

Calculated as follows: recalled during exercise affect (assessed 7 days post-exercise) minus actual during exercise affect (average of Feeling Scale scores every 5 minutes during exercise). Possible scores for both recalled affect and actual affect range from -5 to +5, where higher numbers indicate more positive affect. A negative change value indicates that participants remembered feeling less positive during exercise than they actually felt.

Time frame: average score assessed every 5 minutes during exercise, up to 30 minutes, and 7 days post-exercise

Memory of Post-exercise Affect (Session 1) - Calculated as the Difference Between Recalled Post-exercise Affect and Actual Post-exercise Affect

Calculated as follows: recalled post-exercise affect (assessed 7 days following exercise session) minus actual post-exercise affect (Feeling Scale score assessed 15 minutes post-exercise). Possible scores for both recalled affect and actual affect range from -5 to +5, where higher numbers indicate more positive affect. A negative change value indicates that participants remembered feeling less positive post-exercise than they actually felt.

Time frame: 15 minutes and 7 days post-exercise

Anticipated During Exercise Affect (Session 2)

How one anticipates that they will feel during exercise session 2 (an exercise session that is identical to exercise session 1).This was assessed prior to exercise session 2 via a 100 mm visual analogue scale (range 1-100) where a higher number indicates more positive affect.

Time frame: prior to exercise session

Secondary Outcomes

Pre-exercise Affect (Session 3)