Correlates of adherence to a physical activity program in young African-American girls.
OBJECTIVE
The goal was to identify correlates of adherence to a structured physical activity (PA) program.


METHODS
Subjects were 136 8- to 12-year-old African-American girls. Potential correlates at baseline were: 1) fitness index (FI: % body fat from DXA and cardiovascular fitness from treadmill test), and 2) self-esteem, anxiety, attitude to school and teachers, relationship with parents, and interpersonal relations (Behavioral Assessment System for Children). The 10-month PA program included 80 minutes of PA offered 5 days/wk. Regression tree classification was used to model attendance.


RESULTS
Six splits occurred (34% total variance explained). Less anxious subjects attended more often than highly anxious subjects (3 days/wk vs. 1.5 days/wk) did. Subjects with a healthier FI attended more often than those with a less healthy FI (3 days/wk vs. 0.5 days/wk) did. Younger subjects attended more often than older ones (3 days/wk vs. 2.5 days/wk) did. The next two splits were again with anxiety (3.5 days/wk vs. 3 days/wk) and FI (3 days/wk vs. 2.5 days/wk). Finally, subjects with higher levels of self-esteem attended more often than those with lower levels (3.5 days/wk vs. 2 days/wk) did.


CONCLUSIONS
Subjects who were self-confident, younger, fitter, and less anxious were more likely to participate regularly. This suggests that children who may be more likely to benefit from a PA program are less likely to participate. To enhance participation in PA programs, especially in older African-American girls: 1) psychological concerns should be identified and addressed before enrollment, and 2) programs should be designed to be appealing to children of all fitness levels.
Lemmon
Christian R
CR
Medical College of Georgia, Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, 1120 Fifteenth Street, Augusta, GA 30912-3800, USA. clemmon@mcg.edu
Ludwig
David A
DA
Howe
Cheryl A
CA
Ferguson-Smith
Ayanay
A
Barbeau
Paule
P
D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D002648:Child; D003663:Decision Trees; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000523:psychology