title: Men on the move: a pilot program to increase physical activity among African American men.
abstract: Despite the important contribution increasing physical activity levels may play in reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality, there is a paucity of interventions and research indicating how to improve physical activity levels in African American men. Men on the Move was a pilot study to increase African American men's levels of physical activity by improving access to age and ability-appropriate, male-focused physical activity opportunities and facilitating access to social support from male peers. Forty-one African American men ages 35 to 70 enrolled (mean age = 53.8). Groups of 5 to 10 men met once a week with a certified personal trainer for 10 weeks. Each meeting addressed barriers to physical activity, provided men with community resources, and incorporated activities that promoted flexibility, strength, balance, and conditioning. Improvements (p < .05) were detected for the following outcome measures: perceived self-efficacy to sustain physical activity, endurance, overall health status, and stress level. Physiological and fitness outcome measures improved, although not to significant levels. Whereas 40% of the men met the recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity weekly at baseline, 68% of the men met this recommendation by the end of the project. These positive results attest to the feasibility of successfully engaging middle-aged and older African American men in a physical activity intervention, and our findings demonstrate the initial efficacy of this intervention approach. More research is needed that includes a more intensive intervention and one that helps motivate men to be physically active outside of the structured, small-group sessions.
authors.affiliation: 1Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Derek M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.forename: Julie Ober
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Vicki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Johnson-Lawrence
authors.forename: Aisha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Langford
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D010379:Peer Group; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support
keywords: African American men; men’s health; peer social support; physical activity
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