Alice J. Dan

AEROBIC EXERCISE, MATERNAL SELF-ESTEEM, AND PHYSICAL DISCOMFORTS DURING PREGNANCY

This preexperimental study explored the relationships among maternal aerobic exercise, self-esteem, and physical discomforts during pregnancy by comparing groups of exercising and nonexercising pregnant women. The convenience sample was comprised of 31 women who participated in aerobic exercise and 22 women who did not. All subjects, who were at least 27 weeks pregnant, completed three questionnaires: Self-History Form, Pregnancy Discomfort Checklist, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The group of women who exercised had statistically significant higher self-esteem and lower physical discomfort scores than the group of women who did not exercise. Statistically significant lower scores were found in the exercise group for the symptoms of backache, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, and hot flashes. There was a statistically significant inverse relationship between amount of exercise and discomforts reported in the third trimester. These findings suggest that exercise during pregnancy is associated with higher self-esteem and lower discomfort scores. However, interpretation of these findings is limited by a lack of random assignment to groups, which might have resulted in a selection bias.

Psychosocial Factors Influencing Weight Control Behavior of African American Women

The purpose of this descriptive study was to seek directly from college-educated African American women factors which they perceived influenced their individual weight control behavior, and those that influenced African American women collectively. Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted, primarily in their homes, with 36African American women. Thirteen major categories were identified. Six factors that influenced the womens individual weight control behavior were emotions/feelings, beliefs, life events, self-control, discipline, and commitment. Perceived benefits of the behavior and perceived barriers to the behavior were influential in determining the attractiveness, the type, and the extent of the weight control behavior Five factors related to the African American culture were identified and described by the women. Recognition of psychosocial determinants of weight control behavior may enable health professionals to design unique interventions relevant to African American women.

A longitudinal study of bone density in midlife women.

A longitudinal study of 386 healthy Black and White women aged 35-60 years was conducted to determine the effects of physical activity and other related factors on lumbar bone mineral density over 24 months. Bone mineral density of the lumbar spine, L2-L4, was measured using dual energy x-ray (Hologic 1000). Physical activity levels in three dimensions (leisure, household, and occupational) from both a lifelong and current perspective were obtained by questionnaire. Body mass index was calculated from measured weight in kilograms divided by measured height in meters squared. Calcium, caffeine, and alcohol intake was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire. Age, race, and smoking were determined by self-report. Radioimmunoassays of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol were used to validate self-reports of menopausal status. Multiple regression analysis revealed that race, age, weight, FSH, calcium, and years of tobacco intake formed the best model at baseline ( r 2 = 0.32) and at 24 months ( r 2 = 0.303). Physical activity was not a significant predictor for bone mineral density at either time point. There were cross-sectional changes of bone mineral density with race, age, and menopausal status. Black women had significantly higher bone mineral density than White women. However, an age-related decline in bone mineral density was exhibited in both Black and White women. Perimenopausal women had significantly lower bone mineral density as compared with premenopausal women. Furthermore 37 (9.6%) women at baseline and 34 (11%) at 24 months were designated at risk for fracture.

A quantitative survey to measure energy expenditure in midlife women.

The Taylor Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Tecumseh Occupational Physical Activity Questionnaire were modified to measure energy expenditure in midlife women. A three-dimensional measure of female physical activity resulted which reflected leisure, occupational, and household activities. Total daily energy expenditure for the specific activities was calculated using established metabolic units and reported time spent performing the activities. Test-retest reliability was evaluated at two weeks for 15 % (n = 59) of the sample of 375 midlife women. There was high agreement on participation in the various activities, but low agreement on the time spent doing the activities. Cardiorespiratory fitness, established with a Monarch bicycle ergometer, was used to test the validity of the energy expenditure measure. Correlations were significant between cardiorespiratory fitness and both leisure activity and household activity, but not between cardiorespiratory fitness and occupational activity.

LIFELONG PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN MIDLIFE AND OLDER WOMEN

The need for measures of physical activity in women led to this descriptive study of 375 women aged 33–62 (mean age 47±7 years). A questionnaire was developed to assess levels of lifelong physical activity (LLPAQ) with three subscales: occupation, leisure, and household. Reliability as determined by Cronbachs alpha ranged from .83–.87, while test–retest correlations ranged from .46–.57 for the subscales and total score. Correlations of the LLPAQ with cardiorespiratory fitness were positive, with a shift from highest correlation between fitness and leisure physical activity (r = .26–.29, p < .05) in younger women, to highest correlation between fitness and occupation physical activity (r = .29–.38, p < .05) in women over 50. Patterns of physical activity over the lifespan were different for each subscale; total scores showed a peak in overall physical activity between ages 25–39, and a steep decline after age 39, due to small decreases on each subscale. Relevance of a measure including household physical activity to document lifelong levels of physical activity for health studies of women is discussed.

Aerobic Fitness and Body Mass Protect Against Bone Loss in Healthy Midlife Women

Skeletal bone mass in women begins to decline at about the age of 30 years, and loss accelerates in the immediate postmenopausal years. A longitudinal study of 169 healthy women aged 35–62 years was conducted to determine the combined effects of physical activity and several other factors (age, menopause, race, body mass) on lumbar bone mineral density and change in lumbar bone over 24 months. Lumbar bone mineral content was assessed by dual-energy x-ray bone densitometry. Physical activity was quantified from both a fitness measure of predicted maximum oxygen intake and a retrospective 12-month self-report of time spent in aerobic weight-bearing activities. Fit midlife women, as measured by predicted maximum oxygen uptake, had significantly lower bone mineral density, partly associated with low body mass. On the other hand, the fit women and women with higher body mass had less bone loss over a 2-year period. These data suggest that increased levels of aerobic fitness as well as body mass may prevent some of the bone loss that occurs in healthy midlife women.

Toward delineating menstrual symptom groupings: Examination of factor analytic results of menstrual symptom instruments

The present study objectives were three. First, the factor structure of Chesney and Tastos Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) was reexamined to determine whether Chesney and Tastos (1975a) two‐factor or Websters (1980) and Stephenson, Denney, and Abergers (1983) multifactor result could be replicated. Second, the internal‐consistency reliability of the MSQ in the present study was determined. Third, known and suspected menstrual symptom report confounders were deleted from the analysis to determine whether or not exclusion of menstrual symptom confounders results in a factor structure which differs significantly from samples which include known symptom confounders. A “Heterogeneous”; sample (n = 330), similar to samples used in previous studies, and a more “homogeneous”; sample (n = 230), which deleted menstrual symptom confounders, were utilized in the MSQ factor analysis replication. Six factors resulted from both samples: premenstrual negative affect, menstrual pain, premenstrual pain, gastro‐in...