Department of Biomedical Sciences, Motor Activities and Sport Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e50782. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050782. Epub 2012 Dec 5.
(1) To examine relationships among changes in physical activity, physical fitness and some psychosocial determinants of activity behavior in a clinical sample of obese children involved in a multi-component program; (2) to investigate the causal relationship over time between physical activity and one of its strongest correlates (i.e. perceived physical ability).
Self-reported physical activity and health-related fitness tests were administered before and after a 9-month intervention in 24 boys and 20 girls aged 8 to 11 years. Individuals' perceptions of strength, speed and agility were assessed using the Perceived Physical Ability Scale, while body image was measured using Collins' Child Figure Drawings.
Findings showed that body mass index, physical activity, performances on throwing and weight-bearing tasks, perceived physical ability and body image significantly improved after treatment among obese children. Gender differences were found in the correlational analyses, showing a link between actual and perceived physical abilities in boys, but not in girls. For the specific measurement interval of this study, perception of physical ability was an antecedent and not a potential consequence of physical activity.
Results indicate that a multi-component activity program not based merely on a dose-effect approach enhances adherence of the participants and has the potential to increase the lifelong exercise skills of obese children. Rather than focusing entirely on diet and weight loss, findings support the inclusion of interventions directed toward improving perceived physical ability that is predictive of subsequent physical activity.
（1）在参与多组分计划的肥胖儿童的临床样本中，研究身体活动、身体健康和一些活动行为的心理社会决定因素的变化之间的关系；（2）研究身体活动与其最强相关因素（即感知身体能力）之间的时间上的因果关系。
在 9 个月的干预前后，对 24 名 8 至 11 岁的男孩和 20 名女孩进行了自我报告的身体活动和与健康相关的体能测试。使用感知身体能力量表评估个体对力量、速度和敏捷性的感知，同时使用柯林斯儿童绘图来衡量身体形象。
研究结果表明，肥胖儿童在治疗后体重指数、身体活动、投掷和承重任务的表现、感知身体能力和身体形象均显著改善。相关性分析显示，男孩的实际和感知身体能力之间存在联系，而女孩则没有。对于本研究的特定测量间隔，感知身体能力是身体活动的前因，而不是潜在后果。
研究结果表明，基于剂量效应方法的多组分活动计划不仅增强了参与者的依从性，而且有可能提高肥胖儿童的终身运动技能。研究结果支持将干预措施纳入改善预测后续身体活动的感知身体能力，而不是完全关注饮食和减肥。
