Reducing high calorie snack food in young adults: a role for social norms and health based messages

Eric Robinson1,2*, Ellis Harris2
, Jason Thomas2
, Paul Aveyard2,3 and Suzanne Higgs

Abstract
Background: Consumption of high calorie junk foods has increased recently, especially among young adults and
higher intake may cause weight gain. There is a need to develop public health approaches to motivate people to
reduce their intake of junk food.
Objective: To assess the effect of health and social norm messages on high calorie snack food intake (a type of
junk food) as a function of usual intake of junk food.
Design: In a between-subjects design, 129 young adults (45 men and 84 women, mean age = 22.4 years, SD = 4.5)
were assigned to one of three conditions: 1) a social norm condition, in which participants saw a message about
the junk food eating habits of others; 2) a health condition, in which participants saw a message outlining the
health benefits of reducing junk food consumption and; 3) a control condition, in which participants saw a nonfood related message. After exposure to the poster messages, participants consumed a snack and the choice and
amount of snack food consumed was examined covertly. We also examined whether usual intake of junk food
moderated the effect of message type on high calorie snack food intake.
Results: The amount of high calorie snack food consumed was significantly lower in both the health and the social
norm message condition compared with the control message condition (36% and 28%, both p < 0.05). There was
no significant difference in snack food or energy intake between the health and social norm message conditions.
There was no evidence that the effect of the messages depended upon usual consumption of junk food.
Conclusions: Messages about the health effects of junk food and social normative messages about intake of junk
food can motivate people to reduce their consumption of high calorie snack food.

http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/pdf/1479-5868-10-73.pdf

The Role of the Pediatric Exercise Specialist in Treating Exercise Deficit Disorder in Youth

Faigenbaum, Avery D. EdD, CSCS; Lloyd, Rhodri S. PhD, CSCS*D; Sheehan, Damien CSCS; Myer, Gregory D. PhD, CSCS

Abstract

ALTHOUGH THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF REGULAR EXERCISE FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS ARE EXTENSIVE, MOST YOUTH FAIL TO MEET CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. SPECIFICALLY, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF YOUTH DEMONSTRATE SYMPTOMS OF EXERCISE DEFICIT DISORDER DURING THE GROWING YEARS, WHICH CAN LEAD TO A PROGRESSION OF PATHOLOGICAL PROCESSES. ALTHOUGH THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF THIS PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN HAS YET TO GARNER THE RECOGNITION TO SUPPORT HEALTH CARE REFORM, PHYSICAL INACTIVITY SHOULD BE IDENTIFIED EARLY IN LIFE AND YOUNG PATIENTS SHOULD BE REFERRED TO A PEDIATRIC EXERCISE SPECIALIST FOR PREVENTATIVE CARE.

(C) 2013 National Strength and Conditioning Association

http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Abstract/publishahead/The_Role_of_the_Pediatric_Exercise_Specialist_in.99636.aspx

Why Youth Strength and Conditioning Matters

Rick Howard, MEd, CSCS,*D

Top three valuable aspects of a youth strength and conditioning program.

The Path to Performance

All athletes have one thing in common – they either are, or were, youth. The youth strength and conditioning programs in which these athletes participate have long-term performance implications. So, whether you are a RSCC, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, sport scientist, or other allied strength and conditioning professional, here are three important youth strength and conditioning concepts:

1. Develop physical literacy for youth by promoting a long-term approach to quality daily physical education and daily intermittent moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
2. Promote positive mental and psychosocial development as well as physical development with a properly designed strength and conditioning program.
3. The Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (2009) for guidelines on strength and conditioning programs that emphasize a long-term approach to developing strength and power.

A Model for ALL Youth

At the foundation of training youth is the philosophy that ALL children should be provided the opportunity to develop their physical, mental, and social skills. These physical, mental, and social skills must be considered simultaneously. Coaches must be aware of the nonlinear path of youth development and how this considerable variability of developmental stages has physical, mental, and social implications. Training strategies for youth must be carefully planned based on the dynamic interrelationships of numerous variables such as number of sports being played throughout the year and during the same season, environment, ethnicity, self-efficacy, focus, etc. Strength coaches need to keep abreast of best practice and research-based program models for promoting the continuum of lifelong physical activity and sports participation for youth.

The long term athletic development (LTAD) model is a generic guide that can be used to plan the sport/activity specific plan. LTAD heightens coaches’ awareness that the focus should not be on early sport specialization but that a plan should be implemented to meet the individual needs of young athletes as they develop. LTAD is based predominantly on biological (physical) development and suggests training and competition strategies based on developmental and chronological age. The LTAD-type program should contain developmentally-appropriate strength and conditioning as well as important elements of positive conditioning, active play, and unstructured play. Proper ratios of conditioning-to-practice and practice-to-competition are suggested and have been customized by national governing bodies to meet the needs of their sport (youth hockey and soccer, for example). Youth should participate in a wide variety of sports and activities that develop their physical, mental, and psychosocial skills-- early sport specialization is discouraged.

Within a quality youth long term developmental program, differences in biological and developmental age of youth must be considered. Key measures of developmental maturation must be incorporated into the strength and conditioning program. This requires a cooperative team effort among coaches, parents, youth, physical educators, and strength and conditioning professionals to safely and efficaciously train youth along the developmental continuum. Children will be at various points along the developmental continuum, even children of the same biological age, and those that excel at an early age need to be diversified to minimize overuse and burnout and those are considered “late bloomers” must be encouraged to continually improve. This will maximize the number of youth that are proficient in movement skills and can make their own choice to be active in sports and physical activity.

The environment in which training occurs needs to be proactive: fundamental motor skill development must be taught, coached, and assessed; positive feedback must continually and honestly be provided to youth so that skill acquisition and the positive benefits of strength and conditioning are always reinforced, and never should children be given exercise as punishment. Strength coaches must focus on developing coaching cues for excellent lifting technique (and never sacrifice technique for increased resistance). Youth athletes must not be trained past the point of physiological benefit (e.g., making athletes vomit is not an appropriate measure of intensity).  The optimal balance of challenge and success leads to youth embracing the benefits of strength and conditioning programs (and sports programs too).

Resistance Training and Long Term Athletic Development

Resistance training for youth is safe and efficacious so long as important NSCA guidelines are followed. For example, participants must be able to listen to and follow directions, there must be quality supervision at all times, and exercise progressions must be developmentally appropriate. The focus of the prepubescent resistance training program is on the development of healthy habits of safe resistance training and the focus on technical performance (technique) over amount of resistance lifted. Exercise technique is developed through body weight exercise, dowels, and light (2-3kg) medicine balls. Some youngsters that are very overweight or obese will need to use light weights before body weight, as their body weight is a significant challenge. Developmental progressions for a variety of strength and power exercises should be taught. Beginning resistance training is not sport-specific, but designed to develop health-fitness and skills-fitness attributes, which matches the philosophy of the long term development model.

What Can You Do?

NSCA-certified strength and conditioning professionals are uniquely qualified to provide properly supervised, developmentally appropriate strength and conditioning programs for youth of all ages and abilities. By following the guidelines listed in the NSCA Position Statement on youth resistance training and adapting an LTAD-type model to the specific youngster or team, you will provide a healthy, positive strength and conditioning experience that will benefit youth dually as exercise enthusiasts and athletes. Multidisciplinary, longitudinal research is needed on LTAD, physical literacy, windows of opportunity, assessments, and dose response of strength and conditioning programs at various developmental stages. Furthermore, strength and conditioning programs should be evaluated based on whether they enhance performance for only the short-term or whether they promote long-term elite athletic development. Remember, the work you do to promote quality strength and conditioning programs for youth will have long-term performance implications.

About the Author

Rick Howard is a founding member of the NSCA Youth SIG, Immediate-Past Chair of the NSCA Youth SIG, and the Mid-Atlantic Region Coordinator for the NSCA State Provincial Director Program. Howard also serves on the NSCA Membership Committee.

http://www.nsca.com/Education/E-learning/Why-Youth-Strength-and-Conditioning-Matters/

Resistance training among young athletes: safety, efficacy and injury prevention effects

A D Faigenbaum¹ and G D Myer^2,3,4

Abstract

A literature review was employed to evaluate the current epidemiology of injury related to the safety and efficacy of youth resistance training. Several case study reports and retrospective questionnaires regarding resistance exercise and the competitive sports of weightlifting and power-lifting reveal that injuries have occurred in young lifters, although a majority can be classified as accidental. Lack of qualified instruction that underlies poor exercise technique and inappropriate training loads could explain, at least partly, some of the reported injuries. Current research indicates that resistance training can be a safe, effective and worthwhile activity for children and adolescents provided that qualified professionals supervise all training sessions and provide age-appropriate instruction on proper lifting procedures and safe training guidelines. Regular participation in a multifaceted resistance training programme that begins during the preseason and includes instruction on movement biomechanics may reduce the risk of sports-related injuries in young athletes. Strategies for enhancing the safety of youth resistance training are discussed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3483033/