Engaging in physical activity (PA), minimizing sitting time and consuming a healthy diet are behaviors associated with health and wellness across the lifespan. The present multi-study analysis examined the relationship between grit and PA, sitting time and dietary behaviors in several populations that included US adults, active-duty military personnel, veterans, college students and performing artists. The four research laboratories administered an internet-based survey between spring and summer of 2020. The common questionnaires on the surveys were the Grit Scale Short Form, International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form and the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants Short Form. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between grit, PA, sitting time and dietary behaviors. PA was associated with grit for US adults, civilians and college students but not for performing artists or active-duty military populations. Sitting time was associated with grit for US adults and active-duty military personnel. US adults, college students and performing artists were found to have a positive association between healthy dietary behaviors and grit. Overall, the findings indicate that grit has a positive influence on PA, sitting time and dietary behaviors across the unique populations; however, the relationships indicate some nuanced differences between the populations.

A maximum plank hold (PH) has been implemented in the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) with the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program. The H2F program introduces a shift in wellbeing from a fitness centered approach to framework also comprising nutrition, sleep, mental, and spiritual components. The purpose was to analyze how a maximum PH correlated with fitness, lifestyle behaviors, and mood states in tactical athletes (TA) and assess differences between those who pass and fail. Forty-nine TA completed fitness testing, lifestyle behavior, and mood state surveys. Bivariate correlations were used to examine relationships with PH performance. PH time was significantly correlated with total body mass, fat mass, BMI, push-ups, and state physical energy (SPE). VO_2max was significantly different between the groups who passed and failed the PH. PH was not associated with lifestyle behaviors or trait mood states. PH performance could vary day-to-day as it was correlated with SPE. Individuals with poorer aerobic fitness and body composition may be at risk for failing the PH.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic altered lifestyles and impacted mental health of many adults. Engaging in physical activity, avoiding prolonged sitting, and consuming a healthy diet improve mental health. The current study investigated the association between health-related lifestyle behaviors on feelings of anxiety and depression in adults during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Adults (n=796) living in the United States completed an internet-based survey in Spring 2020 that included validated survey instruments for moods, physical activity, sitting and dietary behaviors. Multivariate multiple regression models were used to assess the association between health-related lifestyle behaviors and feelings of anxiety and depression. Results: A majority (70.7%; 95% CI: [0.607, 0.807]) of participants met physical activity (PA) guidelines, 43.7% (95% CI: [0.287, 0.587]) sat for ≥ 8 hours per day, and 87.7% (95% CI [0.807, 0.947]) ate a healthy diet. Our final models explained 6.2% and 9.8% of the variance in anxiety and depression, respectively. Vigorous PA (anxiety: B=-0.111, 95% CI: [-0.171,0.000]; depression: B=-0.111, 95% CI: [-0.186,-0.037]) and dietary behaviors (anxiety: B=-0.112, 95% CI: [-0.180,-0.444]; depression: B=-0.112, 95% CI: [-0.213,-0.076]) were associated with reduced feelings of anxiety and depression while sitting time (anxiety: B=0.119, 95% CI: [0.000,0.199]; depression: B=0.119, 95% CI: [0.199,0.199]) were associated with greater feelings of anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Engaging in vigorous physically activity, reducing sitting time, and consuming a healthy diet was associated with reduced feelings of anxiety and depression during the early part of the pandemic. The aforementioned modifiable lifestyle behaviors are independent of each other suggesting improvements in one behavior may improve feelings of anxiety and depression.

Introduction: Many researchers use Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) as an indicator of subjective fatigue. Recent findings suggest that energy and fatigue are two distinct unipolar moods. Methods: Eleven first responders (FR) participated in a 90-minute strenuous exercise battery where they ended the protocol by completing a graded VO2max test where they were asked to perform until volitional fatigue, measured through RPE. Subjective feelings of mental energy (ME) and fatigue (MF) and physical energy (PE) and fatigue (PF) were measured before the beginning of the protocol and right after. Data was not normally distributed and presented in median and interquartile ranges. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated for RPE, post mood state, and changes in mood states. Results: Participants’ self-reported RPE at the conclusion of the VO2max test was 18.27 [18.00,19.00]. Post PE (r=-0.012, p=0.97), PF (r=-0.036, p=0.92), ME (r=-0.13, p=0.69), and MF (r=0.43, p=0.19) displayed insignificant correlations with RPE. Similarly, insignificant correlations were observed between changes in PE (r=0.26, p=0.44), PF (r=0.46, p=0.15), ME (r=0.35, p=0.30), MF (r=-0.43, p=0.19), and RPE. Five participants reported an increase in feelings of PE (15.00 [13.00,19.00]) and seven participants reported lower feelings of PF (-12.00 [-19.50,-8.00]) post assessment. Seven participants reported improvements in ME (22.00 [8.00,68.00]) and three reported a reduction in MF (-13.00 [-27.00, -7.00]). Conclusions: Our findings suggests that self-reported RPE may not be a reliable measure of subjective fatigue in FR populations during acute strenuous exercise. Further our findings support previous work that ME, MF, PE, and PF are four distinct unipolar moods, and researchers seeking to assess fatigue in FR should use RPE with caution as it seems to be a measure of subjective perception of exercise intensity instead of a true measure of subjective fatigue.