Objective: To examine associations between meeting the current moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendation and health-related factors in a national sample of college students. Participants: Participants (N = 67,861) completed the National College Health Assessment II during the Fall 2008/Spring 2009 academic year. Methods: Hierarchical binary logistic regression was used to examine the contribution of 19 variables in explaining whether or not participants met the MVPA recommendation. Results: Meeting the MVPA recommendation was associated with several protective factors among college students, including adequate daily fruit and vegetable consumption, positive perception of general health, healthy body mass index, consistent seatbelt use, not smoking cigarettes, less perceived depression, and adequate sleep. In addition, meeting the MVPA recommendation was also significantly associated with a few risky behaviors including binge drinking, physical fighting, and multiple sexual partners. Conclusions: College student PA interventions should consider also addressing fruit/vegetable consumption and binge drinking.

This study examined barriers to vigorous physical activity (VPA) among 132 students transitioning from high school to the first year of a university. An ecological framework was used to classify barriers, and coping self-efficacy (CSE) and task self-efficacy (TSE) were investigated as predictors of VPA. Consistent with population data, 47% of the sample failed to meet national recommendations for VPA. Participants most often cited institutional, intrapersonal, and interpersonal barriers. CSE predicted TSE, which predicted VPA. A greater understanding of ecologically categorized barriers and the relationship of self-efficacy to VPA may aid health care practitioners in the design of targeted interventions to facilitate VPA and health among freshmen students.

Objective: To examine whether the theory‐based social cognitions of perceived barrier frequency, barrier limitation, and self‐regulatory efficacy to cope were predictors of planned physical activity among adult women with arthritis. A secondary purpose was to identify and provide a phenomenologic description of the relevant barriers and coping strategies reported by study participants.Methods: Eighty adult women (mean ± SD age 49.09 ± 12.89 years) with self‐reported doctor‐diagnosed arthritis participated in this observational study. Participants completed online survey measures of barriers to physical activity and, for each barrier, reported the frequency of occurrence and the extent of limitation. Measures of coping strategies for each barrier, efficacy to cope, and physical activity were also obtained.Results: A multiple hierarchical regression analysis resulted in a model that significantly predicted physical activity (F[9,70] = 6.80, P < 0.01, adjusted R² = 0.40). Barrier limitation (standardized β = −0.56) and efficacy (standardized β = 0.20) were significant independent predictors. Phenomenologic findings indicated that arthritis‐specific personal barriers (e.g., pain and fatigue due to arthritis) and arthritis‐specific coping strategies (e.g., activity modification) were more commonly reported than generic barriers and coping strategies.Conclusion: Self‐regulatory efficacy to cope and relevant perceived physical activity barriers, which were primarily arthritis‐specific and moderately or more limiting to planned physical activity, were important social cognitive predictors of physical activity, a key nonpharmacologic arthritis treatment, among women with arthritis. Future research direction should examine potential moderators of the relationship between these predictors and physical activity, such as pain acceptance.

Background: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) college students may have an increased number of health inequities compared to their heterosexual counterparts. However, to date, no research has provided a comprehensive examination of health-related factors by sexual orientation identity and sex among a national sample of college students. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine physical, sexual, interpersonal relations/safety, and mental health inequities by sexual orientation identity and sex among a national sample of college students. Design and methods: Participants (n=39,767) completed the National College Health Assessment II during the fall 2008/spring 2009 academic year. Hierarchical binary logistic regression analyses were used to examine health inequities by sexual orientation identity and sex. Results: LGB students compared to heterosexual students, experienced multiple health inequities including higher rates of being verbally threatened and lower rates of physical activity and condom use. Conclusions: An understanding of health inequities experienced by LGB college students is critical as during these years of transition, students engage in protective ( e.g., physical activity) and risky ( e.g., lack of condom use) health behaviours, establishing habits that could last a lifetime. Future research should be used to design and implement targeted public health strategies and policies to reduce health inequities and improve health-related quality of life among LGB college students.