Response to physical activity programs and their effects on health behavior.

EVALUATION of the overall effectiveness of health programs concerned with disease prevention and health enhancement requires examination of the factors that influence response to such programs, as well as of the changes in health attitudes and behavior that they generate. We have given specific attention to these issues in regard to pr;ograms of supervised physical activity for middle-aged men considered at risk of coronary heart disease. Data were obtained as part of a collaborative research effort which included pilot studies at the Universities of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania State in 1966-68. These studies, supported by the Heart Disease and Stroke Control Program of the Public Health Service, were designed primarily to examine the relationship between physical activity and changes in cardiovascular risk. The research effort was coordinated by the Steering Committee on Co-operative Pilot Studies of Physical Activity and Coronary Heart Disease, comprised of Dr. Henry L. Taylor, chairman, Dr. Richard Remington, director of the statistical center, Dr. Ellsworth Buskirk, Dr. Bruno Balke, Dr. Samuel Fox III, Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, and Dr. Frederick Epstein. Dr. Taylor (Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis) and co-authors have prepared a report outlining the nature of this research effort, which includes a discussion of the physiological effects of the physical activity programs. The pilot studies provided an opportunity to systematically examine the factors influencing response to this kind of health program as well as the behavioral effects of participation. These issues were explored in line with a broader research focus dealing with determinants of health behavior and of health behavior change (1). The design of the pilot studies made it possible to examine these issues on a prospective and longitudinal basis. This type of research approach serves a necessary and useful function in expanding the body of social science theory and research data dealing with health behavior (2-4). The study groups included in this research effort were selected from a metropolitan community-Minneapolis, Minn.-and from university settings that included both faculty members and service employees-Madison, Wis., and College Park, Pa. All persons participating in the programs were sedentary men 45-59 years At the time of the study, Dr. Heinzelmann was chief of behavioral science activities and Mr. Bagley was a research assistant with the Heart Disease and Stroke Control Program, Regional Medical Pro,grams Service, Health Services and Mental Health Administration. Dr. Heinzelmann is now with the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Department of Justice. Mr. Bagley is currently employed in California.