@article{ref1,
title="Men on the move: A pilot program to increase physical activity among African American men",
journal="Health education and behavior",
year="2014",
author="Griffith, Derek M. and Allen, Julie Ober and Johnson-Lawrence, Vicki D. and Langford, Aisha",
volume="41",
number="2",
pages="164-172",
abstract="Despite the important contribution increasing physical activity levels may play in reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality, there is a paucity of interventions and research indicating how to improve physical activity levels in African American men. Men on the Move was a pilot study to increase African American men's levels of physical activity by improving access to age and ability-appropriate, male-focused physical activity opportunities and facilitating access to social support from male peers. Forty-one African American men ages 35 to 70 enrolled (mean age = 53.8). Groups of 5 to 10 men met once a week with a certified personal trainer for 10 weeks. Each meeting addressed barriers to physical activity, provided men with community resources, and incorporated activities that promoted flexibility, strength, balance, and conditioning. Improvements (p < .05) were detected for the following outcome measures: perceived self-efficacy to sustain physical activity, endurance, overall health status, and stress level. Physiological and fitness outcome measures improved, although not to significant levels. Whereas 40% of the men met the recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity weekly at baseline, 68% of the men met this recommendation by the end of the project. These positive results attest to the feasibility of successfully engaging middle-aged and older African American men in a physical activity intervention, and our findings demonstrate the initial efficacy of this intervention approach. More research is needed that includes a more intensive intervention and one that helps motivate men to be physically active outside of the structured, small-group sessions.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1090-1981",
doi="10.1177/1090198113496788",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1090198113496788"
}