Discuss whether an adult in the healthy weight range can be highly sedentary and still meet the physical activity guidelines?
Good- Yes as long as you accumulate the recommended 30 minutes of at least moderate intensity most days.
Better- Yes a person can sit for many hours a day and still accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity most days to meet the physical activity guidelines. Currently in 2012 there are no sedentary behaviour guidelines for adults.
Comments: The better answer not only clarifies the person can meet the physical activity guidelines it also goes on to mention that sedentary behaviour guidelines do not exist. Although this is the case for 2012 this is likely to change in the future.
Explain whether objective measures can be used to assess whether an 8 year old is meeting the physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines? If so provide an example measure for each.
Good- Some objective measures such as accelerometers and direct observation can assess whether an 8 year old meets the guidelines for physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour.
Better- The objective measures that could be used to assess whether an 8 year old meets the guidelines include accelerometers and direct observation. Both of these objective measures can be used to assess frequency, intensity and duration of physical activity. Of the various objective measures only direct observation could be used to determine whether someone meets the sedentary behaviour guidelines although this method is rarely used.
Comments- The better answer actually spelt out exactly which dimensions of physical activity can be assessed by each objective measure to determine whether the 8 year old would meet the physical activity guidelines. Although accelerometers can be used to assess sedentary time they don’t measure type of behaviour therefore we cannot make assumptions that the time spent being sedentary is not for educational purposes. The better answer also mentioned that although direct observation could be used to assess sedentary behaviour this is rarely used. Using direct observation in someone’s home for example would be very invasive whether it employed live coding or involved digital recording to be coded later.
When measuring physical activity, what does context mean? Which measures are able to provide details about context and how can this contextual information be used in making decisions about promoting physical activity.
Good- Direct observation and subjective measures such as surveys or diaries can collect contextual data such as activity type and weather conditions. This information could be used to determine the most popular activities students participate in so more equipment for these activities could be purchased.
Better-Contextual data can refer to who someone is active with, where they are being active, when they are active and other information such as whether an area is accessible, supervised, and has equipment available as well as the climatic conditions. This information can be collected via subjective measures such as a survey or diary or objectively via direct observation. This rich contextual data can be used to inform the development of intervention strategies such as introducing new equipment, facilities, programs or policies based on usage of an area or choice of activities by a particular age group or gender. For example a school principal may prioritise funding for a new component or area within a playground if the data indicates this would be used by students.
Comments: The better answer provides specific examples of contextual data that can be collected. It also provides very specific examples of how the contextual data collected could be used to inform decision making.
What’s the difference between SOFIT & SOPLAY in terms of physical activity measurement and of when you would use each of them?
Good – SOFIT is used during PE classes and SOPLAY is used when children are playing games as a means of determining how much physical activity they do in each setting.
Better – SOFIT is the system for observing fitness instruction time and SOPLAY is the system for observing play and leisure activity in youth. Soplay can only be used with youth whereas SOFIT can be used with any aged persons. SOFIT is an observation tool used when people are involved in structured/organised physical activityduringphysical education and sport education classes or other activities involving fitness related activities. SOPLAY is used to observe and record physical activity when youth are involved in play and unstructured leisure activities which might include just throwing a Frisbee between each other at the park or having turns shooting baskets at the netball courts.
Comments – The better answer actually outlines what each acronym stands for and the terminology shows a more thorough understanding of the assessment tools and their different uses. The better response also provides examples of when SOPLAY would be used and provides an idea the student can correctly apply their knowledge to real world settings.
Discus why pedometers would be more effective in changing physical activity behaviours than accelerometers.
Good – Pedometers provide the people wearing them with an idea of how much physical activity they are doing. Accelerometers don’t provide this information and data can only be downloaded by an expert.
Better –Pedometers provide the wearer with instant feedback as to the number of steps they have taken at any pint in time. This can be compared to previous recordings or recommended step counts such as the 10-12,000 steps. If a wearer has accumulated few steps by the afternoon, they might be likely to be more physically active to met goals. Accelerometers are sealed and do not provide any idea of movement counts for the wearer so they cannot have the same level of influence on the wearer. Wearing both instruments will most likely lead to increased levels of physical activity because the wearer knows they are part of an investigation looking at amounts of physical activity.
Comments – The better response shows more comparison between the two assessment tools or measures. Additionally it looks at reactivity (even though not directly mentioned) and the effect this has on physical activity levels for people using them.