The Contribution of Physical Activity to Health-Related Quality of Life: New Population Estimates from National Survey Data

Sedentary lifestyles have been linked to higher rates of stroke, hypertension, depression, certain types of cancers, and cardiovascular disease, and increased risk of mortality. The link between physical inactivity and health has led to research on how physical activity (PA) interventions might improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Estimates of HRQoL improvements are typically focused on targeted at-risk groups, however. Given that almost half of the U.S. adult population is physically inactive, it would be helpful to broaden our understanding of how PA relates to quality of life for the population at large. In this study, we calculated the HRQoL gains attributable to PA across three nationally representative data sets that use different quality of life measures, and assessed the reliability in the results. The data sets used were the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Quasi-likelihood regression modeling with a beta distribution was used to generate the estimates. We found mean HRQoL scores were very similar across the three data sets and the estimated HRQoLs gained from PA varied only slightly, suggesting that all three provide reliable estimates for the general population.

     

Neue Medien,neue Forschungsinitiativen

Summary. Two new research programs which are funded by the German Science Foundation are aimed at establishing cognitive media psychology in Germany. The main question of the thematic research program "Net-based Knowledge Communication in Groups" concerns the new forms of communication using net-based technologies and their effective use for the exchange and acquisition of knowledge. Similar questions are posed by the virtual Ph.D. program "Knowledge Acquisition and Exchange with New Media". In contrast to other Ph.D. programs in German this one is not located at a specific place, but distributed over several research institutions all over the country. This setting enables students to collaborate with other tutors and students at the different locations. Zusammenfassung. Mit zwei neuen Förderprogrammen der DFG soll versucht werden, eine kognitionspsychologisch orientierte Medienforschung in Deutschland zu verankern. Im Mittelpunkt des Schwerpunktprogramms "Netzbasierte Wissenskommunikation in Gruppen" steht die Frage, wie sich neue Kommunikationsformen, die durch netzbasierte (computergestützte) Technologien möglich werden, für den Austausch und den Erwerb von Wissen in Gruppen effektiv nutzen lassen. Mit einer ähnlichen Fragestellung befasst sich auch das virtuelle Graduiertenkolleg "Wissenserwerb und Wissensaustausch mit neuen Medien". Im Gegensatz zu anderen Graduiertenkollegs ist es nicht ortsgebunden sondern verteilt über mehrere Forschungsinstitutionen. Es ermöglicht somit eine ortsübergreifende Betreuung und Zusammenarbeit der Kollegiatinnen bzw. Kollegiaten.