International Journal of Obesity (2000) 24, 81±87
ß 2000 Macmillan Publishers Ltd All rights reserved 0307±0565/00 $15.00
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Physical activity beliefs and behaviours among
adults attempting weight control
A Timperio1*, D Cameron-Smith1, C Burns1, J Salmon1 and D Crawford1
1
School of Health Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency and duration of varying intensities of physical activity performed by adults
trying to lose weight, avoid gaining weight and not actively trying to control their weight, and to compare these
groups' beliefs about the physical activity they should perform.
METHOD: Random postal survey of 2500 Victorian adults selected from the Australian electoral roll (response
ˆ42%).
rateˆ
MEASURES: One-week physical activity recall (frequency and duration of walking, other moderate activity and
vigorous activity), BMI (based on self-reported height and weight) and weight-control behaviour.
RESULTS: At the time of the survey, 27% of respondents were actively trying to avoid gaining weight, 23.9% trying
7.1) h walking, 5.5
to lose weight and 49.1% undertaking no weight control. Respondents spent a mean time of 4.0 (
7.9) h in moderate activity and 3.1(
5.9) h in vigorous activity during the week prior to the survey. Women trying to
(
lose weight or avoid gaining weight engaged in vigorous activity more often than women not trying to control their
weight. After adjusting for age, education and BMI, women trying to avoid gaining weight were 2.4 times more likely,
and women trying to lose weight 2.5 times more likely, to have met current physical activity guidelines than women
6.9) h walking, 6.5 (
8.2) h
undertaking no weight control. On average, respondents believed they should spend 5.2 (
6.5) h in vigorous activity each week. Women trying to lose weight felt they should
in moderate activity and 4.3 (
perform vigorous activity more often than other women. Weight-control behaviour was not associated with physical
activity beliefs and behaviours of men.
CONCLUSION: Walking is a common activity among adults attempting weight control. However, many men and
women do not fully recognize the value of moderate-intensity physical activity. Future efforts should be directed at
promoting the role of moderate-intensity activity in weight control, particularly activity that can be performed outside
of planned activity sessions.
International Journal of Obesity (2000) 24, 81±87
Keywords: obesity; prevention; weight control; physical activity
Introduction
Declining physical activity, particularly incidental
activity, is believed to be an important contributor to
the burgeoning prevalence of obesity in Western
nations.1 Increasing physical activity is therefore
viewed as an important component of attempts to
control weight.1 ± 3 Physical activity has been shown
to complement dietary restriction or changes in diet
composition undertaken for weight reduction.4,5
Importantly, physical activity aids in the preservation
of lean body tissue usually lost during dietary restriction, while the additional elevation of energy expenditure further enhances negative energy balance.2
Although weight loss attributable to increased physical activity may be small, physical activity has been
repeatedly shown to play an important role in the
maintenance of weight loss.3 In addition, there is
*Correspondence: A Timperio, School of Health Sciences,
Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, Victoria, 3125,
Australia. E-mail: [email protected].
Received 9 February; revised 16 June 1999; accepted 27 July
1999
evidence to suggest that physical activity is important
in preventing weight gain over time.6
Structured and incidental physical activity can be
performed at work, at home or during leisure-time.7
Most studies focus on leisure-time physical activity
behaviour, and public health campaigns and interventions have typically sought to increase leisure-time
physical activity participation.8 Current recommendations, however, urge people of all ages to accumulate
30 min of moderate intensity activity on most, if not
all, days of the week,7,9 and include incidental activity
performed at work, at home and for transport, in
addition to structured leisure-time activity.7 The current physical activity guidelines were developed with
a view to achieving general health improvements
across the population, including improved ability to
control weight and reduce body fat.7
Attempts to lose weight or avoid weight gain are
highly prevalent in developed nations, particularly
among women.10 ± 12 Among those trying to control
their weight, 60 ± 90% commonly report using physical activity as a strategy, 10 ± 12 yet few studies have
described the speci®c nature of the activity that is
performed. Levy and Heaton11 and DiPietro et al13
have documented the prevalence of some speci®c
Physical activity beliefs and behaviours
A Timperio et al
82
leisure-time activities (such as participation in walking and aerobics) among adults attempting to lose
weight. However, as far as we are aware, there have
been no population-based studies that have compared
the nature of physical activity in those actively seeking to lose or maintain weight with those not attempting weight control, or their beliefs about the amount
of activity they should perform. An understanding of
the physical activity behaviour and beliefs of these
groups is important for the development of public
health initiatives aimed at achieving healthy weight
and preventing weight gain through increased physical activity.
The aim of this study is to compare physical
activity participation among adults who are trying to
lose weight, avoid gaining weight or doing nothing in
particular to control their weight. This study also aims
to compare these groups' beliefs about the frequency,
duration and intensity of activity they should perform.
Methods
Subjects
A sample of 2500 adults was randomly selected from
the Australian electoral roll for the State of Victoria
(registration compulsory for all Australian citizens
over 18 y). Those selected were mailed a self-administered questionnaire about their physical activity
habits, dietary fat habits, and weight-control concerns
and behaviours (a copy is available from the authors).
Non-respondents were mailed a reminder postcard
after 2 weeks, a replacement questionnaire after a
further 2 weeks, and a ®nal reminder postcard 2 weeks
later.
Measures
All variables included in this study are based on selfreport.
Demographic information. Details of sex, age, education and occupation were requested. Education was
collapsed into three categories: (1) never attended
school, or attended only primary school or some
high school; (2) completed high school or gained a
technical or trade school certi®cate or apprenticeship;
(3) university or tertiary quali®cation. Occupations
were classi®ed into one of eight occupation groupings
according to the Australian Standard Classi®cation of
Occupations.14
Body mass index. Subjects were asked to report their
height and weight. These self-reported measures were
used to calculate body mass index (BMI ˆ
weight(kg)=height2(m)). The correlation between
self-reported and measured height has been reported
as 0.92 ± 0.93, and the correlation between selfInternational Journal of Obesity
reported and measured weight has been reported as
0.97 ± 0.98, using nationally representative Australian
data.15 Four BMI categories were computed
(BMI < 20 underweight; 20 BMI 25 acceptable
weight; 25 < BMI 30 overweight; BMI > 30 obese)
as recommended for use in the Australian population.16 The categories of `overweight' and `obese' are
essentially those recommended by the World Health
Organisation.1
Weight-control behaviour. Weight-control behaviour
was assessed by a single question that requested
subjects nominate which of the following categories
best described them at that point in time: (1) actively
doing things to try to gain weight; (2) actively doing
things to try to avoid gaining weight; (3) actively
doing things to try to lose weight; (4) not doing
anything in particular for their weight.
Physical activity behaviour. Three types of physical
activity were assessed Ð walking, moderate activity
and vigorous activity. Subjects were asked the following questions: `In the past week, how many times have
you walked for recreation or exercise and=or to get to
and from places for at least 10 minutes continuously?'; `In the past week, how many times did you
do moderate exercise or other physical activity
(around the house or at work) which did not make
you breathe harder or puff and pant? (e.g. more
moderate activities Ð digging in the garden, moderate
cycling, raking leaves, dancing)'; `In the past week,
how many times did you do vigorous exercise or other
physical activity (around the house or at work) which
made you breathe harder or puff and pant? (e.g.
jogging or running, heavy gardening, netball, chopping wood, vigorous swimming, heavy labouring)'.
For each of the three types of physical activity,
subjects were also asked to estimate the total time
(in hours and=or minutes) spent doing that activity in
the past week. These measures were adapted from
those used in a recent population survey of physical
activity,17 which have been shown to have good
reliability18 and validity19 over a 2-week recall
period. In adapting these measures for use in the
present study, leisure-time, occupational and household physical activity were combined.
Subjects were classi®ed into two groups on the
basis of their responses to the physical activity
items. Existing physical activity guidelines recommend people accumulate 150 min of moderate-intensity activity in a week.7,9 In terms of energy
expenditure, this is equivalent to 60 min of vigorous
activity (where moderate-intensity activity equals 3.5
METS and vigorous-intensity activity equals 9.0
METS).20 Thus subjects were classi®ed as meeting
physical activity guidelines if they reported at least
60 min of vigorous activity per week, or if the total
time spent in physical activity (walking, moderate
activity and vigorous activity) was at least 150 min.
Physical activity beliefs and behaviours
A Timperio et al
Physical activity beliefs. Subjects were asked the
following questions: `Do you think you should do
more walking for recreation or exercise and=or to get
to and from places for at least 10 minutes continuously?'; `Do you think you should do more moderate
exercise or other physical activity (around the house
or at work)?'; `Do you think you should do more
vigorous exercise or other physical activity?'. For
each of the three types of activities, subjects were
asked to report the number of times they felt they
should do the activity, as well as the total time (in
hours and=or minutes) they thought they should spend
doing the activity, over a one week period.
Statistical analyses
All analyses were performed using SPSS version
8.0.21 Pearson's w2 and ANOVA were used to assess
sex differences, and age, education and BMI differences within each sex, across weight-control behaviour. Physical activity behaviour and beliefs (for
walking, moderate-intensity activity and vigorousintensity activity), and compliance with current physical activity guidelines, were compared by sex, and
weight-control behaviour within each sex, using Pearson's w2, independent t-tests and ANOVA. Forced
entry multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the possible contribution of age,
education and BMI in addition to weight-control
behaviour (independent variables) on compliance
(dependent variable) among men and women. The
mean difference between the frequency and the duration men and women within each category of weightcontrol behaviour believed they should perform each
type of activity and the frequency and duration they
reported in the week prior to the survey was assessed
by paired t-test.
Pregnant women, subjects trying to gain weight,
and those for whom this data was missing were
excluded from the analyses. The analyses reported
here were based on 897 adults (375 males and 522
females). In some of the analyses (reported in the
tables), a small number of cases were missing for
individual variables.
83
Results
Sample characteristics
An overall response rate of 42% was obtained. Most
respondents (58.2%) were women. The mean age of
respondents was 44.8 ( 16.4) y. A majority (78.5%)
were born in Australia and were currently married
(62.7%). Levels of education were evenly distributed
among respondents (30.3% had not completed high
school, 36.5% had completed high school, a technical
or trade school certi®cate, or an apprenticeship, and
33.2% had a university or tertiary quali®cation). A
third of respondents (33.0%) were not employed,
11.6% were employed in managerial or administrative
positions and 14.4% were professionals. Compared to
Victorian census data,22,23 women, adults aged
between 50 ± 59 y, Australian-born women, married
adults and those employed in high status occupations
were slightly over-represented in the study sample.
The BMI distribution, however, when compared with
self-reported measures collected in the most recent
National Health Survey,24 was representative of the
Victorian population. Almost a third (30.7%) of
respondents were classi®ed as overweight, and a
further 13.0% as obese. Among male respondents,
3.8% were classi®ed as underweight, 46.3% as acceptable, 39.3% as overweight and 10.6% as obese.
Among women, 14.4% were underweight, 46.4%
were acceptable, 24.5% were overweight and 14.8%
were obese.
Weight-control behaviour
Overall, 26.2% of men and 27.5% of women reported
they were trying to avoid gaining weight, 18.5% of
men and 27.5% of women reported they were trying to
lose weight and 55.4% of men and 45.1% of women
reported not actively trying to control their weight at
the time of the survey. As shown in Table 1, women
trying to lose weight were younger than women in
other categories of weight-control behaviour, and in
both sexes those trying to lose weight had a higher
mean BMI. Weight-control behaviour did not differ
by education.
Table 1 Mean age and BMI, and education distribution according to weight-control behaviour
Males
Females
Weight-control behaviour
Weight-control behaviour
Avoid weight gain Lose weight Doing nothing
Avoid weight gain
(n ˆ 95)
(n ˆ 67)
(n ˆ 201)
P-value
(n ˆ137)
Agea (mean)
BMIa (mean)
Educationb(%)
None=primary=some high
High school=tech=trade
University=tertiary
a
48.6(16.6)
26.3(3.1){C
43.1(14.3)
27.8(3.7){*
44.3(16.5)
24.4(3.4)C*
21.1
42.1
36.8
25.4
34.3
40.3
25.4
43.8
30.8
Lose weight
(n ˆ137)
Doing nothing
(n ˆ 225)
P-value
n.s.
0.000
46.1(16.2)§
25.3(4.9){C
39.3(14.1)§,C
26.9(5.1){*
47.3(17.5)C
23.2(5.0)C*
n.s.
35.0
29.2
35.8
31.4
39.4
29.2
36.9
30.2
32.9
b
0.000
0.000
n.s.
2
One-way analysis of variance with post hoc tests; {P < 0.05, §P < 0.01, C*P < 0.001. Pearson w . n.s., not signi®cant.
International Journal of Obesity
International Journal of Obesity
a
63.3**
2.0(2.6)***
132.2(205.4)***
0.008a
0.014b
n.s.b
55.6
1.6(2.2)*
120.9(215.0)
72.4
2.4(2.8)*
158.5(222.3)
74.1**
2.9(4.0)***
261.2(473.7)***
74.6
2.6(2.5)
218.0(397.7)
78.6
2.9(3.8)
213.2(363.8)
71.6
3.1(4.5)
301.2(541.8)
n.s.a
n.s.b
n.s.b
66.1
2.3(3.0)
123.1(167.3)
84.2
4.4(5.5)*
282.3(391.6)**
n.s.a
n.s.b
n.s.b
82.2
3.9(4.8)
295.5(427.6)
84.2
4.9(5.6)
240.8(249.4)
88.0
5.5(8.5)*
391.1(558.1)**
85.7
4.8(7.4)
314.5(517.5)
85.7
5.1(6.2)
365.3(502.7)
89.9
6.0(9.9)
432.4(596.7)
n.s.a
n.s.b
n.s.b
82.5
4.8(6.3)
304.5(448.1)
88.1
4.5(5.1)
207.3(352.7)*
n.s.a
n.s.b
n.s.b
84.7
4.5(5.4)
215.8(333.8)
91.9
4.2(4.1)
195.3(263.0)
89.8
4.8(5.5)
206.2(452.4)
86.1
5.4(8.4)
284.1(508.9)*
n.s.a
n.s.b
n.s.b
82.8
5.6(8.3)
319.8(617.9)
85.7
4.2(4.1)
201.0(267.3)
92.9
6.0(10.8)
274.6(385.6)
Walking
Participation (%)
Frequency
Duration (min)
Moderate activity
Participation (%)
Frequency
Duration (min)
Vigorous activity
Participation (%)
Frequency
Duration (min)
P-value
Doing nothing
(n ˆ189)
Lose weight
(n ˆ123)
Avoid weight gain
(n ˆ118)
All malesc
(n ˆ 316)
Weight-control category
Females
P-value
Doing nothing
(n ˆ169)
Lose weight
(n ˆ 63)
Avoid weight gain
(n ˆ 84)
Compliance with physical activity guidelines. Most
respondents met current guidelines for physical activity in the week before the survey (88.4%). A similar
proportion of men (90.7%) and women (86.6%) met
the guidelines. Men trying to avoid gaining weight or
lose weight, and men not engaged in weight control
were equally as likely to have complied. Women
trying to lose weight (90.0%) and trying to avoid
gaining weight (91.5%), however, were more likely to
have met the guidelines compared with women not
attempting weight control (81.4%) (P < 0.05).
Weight-control behaviour
Frequency and duration of physical activity. On
average, respondents reported walking 4.9 ( 6.7)
times for an average of 239.8 ( 427.3) min, they
reported engaging in moderate activity 4.9 ( 7.0)
times for a total of 328.4 ( 472.1) min, and reported
being vigorously active 2.4( 3.3) times for a total of
186.9 ( 351.1) min, in the week preceding the survey.
Table 2 shows that women reported moderate activity
and vigorous activity less frequently than men, and also
spent less time than men walking, in moderate activity
and in vigorous activity in the week prior to the survey.
The frequency and duration of walking, moderate
activity and vigorous activity did not vary according
to weight-control behaviour among men (Table 2).
Women trying to lose weight, however, engaged in
vigorous activity signi®cantly more often than women
who were not attempting weight control, although all
women reported spending a similar amount of time in
vigorous activity.
Males
Participation in physical activity. Almost all
respondents (97.6%) reported engaging in some
form of physical activity in the week prior to the
survey. Men (98.0%) and women (97.3%) were
equally as likely to have been physically active.
Men and women who were trying to avoid gaining
weight, trying to lose weight and not engaged in
weight control were equally as likely to have performed some type of physical activity.
Most respondents reported they had walked for
more than 10 consecutive minutes (87.3%), engaged
in other moderate activity (85.8%), or performed
vigorous activity (67.8%) in the week preceding the
survey. There were no differences in the proportion of
men and women who had walked or been moderately
active (Table 2). However, men were more likely than
women to have been vigorously active. There were no
differences in participation in walking, moderate
activity or vigorous activity between men according
to their weight-control behaviour. Women trying to
lose weight, however, were more likely to have been
vigorously active in the week preceding the survey
than women trying to avoid gaining weight and
women not engaged in weight control.
All femalesc
(n ˆ 430)
Physical activity behaviour
Table 2 Prevalence (%), and frequency and duration (mean s.d.) of walking, moderate activity and vigorous activity in the week preceding the survey
84
Pearson w2, n.s. ˆ not signi®cant. bOne-way analysis of variance with post hoc tests; *P < 0.05, n.s. ˆ not signi®cant. cPearson w2 performed between sexes for participation; **P < 0.01;
independent t-test performed between sexes for mean frequency and duration; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P 0.001.
Physical activity beliefs and behaviours
A Timperio et al
Physical activity beliefs and behaviours
A Timperio et al
After adjusting for age, education and BMI, weightcontrol behaviour remained a signi®cant predictor of
compliance with physical activity recommendations
among women. Women trying to avoid weight gain
were 2.4 times more likely (95% CI ˆ 1.1 ± 5.2;
P < 0.05), and women attempting weight loss were
2.5 times more likely (95% CI ˆ 1.1 ± 5.5; P < 0.05),
than women doing nothing to control their weight to
have met the guidelines.
Physical activity beliefs
Perceived adequacy of physical activity. Most
respondents (73.0%) believed they should increase
the amount of physical activity they perform.
Women (76.6%) were more likely than men (68.4%)
to believe they should do more (P < 0.05). There were
no differences in the proportion of men and women
who believed they should do more moderate or
vigorous activity. However, women (65.8%) were
more likely than men (49.7%) to believe they should
increase the amount of walking they do (P ˆ 0.001).
The proportion of respondents who believed they
should do more physical activity varied by weightcontrol behaviour for men, but not women. Among
men, 80.3% of those attempting to lose weight
believed they should do more physical activity (of
any kind), compared to 75.9% of men trying to avoid
gaining weight and 60.5% of men who were not
engaged in weight control (P < 0.01). Men trying to
lose weight (52.5%) were more likely than men trying
to avoid gaining weight (38.6%) and men not engaged
in weight control (33.1%) to believe they should
increase the amount of moderate activity they do
(P < 0.05). The proportion of women who believed
they should increase their walking, moderate activity
and vigorous activity did not vary according to
weight-control behaviour.
On average, respondents believed they should walk
6.4 ( 5.6) times per week for a total of 309.6
( 414.5) min, do moderate activity 5.9 ( 7.0)
times for a total of 388.9 ( 490.3) min, and perform
vigorous activity 3.8 ( 3.4) times for a total of
260.5 ( 387.0) min each week. Women believed
they should walk as often as men did, but felt
they should spend about one less session per week
in both moderate activity (5.4 5.7 vs 6.6 8.4,
P < 0.05) and vigorous activity (3.5 3.0 vs
4.2 3.9, P < 0.01) compared with men. Men also
believed they should spend signi®cantly more time
(min) in moderate activity (466.8 583.2 vs
330.1 396.9, P 0.001) and vigorous activity
(331.7 481.8 vs 206.7 285.1, P 0.001) each
week than did women. The mean frequency and
duration men believed they should perform each
type of activity did not vary according to their
weight-control behaviour. However, women who
were trying to lose weight (3.8 3.4) or avoid gaining
weight (4.0 3.3) felt they should be vigorously
active more often (per week) than women who
weren't trying to control their weight (3.0 2.3,
P < 0.01), although total time did not vary between
these groups.
85
Differences between behaviours and beliefs
Figure 1 shows the difference between the frequency
men and women within each category of weightcontrol behaviour believed they should walk, engage
in moderate activity and perform vigorous activity,
and the frequency they reported in the week prior to
the survey. With the exception of men who were
trying to avoid gaining weight, men and women
within each category of weight-control behaviour
believed they should perform each type of activity
signi®cantly more often than they reported performing
that activity in the week prior to the survey. Men
trying to avoid gaining weight did not believe they
should walk more often than they currently do.
Subjects within each category of weight-control
behaviour also believed they should spend signi®cantly more time in each type of activity then they
reported spending in the week preceding the survey
(Figure 2). Again, however, men who were trying to
avoid gaining weight did not believe they should
signi®cantly increase the total time they spend walking. The majority of respondents indicated they should
spend over an hour more in most types of activity each
week.
Figure 1 Mean difference between frequency respondents
believed they should perform each type of activity and reported
frequency each activity was performed in the week prior (paired
t-test, ***P < 0.001).
International Journal of Obesity
Physical activity beliefs and behaviours
A Timperio et al
86
Figure 2 Mean difference (mins) between time respondents
believed they should spend in each activity and reported time
spent in each activity in the week prior (paired t-test,
***P < 0.001).
Discussion
This study con®rms previous research showing that
weight-loss attempts are prevalent, that there are
many adults who actively take steps to avoid weight
gain, and that physical activity is commonly
employed as a weight-control strategy.10 ± 12 Consistent with other studies,11,13 we found walking to be the
most common type of physical activity performed by
men and women attempting weight control. Overall,
walking was also the activity adults most often felt
they should try to increase. This may be because
walking is easier to maintain over time, as it is
relatively inexpensive and poses less risk of injury
compared to the majority of other activities.25 Our
®ndings suggest that efforts aimed at promoting walking as a means of preventing weight gain are likely to
be met with widespread community support.
While walking was the most common type of
activity among those attempting weight control,
there were in fact few differences in activity patterns
by weight-control behaviour. Physical activity did not
differ by weight control among men, although most
believed they should perform a considerable amount
of vigorous-intensity activity each week. This suggests that men hold the view that physical activity
must be vigorous to be bene®cial. Women who were
International Journal of Obesity
trying to lose weight reported vigorous activity more
frequently, and were more likely to meet current
guidelines and to believe they should be doing more
vigorous activity, compared with other women. These
®ndings provide support for research showing that
men are generally not interested in increasing physical
activity as a weight-control strategy,26 and indicate
that women attempting weight control may see vigorous activity as more important than moderate-intensity activity, despite current efforts to promote the
bene®ts of the latter.
Overall, men in this study believed they should
spend almost 19 h in physical activity each week
(3.3 h=week more than they currently spend).
Women felt they should spend almost 14 h in physical
activity each week (3.4 h=week more than they currently spend). However, given that lack of time has
been identi®ed as a major barrier to being physically
active,27,28 it is doubtful that increases of this magnitude would be feasible for most people. It is also
possible that the belief that one needs to perform a
large amount of physical activity may act as a barrier
in itself, given that lack of motivation and laziness
have also been identi®ed as common barriers.27,28
Promoting small changes in physical activity performed throughout the day may be more realistic
and achievable than increases in structured or planned
activity sessions of a long duration. Future research
should investigate opportunities to increase occupational and incidental activity, as well as public perceptions of the practicality of making such changes.
A limitation of this study is the modest response
rate achieved. Although the sample was generally
representative in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, and the distribution of body weight re¯ected
that of the population and the prevalence of weightcontrol behaviour was similar to that reported in other
studies, the results must be interpreted with some
caution. It is possible that respondents may have
been more active than non-respondents. Participation
in all types of physical activity in this study was
considerably greater than has been previously
reported for adults attempting weight loss 11,13 and
for the Victorian population.17 While this may be a
consequence of response bias or over-reporting, we
consider the higher participation in physical activity
observed is more likely to be attributable to the
measures used to assess physical activity. Unlike
previous research, we examined total physical activity, not just planned leisure-time activity. Our ®ndings
suggest that occupational and incidental activity may
signi®cantly contribute to total physical activity, and
to maintaining energy balance. However, as there is
little validated data on the contribution of occupational and incidental activities to total energy expenditure, and the accuracy of self-reported occupational
and incidental activity, further research is required.
This study is unique as it examined, in a population-based sample, the physical activity beliefs and
behaviours of adults attempting weight control. The
Physical activity beliefs and behaviours
A Timperio et al
data suggest that, while walking is common among
those attempting weight control, many men and
women may not fully recognize the potential value
of moderate-intensity activity as a means of controlling their weight. Greater efforts should be made to
promote moderate-intensity physical activity to those
attempting weight control, particularly activity that
can take place outside of the planned activity sessions.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a research grant from
the Australian Research Council and Deakin University. Anna Timperio and Jo Salmon are recipients of
Deakin University Postgraduate Research Awards.
David Crawford is supported by a Public Health
Fellowship from the National Health and Medical
Research Council. The authors wish to thank Dr
Sing Kai Lo for his statistical advice and Professor
Adrian Bauman for his helpful comments.
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