Applications in Kinesiology
Well-being and Leisure Walking Groups in the UK: Understanding the Socio-environmental Influences
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Marta Anna Zurawik
Walking is the most popular form of physical activity in the United Kingdom that prolongs life expectancy and increases the physical and mental health. The collective and aesthetical experiences of leisure walking provide an opportunity for promoting walking as a therapeutic recreation that benefits well-being. However, there is limited research that evaluates the state of mental well-being of the walkers in the United Kingdom. In particular, there is a lack of empirical knowledge regarding socio-environmental influences on participation in Nordic walking and their implications for mental well-being. Thus, the purpose of this article is to measure mental well-being of the British ramblers and Nordic walkers, and identify various influences that contribute towards well-being. The project was part of a larger, mixed-method 3-year cross-sectional study. Leisure walking groups in the United Kingdom were approached between November 2013 and August 2014. Data gathered from a total of 220 British Nordic walking practitioners and 282 ramblers who completed online questionnaire. Participants answered questions about motives, importance of social and physical environment. WEMWBS was used to assess mental well-being. This study advocates that group leisure walking benefits well-being and provides an opportunity for promoting walking as a therapeutic recreation.
Radical Leisure or Simple Healthy Pleasure?: The Efficacy of Exercise Classes for Mothers' Stress Management
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Janet Lynne Currie
It is not surprising that lack of leisure, lack of time to self and poor mental health are health issues commonly experienced by working mothers. This paper examines the perceived stress–relieving benefits a group of mothers state they gained from involvement in a 3–month exercise class program. To validate its efficacy, consistency of findings were also examined through the triangulated quantitative method of measuring acute pre– and post–changes (or pre– and post–60 minutes interval for the exercise group and non-exercising control) in the level of state anxiety (i.e. how you feel "right now"), via the Spielberger et al. (1983) State Anxiety Inventory (STAI). All but 2 of the exercising women overwhelmingly agreed that class participation decreased their stress levels, explained by them as being due to the break away from normal stressors, and the classes forming a "release valve" for tensions. These subjective findings compared positively with the mean STAI changes, revealed to be significant at the .05 level of confidence (one tailed t–test). The findings of this study illustrate how mothers engaging in exercise classes may gain mental wellbeing and ease stress levels, with the resulting sense of freedom making it well worth the effort.
