# Exercise adherence and cognitive decline: Engaging with the Black community to develop and test a goal-setting and exercise intensity intervention

> **NIH NIH R61** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO · 2023 · $379,417

## Abstract

Project Summary
The average age of the U.S. population is rapidly increasing and with it the prevalence of age-associated
cognitive decline. Furthermore, the risk for age-associated cognitive decline may disproportionately affect
many historically underrepresented groups. Regular physical activity (PA) is associated with lower risk for
cognitive decline, but many people struggle to maintain PA over the long term. Goal setting presents one
promising avenue to facilitate PA maintenance and has strong public health significance. Likewise, exercise
intensity may further this aim as challenging goals for higher intensity PA may provide the most robust PA
maintenance. Importantly, however, most existing research on goal setting, exercise intensity, and theory-
based exercise interventions overall has been generated among high SES, low diversity samples, and the field
has largely neglected this disparity, with recent reviews and meta-analyses failing to even report racial, ethnic,
or socioeconomic demographic factors. While systems of oppression and structural racism undoubtedly
influence disparities in health behavior and outcomes, it is also possible that existing individual-level theory-
based interventions are not culturally appropriate for many communities, such as African Americans and Black
immigrants (i.e., the Black community). In this application, we will take a community engaged research
approach to tailor and test a theory-based intervention promoting adherence to recommended levels of PA in
the Black community using the technique of person-centered goal setting. We will determine whether
prescriptions of different PA intensities moderate the effectiveness of these goal-setting approaches and test
the theoretical mediators associated with the effectiveness of these interventions on behavioral adherence and
healthy changes in biomarkers associated with cognitive decline. Therefore, the overarching goals of this
project are to take a community engaged research approach to 1) tailor a theory-based goal-setting
exercise intervention in the Denver metropolitan area Black community (R61) and 2) utilize the
Operating Conditions Framework to test the efficacy of the intervention for PA adherence, weekly
volume of exercise, and changes in biomarkers associated with cognitive decline (R33). These
objectives will be met through collaboration with our community partner The Gyedi Project to focus on and fully
engage the Black community in the Denver metropolitan area in the research process.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10767102
- **Project number:** 1R61AG078088-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
- **Principal Investigator:** Angela Bryan
- **Activity code:** R61 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $379,417
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-09-18 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10767102

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10767102, Exercise adherence and cognitive decline: Engaging with the Black community to develop and test a goal-setting and exercise intensity intervention (1R61AG078088-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10767102. Licensed CC0.

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