Abstract
Purpose: Obesity affects nearly 33% of the adult population and is estimated to increase to 50% by the year 2020. In anticipation of this trend, we evaluated NSU's campus-wide fitness program "Slimming with the Sharks" on improving indicators of faculty and staff health. Methods: 22 obese faculty and staff (35±10.7 yrs.; 36.8±3.6 BMI) completed the program. The campus-wide fitness program consisted of 72 personal and group exercise session training caridovascular endurance, muscular strength, and mobility. In addition to the exercise, participants were offered optional educational presentations on health and wellness. As an evaluation of the program, we measured pre- and post- indicators of health including cardiovascular endurance, body composition, muscular strength/endurance, flexibility, body mass index, and hypertension. Results: A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated significant (p ≤ 0.012) improvements in body composition (43.7±0.1 % pre, 37.7±0.1% post, muscular strength/endurance (push-up 7.0±6.1 reps. pre, 16.6±10.2 reps. post; curl-up 16.8±8.9 reps. pre, 23.7±3.0 reps. post), flexibility (22.±15.0 cm. pre, 29.3±10.2 cm. post), BMI (36.8 ± 3.6 pre, 32.9±4.3 post), and blood pressure (124.7 ± 6.8 mmHg SBP pre, 115.3 ± 6.8 mmHg SBP post; 82.6 ± 6.7 mmHg DBP pre, 78.1 ± 11.5 mmHg SBP). Conclusion: NSU's "Slimming with the Sharks" effectively decreased body fat %, BMI, and blood pressure in faculty and staff. It also effectively improved muscular strength/endurance and lower back flexibility. Additional NSU support may be warranted to improve future exercise programs.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Corey Peacock
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-4-2014 1:00 PM
End Date
4-4-2014 5:30 PM
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Campus-Wide Exercise Program on Faculty and Staff Health
Alvin Sherman Library
Purpose: Obesity affects nearly 33% of the adult population and is estimated to increase to 50% by the year 2020. In anticipation of this trend, we evaluated NSU's campus-wide fitness program "Slimming with the Sharks" on improving indicators of faculty and staff health. Methods: 22 obese faculty and staff (35±10.7 yrs.; 36.8±3.6 BMI) completed the program. The campus-wide fitness program consisted of 72 personal and group exercise session training caridovascular endurance, muscular strength, and mobility. In addition to the exercise, participants were offered optional educational presentations on health and wellness. As an evaluation of the program, we measured pre- and post- indicators of health including cardiovascular endurance, body composition, muscular strength/endurance, flexibility, body mass index, and hypertension. Results: A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated significant (p ≤ 0.012) improvements in body composition (43.7±0.1 % pre, 37.7±0.1% post, muscular strength/endurance (push-up 7.0±6.1 reps. pre, 16.6±10.2 reps. post; curl-up 16.8±8.9 reps. pre, 23.7±3.0 reps. post), flexibility (22.±15.0 cm. pre, 29.3±10.2 cm. post), BMI (36.8 ± 3.6 pre, 32.9±4.3 post), and blood pressure (124.7 ± 6.8 mmHg SBP pre, 115.3 ± 6.8 mmHg SBP post; 82.6 ± 6.7 mmHg DBP pre, 78.1 ± 11.5 mmHg SBP). Conclusion: NSU's "Slimming with the Sharks" effectively decreased body fat %, BMI, and blood pressure in faculty and staff. It also effectively improved muscular strength/endurance and lower back flexibility. Additional NSU support may be warranted to improve future exercise programs.
