Submission Date

7-22-2015

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Health & Exercise Physiology

Faculty Mentor

Deborah Feairheller

Student Contributor

Allyson K. Getty

Comments

Presented during the 17th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 24, 2015 at Ursinus College.

Project Description

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been identified as a leading cause of death in the United States, with more than two million Americans having a heart attack or a stroke and close to a million deaths each year. Research shows that one of the independent risk factors for CVD is increased sedentary time. Sedentary behaviors predominate modern life, and there are numerous negative health effects associated with inactivity. Physical fitness is inversely related to mortality, and it is believed that by simply decreasing sedentary time and increasing exercise time, cardiovascular risk factors and vascular health measures will improve. Previous studies have found that four weeks of functional fitness training reduces systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), leads to weight loss, fat loss, and improves fitness. Currently, there are eight adults enrolled in the study and data collection is ongoing. The purpose of this study is to determine if a 4-week self-report lifestyle intervention will increase health and fitness measures such as VO2max, single leg balance time, endurance measures, core strength, power and speed. We hypothesize that the exercise program will lead to an increase in VO2max, muscle mass and speed, as well as a decrease in body fat and other cardiovascular measures in adults aged 18 and over.

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