International Journal of Sports Science and Physical Education

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An Eight-Week Supervised Fitness Program in Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among African-American College Students

Received: Aug. 22, 2018    Accepted: Oct. 31, 2018    Published: Nov. 28, 2018
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Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death of all races in the United States. African-Americans are more likely to die from CVD than whites. One hundred and forty-six African-Americans college students were recruited from a historical black college (HBCU) in North Carolina. A fitness course (PEDU 1541) was required for all students at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). An eight-week program was designed by several certified fitness instructors who teach this course at NCCU. This study was to exam the effectiveness of an 8-week exercise program in reducing CVD risk factors, including cardiovascular fitness, waist circumferences, and body fat percentage (BF%). Students’ BMI, body composition, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and trunk flexibility were assessed before and after completion of this 8-week supervised program. All the pre- and post-measurements of the 146 students were compared with a paired-t test to see if there were any significant changes. After 8 weeks of participation in this program, all measurements except their body fat composition improved (p< 0.05). Students’ diet or calorie intake was not controlled during the program in this study. Therefore, no significant change was found in their answers to the modified questionnaire of health behaviors, including alcohol, tobacco, vegetable consumptions before and after they completed this 8-week fitness course. Therefore, increase physical activity level alone may not be sufficient to reduce all risks of CVD in African-American population.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijsspe.20180303.12
Published in International Journal of Sports Science and Physical Education ( Volume 3, Issue 3, September 2018 )
Page(s) 40-48
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Fitness, Aerobic, Body Composition, Muscle Endurance, African-Americans

References
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[2] Mensah et al. An Overview of Cardiovascular Disease Burden in the United States. Health Affairs. 2007; 26(1): 38-48.
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[5] Carson JA, Michalsky L, Latson B, Banks K, Tong L, Gimpel N, Lee JJ, Dehaven MJ. The cardiovascular health of urban African Americans: diet-related results from the Genes, Nutrition, Exercise, Wellness, and Spiritual Growth (GoodNEWS) trial. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012; 112(11): 1852-8.
[6] John D. Griffin, M. S. and Alice H. Lichtenstein, D. Sc. Dietary Cholesterol and Plasma Lipoprotein Profiles: Randomized-Controlled Trials. Curr Nutr Rep. 2013; 2(4): 274–282.
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[9] Morris, J. N., Clayton, D. G., Everitt, M. G., Semmence, A. M., & Burgess, E. H. Exercise in leisure time: Coronary attack and death rates. British Heart Journal. 1990; 63: 325–334.
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[17] Jamerson T, Sylvester R, Jiang Q, Corriveau N, DuRussel-Weston J, Kline-Rogers E, Jackson EA, Eagle KA. Differences in Students Participating in a School-Based Health Promotion Program. Am J Health Promot. 2017; 31(4): 318-324.
[18] Berry DC, McMurray RG, Schwartz TA, Adatorwovor R. Benefits for African American and white low-income 7-10-year-old children and their parents taught together in a community-based weight management program in the rural southeastern United States. BMC Public Health. 2018; 18(1): 1107.
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  • APA Style

    Hsin-Yi Liu. (2018). An Eight-Week Supervised Fitness Program in Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among African-American College Students. International Journal of Sports Science and Physical Education, 3(3), 40-48. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsspe.20180303.12

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    ACS Style

    Hsin-Yi Liu. An Eight-Week Supervised Fitness Program in Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among African-American College Students. Int. J. Sports Sci. Phys. Educ. 2018, 3(3), 40-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsspe.20180303.12

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    AMA Style

    Hsin-Yi Liu. An Eight-Week Supervised Fitness Program in Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among African-American College Students. Int J Sports Sci Phys Educ. 2018;3(3):40-48. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsspe.20180303.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsspe.20180303.12,
      author = {Hsin-Yi Liu},
      title = {An Eight-Week Supervised Fitness Program in Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among African-American College Students},
      journal = {International Journal of Sports Science and Physical Education},
      volume = {3},
      number = {3},
      pages = {40-48},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsspe.20180303.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsspe.20180303.12},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsspe.20180303.12},
      abstract = {Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death of all races in the United States. African-Americans are more likely to die from CVD than whites. One hundred and forty-six African-Americans college students were recruited from a historical black college (HBCU) in North Carolina. A fitness course (PEDU 1541) was required for all students at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). An eight-week program was designed by several certified fitness instructors who teach this course at NCCU. This study was to exam the effectiveness of an 8-week exercise program in reducing CVD risk factors, including cardiovascular fitness, waist circumferences, and body fat percentage (BF%). Students’ BMI, body composition, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and trunk flexibility were assessed before and after completion of this 8-week supervised program. All the pre- and post-measurements of the 146 students were compared with a paired-t test to see if there were any significant changes. After 8 weeks of participation in this program, all measurements except their body fat composition improved (p< 0.05). Students’ diet or calorie intake was not controlled during the program in this study. Therefore, no significant change was found in their answers to the modified questionnaire of health behaviors, including alcohol, tobacco, vegetable consumptions before and after they completed this 8-week fitness course. Therefore, increase physical activity level alone may not be sufficient to reduce all risks of CVD in African-American population.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AB  - Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death of all races in the United States. African-Americans are more likely to die from CVD than whites. One hundred and forty-six African-Americans college students were recruited from a historical black college (HBCU) in North Carolina. A fitness course (PEDU 1541) was required for all students at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). An eight-week program was designed by several certified fitness instructors who teach this course at NCCU. This study was to exam the effectiveness of an 8-week exercise program in reducing CVD risk factors, including cardiovascular fitness, waist circumferences, and body fat percentage (BF%). Students’ BMI, body composition, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and trunk flexibility were assessed before and after completion of this 8-week supervised program. All the pre- and post-measurements of the 146 students were compared with a paired-t test to see if there were any significant changes. After 8 weeks of participation in this program, all measurements except their body fat composition improved (p< 0.05). Students’ diet or calorie intake was not controlled during the program in this study. Therefore, no significant change was found in their answers to the modified questionnaire of health behaviors, including alcohol, tobacco, vegetable consumptions before and after they completed this 8-week fitness course. Therefore, increase physical activity level alone may not be sufficient to reduce all risks of CVD in African-American population.
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Author Information
  • Department of Kinesiology and Recreation Administration, North Carolina Central University, Durham, USA

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