Blog 10 Abstract & Works Cited

Abstract

This research paper explores the issues with decreased physical activity levels as students enter college. Exercise has been proven to be an essential aspect of health yet gets sidelined due to other priorities. Exercise can be as simple as walks between classes and can be as intense as a high-intensity workout at the fitness center. Many motivations and barriers have been identified as to why fitness and wellness seem unimportant to students. However, college institutions can encourage their students to invest into their health and fitness by devoting resources into the well-being of their community. There are many practical components of exercise and movement that everyone can apply. This research paper brings to light the complications of student life as colleges do not require exercise courses as part of their curriculum. Therefore, higher education institutions can do their part and make exercise mandatory to combat the decreasing physical activity levels and benefit their students in multiple ways.

Works Cited

Blake, Holly, et al. “Predictors of Physical Activity and Barriers to Exercise in Nursing and Medical Students.” Journal of Advanced Nursing, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Apr. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27731886.

Canadas, Laura. “Straight-A Students Dislike Physical Education in Adolescence: Myth or Truth?” EBSCO Host, 2015, web-b-ebscohost-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=356ada15-6973-48b2-a863-7bf798090203%40pdc-v-sessmgr05.

Coverley Veale, D. M. W. de. “Exercise and Mental Health.” Wiley Online Library, 1987, onlinelibrary-wiley-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1987.tb02872.x.

Ebben, William, and Laura Brudzynski. “Motivation and Barriers To Exercise Among College Students.” Journal of Exercise Physiology, Oct. 2008, www.asep.org/asep/asep/EbbenJEPonlineOctober2008.pdf.

Gaskin, Jenya C. “An Investigation of the Association between Sources of Competence and Affect in Physically Active College Students.” Welcome to RUcore - Rutgers University Community Repository, 2013, rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/41431/.

Huang, Terry, et al. “Assessing Overweight, Obesity, Diet, and Physical Activity in College Students.” Taylor & Francis, Mar. 2010, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448480309595728?src=recsys.

Klein, Emily, and Aleksandara Hollingshead. “Collaboration Between Special and Physical Education.” EBSCO Host, 2015, web-a-ebscohost-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=767a579f-f148-43b2-b658-b7597b1be5c7%40sessionmgr4007.

Martinez, Yannica Theda S, et al. “Diet and Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for College Students.” Health Behavior and Policy Review, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5415090/.

Pinto, Bernardine M, and Bess H Marcus. “A Stages of Change Approach to Understanding College Students' Physical Activity.” Taylor & Francis, July 2010, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448481.1995.9937506.

Racette, Susanne B, et al. “Weight Changes, Exercise, and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College.” Taylor & Francis, Aug. 2010, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/JACH.53.6.245-251#top-content-scroll.

Blog #9 Argument & Counter-Argument

Argument

The stress levels of students are now being taken very seriously today as the importance of mental health has skyrocketed. Exercise is often misconceived as only beneficial physically however it is just as beneficial psychologically. The article, Exercise and Mental Health, by D.M.W. de Coverley Veale highlights the importance of exercise as a therapeutic experience. With the burden of doing well in college, students can easily find themselves discouraged or depressed. The article highlights the psychological benefits of exercise and how it can be used as a form of therapy. Although colleges already provide mental health services, there is a stigma around seeking outside help as "weak" or "shameful". This strays students away from seeking help but can be very helpful. The research provides information that exercise does indeed hold therapeutic properties to relieve stress levels. Courses having students exercise could have them benefit physically as well as psychologically. Overall, it would be an avenue for students to access an array of benefits whiles staying active and present in school. Stress levels and physical activity levels seem to have an inverse relationship, therefore by increasing physical activity levels around campus there would be a decrease in collective stress level by those students. 

Counter-Argument

Some students may stress that education is far important than exercise at the moment. They would argue that they can focus on exercising and their bodies after they are done with school. Exams usually happen once where exercise can be done other times. The educational demands would outweigh the exercise demands on health. While they aren't in any life-threatening danger, it would not be so bad to gain a few pounds. Others might argue that exercise-based courses would not make a difference. There is a study on decreased physical activity levels of medical and nursing students. These are students who are prospective medical professionals and still do not meet the proper physical activity recommendations despite learning about proper health behaviors. I would then argue that education is just as important as exercise and they should be supplemental to one another, not prioritized over each other. I would then go on to give examples of schools and colleges that have successfully implemented these measures to combat the decreasing physical activity levels and why it can work!

Blog #8 Case

Case

Case study done by Susanne B. Racette and her team, Weight Changes, Exercise and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College, they investigated information on weight gain and behavioral patterns of college students. This is important for my paper as it explores the dietary aspect of health. Some major points include students not meeting the daily recommended levels of physical activity. The pressures of academics cause these students to put all their effort into their grades. Unfortunately healthy practices must be sacrificed sometimes to devote the time these students have to school. The most dangerous part is that the negative behavioral/dietary patterns in college can contribute to overweightness and obesity in adulthood. This case displays the significance of long term investments in health to develop proper health behavior which would reduce future health risk. Colleges should take notice in order to do their part in this situation. 

Blog #7 Frame

Theoretical Frame

Claim: In order to combat decreasing physical activity levels in their students, colleges and universities should implement exercise-based courses into their curriculum requirements. 

The largest rate of physical activity level decline occurs between the transition from high school to college (roughly ages 18-21). A number of factors lead to students exercising less and less. Edden and Brudzynski explore this in their article, Motivation and Barriers to Exercise Among College Students. Some barriers they identified are as follows "no time", "school workload is too high", "studying for exams", laziness" and/or "multiple commitments". These are some of the many factors that come into play when asking why students exercise less. It seems that other priorities take over in place of their health. My thesis would be that implementing mandatory physical education would allow students to gain benefits physically, mentally and academically all while benefiting the environment of the college surroundings. 

Literature Review #4

Exercise and Mental Health -- Literature Review #4

Citation:

Coverley Veale, D. M. W. de. “Exercise and Mental Health.” Wiley Online Library, 1987, onlinelibrary-wiley-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1987.tb02872.x.

Summary:

Many people think of exercise and right away think of building muscle. There's this stigma that exercise is when you want to get bigger. When in reality, "exercise" is an umbrella term that encompasses the well-being of health. Surprisingly exercise has been known to have great psychological benefits. Author,D.MW. de Coverley Veale, reviews the mood altering properties of exercise and its potential in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. From the findings, exercise has been proven to be a great form of therapy in response to stress and other mental health issues. The main benefit is that exercise provides a "cathartic" function for the discharge of negative emotions which lifts the moods of individuals engaged in it. It is a simple form of therapy that many people already practice regularly. 

Authors:

D.M.W. de Coverley Veale

Academic Department of Psychiatry, The Royal Free Hospital, London, UK

Key Terms:

• psychological
• of, affecting, or arising in the mind; related to the mental and emotional state of a person
• psychotherapy
• the treatment of mental disorder by psychological rather than medical means
• mental health
• a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being

Three Quotes: 

1. "While it is established that regular exercise results in physiological benefits of use in the rehabilitation and prevention of coronary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, mild hypertension or obesity, the benefits to mental health are harder to evaluate and less well documented"(de Coverley Veale).
2. "One effective procedure taught to patients is distraction, in which the patient forces himself to attend to something other than his or her depressive thoughts. A common observation amongst runners is that exercise allows their thoughts to drift."(de Coverley Veale). 
3. "As an additional benefit it seems that a subject learns to associate the usual physical symptoms of sympathetic activity and hyperventilation with a normal health state, rather than with anxiety"(de Coverley Veale)

Value: 

This article is valuable to my research because it highlights the psychological benefits of exercise. It is another reason why exercise is so beneficially and why colleges should take it seriously. Exercise provides people with an outlet for stress, anger and negativity important to balance out our experiences day in and day out. By using this article to support my argument, it adds strength to the healthy aspects exercise can bring to college lifestlye. 

Blog #6 -- Visual

The visuals I have chosen represent project show a yoga class. This is an example of the exercise-based courses that colleges should implement into their curriculum. It would be very advantageous for both the students and the institution. It offers required/elective credit for students who partake and invest into these classes while improving the college environment overall. Yoga is a simple yet relaxing style of exercise that puts emphasis on releasing energy from the body. It could be an important tool for stress management for college students who become pressure by the demands of their lifestyle.

Literature Review #3

Predictors of Physical Activity and Barriers to Exercise in Nursing and Medical Students -- Lit Review #3

Citation: 

Blake, Holly, et al. “Predictors of Physical Activity and Barriers to Exercise in Nursing and Medical Students.” Journal of Advanced Nursing, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Apr. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27731886.

Summary: 

The premise of the article is to investigate physical activity levels of nursing and medical students then cross examine them with barriers or predictors to exercise. Most students did not achieve the recommended levels of physical activity. Despite learning about the benefits of exercise in their classes they found themselves putting it off to the side. The most common benefit that was reported from these students were that exercise provided a sense of stress relief. Most notable barriers were lack of time, busy schedules or not as important. The students were reasonably more concerned about passing their classes than going to exercise. Oftentimes the mindset is that, "let me just finish school first then I will have time to workout in the future". Healthcare professional students generally have low levels of physical activity due to their intensive work load. Overall this could increase their health risk and may influence their health promotion practices with patients. Many people go by the saying, "practice what you preach" when prospective doctors and nurses are not doing the same. 

Authors: 

Holly Blake 

- Associate Professor of Behavioural Science School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK

Natalia Stanulewicz 

- Doctoral student, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, UK

Francesca Mcgill 

- Staff Nurse, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK 

The authors come from different backgrounds and specializations under the umbrella of health professions. They are very credible to this research and have surveyed 361 nursing and medical students studying at a UK medical school. As well as the data they receive, they can provide input to further the research from their working experience. 

Key Terms: 

• self-efficacy 
• an individual's belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors in one's own environment
• nursing
• the practice of providing care for the sick and unhealthy
• healthcare 
• the organized provision of medical care to individuals or a community

Three Quotes: 

1. "Lack of time, fatigue and lack of motivation have been identified as the primary barriers identified by registered staff nurses"(919).
2. "Physical activity levels are less than exemplary in healthcare professionals and students. This is concerning given their education and training around the health benefits of physical activity and their roles as advocates of health and well-being" (922).
3.  "Efforts should be made to promote physical activity in healthcare students to increase the proportion meeting the basic daily recommendation for the level of physical activity required to benefit health"(925).

Value

Once again this is an article relating physical activity and exercise to college students. However this case in particular relates to me personally as I am a healthcare student. I try to remind myself to really practice what I am being taught myself to gain a greater sense of how to provide the best care for my patients in the future. While some people are great at giving advice, they might not take their own advice. In the healthcare field it is very important for us to do both and really provide the most beneficial information for the patient.