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. 

Blog Post #5 -- Working Bibliography

Research Question

As students enter college it is clear that the motivation to exercise decreases. Can colleges encourage more students to invest into their health and fitness? Why should colleges devote resources into the well-being of their community?

Bibliography

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.

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.

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.

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 Post #4 -- Research Proposal

Working Title: Why is Exercise Not A College Requirement?

Topic

            I am going to examine why colleges do not require exercise courses as part of their curriculum. Many colleges do offer “gym” classes but only on an “if interested” basis. My paper will aim to draw attention to why colleges should require these classes or an incentive for their students to engage in exercise. This becomes especially appropriate today with rising stress levels among students and be a way to combat those levels through college.

Research Question

            As students enter college it is clear that the motivation to exercise decreases. Can colleges encourage more students to invest into their health and fitness? Why should colleges devote resources into the well-being of their community?

Theoretical Frame

            In the article, Motivation and Barriers To Exercise Among College Students, by Ebben and Brudzynski, it was found that there are common factors among students regarding the will to exercise. Common barriers that were found are as follows, “no time”, “school workload too high”, “studying for exams”, “laziness” or “other priorities”. These barriers are important for colleges to be aware of as these ideas are fairly reasonable. While it may be difficult for colleges to reduce the pressures of academics they may be able to instead promote the motivations behind exercise. The most common reasons people exercise include health, fitness, stress reduction, pleasure and visual attractiveness. These motivating factors can be emphasized by promoting fitness centers, extracurricular clubs and classes around campus. Physical activity levels are important to monitor for overall health not just through college but to maintain habits into adulthood.

With colleges offering to give credit for exercise, this could be seen as a win/win situation for most students. These courses would be easy health and fitness “gym” classes for an easy grade as well as college credit.  Colleges should direct more resources into these courses to create a healthier environment around campus and more importantly hope to decrease student stress levels. I am very invested in this as I am to pursue a career in the medical field, specifically Physical Therapy. Long term investments in health are important to develop proper health behaviors throughout life not just college. Colleges requiring exercise as a part of the curriculum could act as a form of preventative medicine.

Cases or Examples

            While it is known that physical activity levels decrease in college. Weight gain also becomes a prominent issue for college life. In the study, Weight Changes, Exercise, and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College, the authors offer interesting information on how weight gain and behavioral patterns during college can contribute to overweight and obesity in adulthood. The research aims to analyze dietary habits and exercise behaviors in college students. I believe this is a great case to study for my paper as it takes into account dietary concerns. Often times young adults may believe that going to the gym or working out should suffice for good health. What they fail to realize is that health and wellness encompasses both exercise and diet. This is a great avenue to take for my analysis since I have seen many posters around dining halls promoting healthier foods but not many regarding exercise. Another relevant search I came across was from the study, Predictors of Physical Activity and Barriers to Exercise in Nursing and Medical Students, this was interesting because even prospective healthcare professionals show low levels of physical activity. Students who learn the most about health and fitness do not even follow their own teachings. How can future medical and nursing students be expected to advise patients when they do not even follow a healthy exercise routine. The ideology behind not exercising for these students are the lack of time due to the demand of their studies. The results just go to show how even educating students on the benefit of health and exercise may not be most effective. This is relatable as a student in the medical professions, where sciences and other health courses require so much review of material that sometimes there is not enough time to go to the gym. Often times priorities lie within academics since there is little room for mistakes and wasting time. Many students believe that they can focus on school now and then maybe have time to go to the gym in the future. That is another understandable angle but does not always succeed. I do believe it is possible to still have healthy exercise habits in college despite certain courses.  Young adults in college must develop healthy habits in the presence of stress to combat obesity in the future. Building a foundation is important which is why colleges should implement exercise or “gym” classes into their requirements. The groundwork of a healthy routine in the face of adversity is important for students to create, which will snowball into the future.

Bibliography

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.

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.

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.

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.

Literature Review #2

Weight Changes, Exercise, and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College -- Literature Review

Citation: 

  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.

Summary:

The article explores the idea that certain habits and behaviors in college can develop further into adulthood. As students transition into college life, the demands of college lead students to prioritize their needs. Unfortunately, the pressures of college force students to really focus on academics which puts diet and exercise lower on their priorities. The authors specifically research weight, exercise and dietary patterns for underclassmen students who have just entered college. Overall the study found a potentially significant weight gain (~9 lb) in 70% of the students during the first 2 years of college. Also the inactivity and unhealthy dietary behaviors that characterize many students during their early college years contribute to this. 

Authors:

The authors come from backgrounds of medical professions, such as PT's or Nursing or fields of higher education in Exercise Physiology. The health professions and sports medicine fields are important to my topic as they encompass the essentials for my research -- exercise, diet and physical activity.

Key terms:

• body mass index
• a weight-to-height ratio used as an indicator of obesity or being underweight
• diet
• food and drink regularly consumed
• obesity
• the condition of being excessively fat or overweight

Three quotes:

1. "The transition between adolescence and adulthood, a common age for college attendance, frequently is accompanied by dramatic and inappropriate weight gain"(245). 
2. "Because nearly two thirds of the adult population in America is classified as overweight, it is important to understand the role that the college environment may play in this epidemic, and to consider institutional strategies that might encourage college students to pursue healthy exercise and eating habits and maintain healthy body weight throughout college"(250).
3. "Promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviors early in college may have long-term benefits through adulthood that would serve to reduce the rising incidence of physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity in our society"(250). 

This material is great for my research question since it addresses how promoting healthy behaviors in college can affect adulthood. The article goes to investigate the diet aspect of health and how not properly investing in diet can result to obesity or being overweight later in life. Along with exercise, diet is actually even more important to health and physique. Exercise is simply a supplement for diet, both should be combined with good habits to ensure healthy behaviors and routines. 

Literature Review #1

MOTIVATIONS AND BARRIERS TO EXERCISE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS 

Lit Review

Citation: Ebben, William, and Laura Brudzynski. “MOTIVATIONS AND BARRIERS TO EXERCISE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS.” Journal of Exercise Physiology, Oct. 2008, www.asep.org/asep/asep/EbbenJEPonlineOctober2008.pdf.

Summary: The purpose of this research was to gather comprehensive information as to why young adults, more specifically college students, have seen a significant decrease in physical activity levels. The study aims to highlight certain motivations and barriers influence exercise behaviors in college. Many factors play a role in what drives people to exercise and stay healthy. The most common terms or excuses are--  "no time", "lazy", "other priorities", "no motivation" and/or "too tired". These are all very reasonable reasons for why physical activity levels are so low in college students but they are barriers that hold us from bettering ourselves. Exercise physiologists conduct this research to understand why college students seem to put exercise on the side. Along with exercise physiologists, sport psychologists are also a great source for this research. A lot of restrictive factors in physical activity levels come from mentality. This article utilizes the fields of exercise physiology and sport psychology to gather data on the exercise behaviors of college students. 

Authors: 

• William Ebben
• Marquette University/Department of Physical Therapy, Program in Exercise Science, Milwaukee, WI
• Laura Brudzynski
• Marquette University/Department of Psychology, Program in Exercise Science, Milwaukee, WI

Key terms:

• exercise physiology
• the study of the body's response to physical activity
• sport psychology
• a discipline focused on the development and application of psychological theory for the understanding and modification of human behavior in the sport and physical exercise environment
• fitness
• the condition of being physically fit and health

Three quotes 

1. "Physical activity levels decline throughout the life cycle with the largest rate of decline in young adulthood"(Page 2). 
2. "This finding is consistent with other studies that identified 'positive health', 'fitness' and health/fitness management' as the most common motives for exercise"(Page 5). 
3. "While barriers such as a lack of time and motivation, and multiple commitments are most common, the exercise physiologist should ask each client to identify the specific factors that potentially compromise their exercise adherence and work together to identify solutions"(Page 7). 

Value 

This article is very useful in exploring my research since it actively investigates factors that affect behavior. The motivations and barriers behind exercise could give college campuses a better idea of how to properly promote exercise. The article highlights why students do and do not engage in exercise. Targeting the reasons and motivations behind exercise are easier than targeting the student overall. Ebben and Brudzynski offer suggestions on how to deal with individuals with barriers between them and exercise that can be useful for my research question.

Blog Post #2: Scouting The Territory

Topic in question

- I have been thinking about my topic quite a bit, in what ways do exercise and health interestingly interact with college? Some terms that really stand out to be are "exercise", "physical activity", "health", "healthy habits", "motivation", "college atmosphere", "behavior", "participation" and "diet". A lot of the material online explores the motivations to why there is a decrease in exercise and health in college. I am interested in what colleges can do to change that or maybe what would incline students to exercise more.

Some scholarly articles:

• https://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=8&sid=8bd35a34-ed64-4044-bf3f-212f1cf0c294%40sdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=126169925&db=aph 
• I saw this article as interesting because it puts exercise behaviors against drinking behaviors which is very intriguing to me. This brought light to some of the other avenues students may turn to instead of physical exercise. 
• https://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=10&sid=8bd35a34-ed64-4044-bf3f-212f1cf0c294%40sdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=132696398&db=aph
• I was really drawn to this article as it highlights the "psychological needs" and "exercise motivation" for exercise. However, this may not directly correlate to American students as it only mentions among Chinese college students. It does give insight into student life which is just as important no matter the country. 

Overall I am looking for a very interesting angle that can be researched in a way thats exciting to me. I draw a lot of passion for this topic as I pursue a career in the medical field, hopefully this research can help me in the future! 

and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College, Journal of American

College Health, 53:6, 245-251, DOI:

10.3200/JACH.53.6.245-251

and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College, Journal of American

College Health, 53:6, 245-251, DOI:

10.3200/JACH.53.6.245-251

Blog Post #3: Research Questions and 3 Academic Sources

Research Question in mind:
As students enter college it is clear that the motivation to exercise decreases. How can college campuses make they encourage more students to invest into their health and exercise?

Academic sources:
1. Susan B Racette Phd, Susan S Deusinger Pt, Phd, Michael J Strube Phd, Gabrielle R Highstein Rn, Phd & Robert H Deusinger Pt,Phd (2005) Weight Changes, Exercise, and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College, Journal of American College Health, 53:6, 245-251, DOI: 10.3200/JACH.53.6.245-251

2. 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.

3. Dr Bernardine M. Pinto PhD & Dr Bess H. Marcus PhD (1995) A Stages of Change Approach to Understanding College Students' Physical Activity, Journal of American College Health, 44:1, 27-31, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.1995.9937506

Blog Post #1: First Post !

For my final paper I want to write something along the lines of Exercise and Health. Myself being an Exercise Science major with aspirations to pursue Physical Therapy, I believe that this will be a great opportunity to really connect this course to my future. I want to explore the importance of regulating exercise for college students as it is very easy to get caught up in classes, eating and/or sleeping. As stressful as college is, we can not allow ourselves to lose sight of our physical health. Exercise can be as simple as the walks we take to classes or buses, and can be as intense as a high-intensity gym workout. There are many interesting and very practical aspects of exercise and movement that everyone can apply. Ultimately my goal is to bring to light the ideals of sports medicine into everyday college life.