Among young college-aged females, overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, and high stress levels have increased, causing overall worse health conditions than previous generations. The use of wearable fitness technology (WFT) by young adults assists in fitness and nutrition monitoring, provides feedback in health statistics, and has shown improvements in reducing health-related issues in young college females. A wide body of literature related to physical activity, nutrition, and health issues in young college females exists; however, the experiences and intent of WFT use for behavior change by young college female millennials has not been well researched. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of young college females' intent for behavior change with WFT. The health belief model was the theoretical framework used for this study. Ten college females, 18-25 years of age, attending colleges in northern West Virginia, who were collecting data from a WFT for a minimum of six months completed individual face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed using phenomenological thematic analysis. Results from the study revealed young college females use WFT to increase physical activity, identify calorie intake and energy expenditure, and monitor heart rate, sleep, and stress to decrease and prevent health issues. These results can provide evidence for other researchers to address the current health inequalities in young college adults. Positive social change implications could include the value of WFT regarding the growing evidence of the importance of physical activity and nutrition by young female college students related to positive health outcomes and reducing health issues in this specific population.

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In this study, we examined how hill running affects the Achilles tendon, which is a common location for injuries in runners. Twenty females ran for 10 min on three randomly selected grades (-6%, 0%, +6%). Achilles tendon (AT) cross-sectional area (CSA) was imaged using Doppler ultrasound and peak vertical forces were analyzed using high-speed (240 Hz) videography. A metabolic cart and gas analyzer ensured a similar metabolic cost across grades. Data were analyzed using a forward selection regression. Results showed a decrease in AT CSA from pre-run to post-run (p = .0001). Peak vertical forces were different across grades (p = .0001) with the largest occurring during downhill running and smallest during uphill running. The results suggest that the Achilles tendon is affected by running and a decrease in CSA appears to be a normal response. The AT CSA does not differ between grade conditions when metabolic cost of running is matched, suggesting an adaptive effect of the AT. Coaches and athletes can use this knowledge to develop workout protocols that transition runners to downhill running and allow them to adapt to these greater forces.

Although teen film is littered with tales of young women coming of age, the messages presented in most of these films follow a formula centered on a patriarchal nuclear family ideal, which leads to damaging perceptions regarding gender roles in teenage society. There is the main traditional model of stay at home mother with a father in the role of the breadwinner; the rise of rape culture; and the glass ceiling in the workplace. The young females consuming a mass amount of this media then reflect negatively on themselves. The research following this conundrum was broken into two parts: the production of a film looking to remedy the many problems of female representation in teen media and then monitoring the reaction to said film against its target audience: young females between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one. The purpose of this thesis is to explore what makes females within the teenage demographic react to certain kinds of media. If they react negatively or positively towards a media representation of themselves, to what extent does this affect the participants' activity in their daily lives? Therefore, through a process of screening three short films focused on teen issues - including the one made by myself for this study - and then conducting a survey focusing on questions regarding the participants' feelings towards the subject matter, their hopes for themselves, and teen media in general, there was an ability to gauge how deeply teen media affects the modern teenager.

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