Obesity is a national epidemic with approximately 66% of American adults overweight or obese, and more than 30% of Mississippians having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. Only 23% of adults eat the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables and 75% have sedentary lifestyles. Diet and exercise play pivotal roles in preventing chronic diseases. Mississippi In Motion (MIM) is a research based, peer-reviewed curriculum for a 12-week community program designed to promote healthy eating and physical activity, encourage social support, and build self-efficacy. Program objectives are for participants to consume 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables, engage in 30 minutes of physical activity daily, and attend weekly educational sessions. Individuals form teams for social support, participate in a health fair and complete pre- and post-evaluations. MIM has been implemented on two university campuses with students, staff and faculty completing the program (n=283). A six month follow-up survey was sent to the 283 participants with 96 returned (34% response rate). Data were collected from pre-evaluations, post-evaluations and follow-up surveys, in addition to anthropometric data. SPSS was used for statistical analysis. In 12 weeks, body weight decreased from 83.52 kg±20.96 SD to 81.92 kg±20.61 SD (p<.001) and BMI decreased from 29.40 kg/m2±6.79 SD to 28.84 kg/m2±6.69 SD (p<.001). Physical activity levels increased as well as fruit, vegetable, and water intakes (p<.001). Independent t-tests determined that six months after program completion, individuals (n=96) continued to consume fruits and vegetables similar to amounts reported in the post-evaluations; however, participants had not maintained physical activity behaviors when compared to post-evaluations. These results indicate MIM was successful with improving eating habits that continued six months after participants completed the program but should emphasize physical activity maintenance. Seventy-eight percent reported they were willing to participate in MIM again if offered on campus. Universities are in a unique situation to develop long-term strategies to promote healthy eating and physical activity behaviors among students, faculty and staff. Mississippi leads the nation in obesity and MIM is having a positive impact on improving health status in Mississippi.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-3624 |
| Date | 13 December 2008 |
| Creators | Lee, Michelle Lanphere |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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