Influence of physical education on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of urban public school children in St. Louis, Missouri, 2011-2014.

We quantified the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA, heart rate ≥140 bpm) of urban public elementary school children on school days with and schooldays without physical education (PE) class by using continuous heart rate monitoring. The heart rate of 81 students (93.8% black) in grades 3 and 5 was recorded in 15-second intervals. On the basis of 575 school-day observations (mean 7.1 days/student), students accumulated 44.4 (standard deviation [SD], 34.4) minutes of MVPA on days with PE and 30.6 (SD, 29.9) MVPA minutes on days without PE (P < .001). School policies should promote daily PE to help children in under-resourced areas achieve the recommended 60 minutes per day of MVPA.

Worksite Opportunities for Wellness (WOW): effects on cardiovascular disease risk factors after 1 year.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a worksite health promotion program on improving cardiovascular disease risk factors. METHODS: In St Louis, Missouri from 2005 to 2006, 151 employees (134 F, 17 M, 81% overweight/obese) participated in a cohort-randomized trial comparing assessments + intervention (worksite A) with assessments only (worksite B) for 1 year. All participants received personal health reports containing their assessment results. The intervention was designed to promote physical activity and favorable dietary patterns using pedometers, healthy snack cart, WeightWatchers(R) meetings, group exercise classes, seminars, team competitions, and participation rewards. Outcomes included BMI, body composition, blood pressure, fitness, lipids, and Framingham 10-year coronary heart disease risk. RESULTS: 123 participants, aged 45+/-9 yr, with BMI 32.9+/-8.8 kg/m(2) completed 1 year. Improvements (P< or =0.05) were observed at both worksites for fitness, blood pressure, and total-, HDL-, and LDL-cholesterol. Additional improvements occurred at worksite A in BMI, fat mass, Framingham risk score, and prevalence of the metabolic syndrome; only the changes in BMI and fat mass were different between worksites. CONCLUSION: A multi-faceted worksite intervention promoted favorable changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors, but many of the improvements were achieved with worksite health assessments and personalized health reports in the absence of an intervention.

Exercise and cardiometabolic risk factors in graduate students: a longitudinal, observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cardiometabolic risk of students longitudinally and compare them with age-matched national samples. PARTICIPANTS: Participants are 134 graduate students enrolled between August 2005 and May 2010. METHODS: Students were assessed at the beginning and end of their 3-year curriculum. Comparative samples included 966 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants and 5,154 National College Health Assessment respondents. RESULTS: Most students had desirable weight, blood glucose, lipids, and fitness at both time points. However, 26.9% had elevated blood pressure, 29.9% performed aerobic exercise < 3 days/week, and 80.6% consumed < 5 fruits/vegetables daily. Relative to young adults nationwide, these students exhibited more favorable exercise patterns, dietary patterns, and cardiometabolic indices. Over time, increases in adiposity and decreases in exercise frequency correlated with adverse changes in lipid concentrations and fitness. CONCLUSIONS: Small changes in lifestyle behaviors and adiposity within a healthy cohort of young adults significantly influenced cardiometabolic indices during their graduate career.