A Study To Determine If PSU
Females Are Physically Fit

Fall Semester 2005

Table of Contents

Abstract ………………………………………………………………3

Chapter 1 Introduction & Problem Statement…………………………...4 Definition of Terms…………………………………………...4 Delimitations …………………………………………………5 Limitations …………………………………………………...5

Chapter 2 Introduction…………………………………………………….6 Encouraging College Students to Exercise…………………….6 Exercise & What the Body Needs……………………………...7 Workouts for the Busy Student………………………………...7 Summary……………………………………………………….8

Chapter 3 Introduction……………………………………………………9 Study Sample………………………………………………….9 Date Collection Procedures……………………………………9 Sources of Data……………………………………………….10 Instrumentation……………………………………………….10 Data Analysis…………………………………………………10

Chapter 4 Description of Sample………………………………………..11 Results………………………………………………………...11

Chapter 5 Discussion……………………………………………………14 Implications for Professionals………………………………..14

References……………………………………………………………15

Appendix Fitness Evaluation for PSU Exercise Physiology Lab……….16

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if PSU females are physically fit according to the physical fitness evaluation from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. Through this study we observed physical fitness evaluations from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. Only female evaluations were examined. Items on the fitness evaluation included: age, weight, height, percent body weight, fitness classifications, flexibility, waist to hip ration, and body mass index.

Chapter One – Introduction

Introduction & Problem Statement The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not PSU females are physically fit. There has not been a study conducted at PSU regarding college females and physical fitness using the fitness evaluations from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab.

Definition of Terms

Body Mass Index (BMI): a relative measure of body height to body weight for determining the degree of obesity

Adult BMI Ranges - Underweight: below 18.5 - Normal: 18.6 to24.9 - Overweight: 25 to 29.9 - Obese: 30.0 and above

Percent Body Fat Classifications

- Essential 10-12% - Athletes 14-20% - Fitness 21-24% - Acceptable 25-31% - At risk 32% and higher

Waist to Hip Ratio: waist measurements divided by hip measurements (in inches). - Ideal for adults is .75 or less - Healthy for adults is between .76 and .80 - At risk for adults is .81 and above

Range of Motion: the number of degrees that an articulation (joint) will allow one of its segments to move.

Flexibility: range of motion of a given joint.

- Below Average 17 inches and below - Average between 18 and 19 inches - Good between 20 and 21 inches - Excellent 22 inches and higher

Trunk Flexion: measured with the sit and reach test which is administered with a yardstick and tape.

Delimitations

1. Only those females who took the physical fitness evaluation from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. 2. Our study was limited to college females. 3. Only 125 female evaluations were used in the study. 4. Only the evaluations from the Fall 2005 semester were used in the study. 5. The majority of females studied (59) were 18 years old. 6. There was a low number of 21-year-old females studied (10).

Limitations

The study participants were limited to the 2005 Winter/Fall semester only.

Chapter 2 – Literature Review

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to determine if PSU females are physically fit according to the physical fitness evaluation from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. Through this study we observed physical fitness evaluations from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. Only female evaluations were examined. Items on the fitness evaluation included: age, weight, height, percent body weight, fitness classifications, flexibility, waist to hip ration, and body mass index. This chapter describes the literature we researched to help with the study. The literature review is made up of three sections: (1) encouraging college students to exercise, (2) exercise and what the body needs, and (3) workouts for the busy student.

Encouraging College Students to Exercise

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/collexer.htm

An important aspect of exercising and being physically active is sticking with the activity. College students are more likely to exercise and stick with it if they have social support for being physically active. However, the best kind of social support is different for college males and females. A study done at Ohio State University with 397 students found that women were more likely to exercise if they had social support of family, while support of friends was more important to men. Other results from the study revealed that overall, 52% were physically inactive or only exercised irregularly, 31% had exercised regularly for 6 months, and 17% exercised regularly for less than 6 months. The authors of the study believe ways to help the roughly half of college students who are not exercising regularly should be developed. A factor that is also related to regular physical activity includes exercise self-efficacy. The authors also feel that providing opportunities for exercise in attractive, non-threatening settings is key to achieving self-efficacy. Another key to encouraging students to be physically active is to target interventions to their level of interest and motivation. An important fact the authors pointed out revealed that more than likely, if young adults leave the college campus as sedentary individuals, they will be very unlikely to adopt a physically active lifestyle after entering the workforce.

Exercise And What the Body Needs

http://timeforfitness.com/exercise/student.htm

Most college students have worked hard on their education and as a result the body has suffered. Even though most college students aren’t able to visit the gym regularly, there are small, easy ways to fit exercise into the busiest schedule. Students should consider the time spent studying. If study sessions are longer than an hour, the student should take a 5-10 minute break every 50-55 minutes. The article mentioned several ways to add physical activity to a student’s schedule. Some of these activities included: one leg jumping, arm and leg stretches, staircase jumping, and dancing.

Workouts for the Busy Student

http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/college/exercise.html Even though studying burns mental energy, both body and mind need physical activity to function at a peak level. A multi-year study at Tufts University found that if students who exercise three days per week were more than likely to be in a better state of physical health and happiness. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that people get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week. Exercising and being physically active makes it easier for students to participate in class and perform well in academic and social situations. Since most colleges offer a wide range of fitness activities the article includes a few suggestions including: work out at a gym, run / walk outside, tennis, basketball, softball, racquetball, or take a hike. The article also provided several easy ways to add physical activity at school including: bike or walk to class, park farther away, and take the stairs.
Summary
This literature review is helpful to the study because it helped us realize that being physically active and staying that way is a challenge. College students are extremely busy people with hectic schedules. He or she typically doesn’t have time to exercise. The review offered several ways to add exercise throughout the day. Also, while studying it is important to take a break every 50-55 minutes. This break will stimulate the mind as well as the body. Encouragement is key to getting college students to exercise. Females tend to need support from family while males need it from their friends. The literature gave us another perspective to our study, because not only is being physically fit important, but remaining active is the trick.
Chapter 3- Methodology

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not PSU females are physically fit. There has not been a study conducted at PSU regarding college females and physical fitness.

Study Sample

Subjects for this study included college females that took the physical fitness evaluation from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. The evaluation data was collected on an evaluation form, which recorded information regarding physical fitness. All of the evaluations were taken from the Fall 2005 semester.

Data Collection Procedures

Females that took the fitness evaluation included athletes, those enrolled in the Lifetime Fitness Concepts class, and any others who were interested in finding out their level of physical fitness. Each participant went to the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab, which is located on the second floor in the Weede Building. Lab employees administered the fitness test and recorded the data as they went along. The evaluation data was collected on an evaluation form, which recorded information pertaining to the females’ physical fitness. The information on the form included age, weight, height, body mass index, percent body fat, waist to hip ratio, fitness classification, and trunk flexion. On November 7, 2005 a designated researcher obtained copies of the physical fitness evaluations from Mrs. Janet Jewett, professor of PSU and head of the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab.

Sources of Data

Included the Physical Fitness Evaluations from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab.

Instrumentation

The research group decided to take a different approach to conducting a survey on whether or not college females are physically fit. Instead of developing a questionnaire to distribute to female college students, a physical fitness evaluation form was obtained from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. Each female athlete, Lifetime Fitness Concepts student, or any other interested female performed a series of fitness tests and their results were recorded on an evaluation form. The form recorded information such as age, height, weight, BMI, fitness classifications, muscular strength, flexibility, and muscular endurance.
Data Analysis One hundred and twenty five female fitness evaluations were collected from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. To analyze the data, a coding system was used by giving each individual evaluation a designated number. Each number (evaluation) was entered into a spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel. Information from the fitness evaluation including the females age, weight, height, body mass index, percent body fat, waist to hip ration, and flexibility was entered into the spreadsheet as well. For each category the median, mode, average, and standard deviation were determined. After entering all of the information, graphs and charts were used to compare the females’ evaluation results to standard, set norms. The quantitative and qualitative results are discussed in the next chapter.

Chapter 4 – Results

Description of Sample

The study included PSU female fitness evaluations from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. Each evaluation was broken down to record each females age, weight, height, BMI, percent body fat, waist to hip ration, and flexibility. The demographics of the study revealed that out of the 125 females 47% were 18 years old, 33% were 19 years old, 12% were 20 years old, and 8% were 21 years old.

Results

After analyzing the date, we discovered that PSU females are physically fit in all of the recorded test areas, except for flexibility. To determine this a chart and several graphs were used. A chart comparing age, weight, and height of the studied females revealed that as the female ages, their weight tends to increase. However, the 18-year-old age group throws this theory off. The study consisted of mainly 18 year olds, comprising 59 out of the 125 females. Aside from this delimitation, as the age increased, the weight increased as well. The weight mode was 150, the median was 138, the average was 142.9, and the standard deviation was 28.7. Refer to Chart 1 this chart and chart information.

A bar graph was used to show fitness classifications for percent body fat. Forty females fell under the “acceptable” classification and 38 were considered to be “athletic.” This proved that the majority of the females surveyed were at an acceptable, healthy range of percent body fat. Only 18 females were considered to be “at risk.” The mode was 19.6, the median was 26.8, the average was 27.9, and the standard deviation was 6.4. Refer to Graph 2 for the graph information.
A pie chart was created to show the BMI ranges of the females studied. Seventy-two percent were at a normal BMI range of 18.5 to 24.9. Only 16% were at an overweight range, while 6% were considered obese and 6% were underweight. More than half of the females studied were at an acceptable, healthy BMI range. The mode was 27.2, the median was 28.3, the average was 29.8, and the standard deviation was 3.69. Refer to Chart 3 for the actual chart information. A pie chart was formed showing flexibility ranges of the females studied. Thirty one percent were considered below average in this area. Twenty six percent were at an average flexibility range, while 24% fell under the “good” category. Only 19% of the females studied were at the flexibility level of excellent. Flexibility was the only evaluation area where a higher percentage of PSU females were below the average of the set standards. The mode was 19, the median was 19, the average was 18.9, and the standard deviation was 2.87. Refer to Chart 4 for the actual chart and chart data. A pie chart was used to explain the percentages of waist to hip ratio classifications. The chart revealed that 53% were at an “ideal” waist to hip ratio range. Only 16% of the females were considered to be “at risk” in this category. The mode was .76, the median was .75, the average was .76, and the standard deviation was .058. Refer to Chart 5 for the actual chart and chart data. All except for one of the charts and graphs revealed that PSU females are physically fit. In each fitness evaluation, except for flexibility, the females were at an average or above average level.

Chapter 5 – Discussion & Recommendations

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to determine if PSU females are physically fit. The study revealed that PSU females are at a normal or healthy range of body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and percent body fat. The only area where PSU females fell behind the set norm was flexibility. This information proves the answer to the study question. PSU females are physically fit according the fitness evaluations and set fitness norms. It is the research group’s recommendation that this study be conducted again next semester for better reliability and validity. The seasons and weather change may play an important role in determining how physically active PSU females are, which could affect this study’s results. Obtaining an even amount of each age would be beneficial to the next study performed with the fitness evaluations from the PSU Exercise Physiology Lab. Also, using a greater amount of evaluations could better prove the study question.
Implications for Professionals This study could be very useful to professionals. A further study could be conducted to look into the fact that a PSU females weight tends to increase as she gets older. This could prove to be a growing problem that the University could address. The information from this study could be used as an incentive to add newer fitness equipment for students to use. The study proved that PSU females are physically fit; however, what about the percentages of females who fell below the standard norms? If those percentages continue to grow this presents a problem for PSU and those females.

References

Author Unknown. “Social Support Key To Encouraging College Students To Exercise.” http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/collexer.htm. November 2, 2005.
Author Unknown. “Workout For The Busy Student.” http://timeforfitness.com/exercise/student.htm. November 2, 2005.
Author Unknown. “What Does My Body Need?” http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/college/exercise.html. November 2, 2005.
Bryant, Cedric X, Ph.D, Green, Daniel J. “BMI chart and information.” ACE Personal Trainer Manual, Third Edition. 2003.
PSU Exercise Physiology Lab employees and equipment instruction authors. “Packet of information with set norms for the fitness evaluation.” Packet of Information. December 2, 2005.

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|Age |# of Females studied |Avg Weight |Avg Height in inches |
|18 yr olds |59 |142.6 |65.3 |
|19 yr olds |41 |141.4 |65.5 |
|20 yr olds |15 |145.5 |65.4 |
|21 yr olds |10 |148.1 |64.7 |

Chart 1

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Chart 3

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Chart 4

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Chart 5