The national aeronautics and space administration-u. s. public health service health evaluation and enhancement program: Summary of results

• Published in: The American journal of cardiology Vol. 30; no. 7; pp. 784 - 790
• Main Authors: Durbeck, Donald C., Heinzelmann, Frederick, Schacter, Joseph, Haskell, William L, Payne, Gerald H., Moxley, Richard T., Nemiroff, Marc, Limoncelli, Donald D., Arnoldi, Louis B., Fox, Samuel M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 1972
• ISSN: 0002-9149; 1879-1913
• DOI: 10.1016/0002-9149(72)90156-7

An exercise program was initiated in a federal agency to assess the feasibility of such a program, and to identify the factors that influenced joining, adherence to and effectiveness of the program. The program was utilized by 237 of the 998 eligible federal employees; mean attendance rate was 1.3 days/week. Those who volunteered perceived a need for increased physical activity, believed they had sufficient time to participate and derived subjective as well as objective benefits. Significant improvements were found in heart rate response to the standard exercise test, body weight, skinfold measurements and triglyceride levels. A consistent relation was found between (1) subjectively reported effects of the program on work, health habits and behavior, and (2) improvement in cardiovascular function, as determined by treadmill performance. Many personal and programmatic factors influencing volunteering and participation were identified.