Wellness Class Impact on Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Obese Hispanic Students

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport Vol. 87; no. S2; p. A50
• Main Author: Soukup, Gregory J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Taylor & Francis Ltd 01.06.2016
• Subjects: Body Composition; Disease control; Ethnic Groups; Exercise; Females; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic students; Minority students; Mortality; Obesity; Physical fitness; Scientific Concepts; Undergraduate Students; Wellness; Womens health
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2008) have recommended American adults engage in 150 min of moderate-intensity or 75 min of vigorous aerobic physical activity per week to control weight, improve health, and reduce mortality rates. Physical activity rates for Americans drop significantly during adolescence and continue to decline with age (Haskell et al., 2007). Hispanic Americans have some of the lowest reported rates of physical activity in the United States. The CDC (2012) reported only 24.7% of Hispanics older than 18 years of age met CDCrecommended activity guidelines and 57.1% of Hispanic women were sedentary. The National Center for Health Statistics (2013) reported higher-than-average obesity rates of 40.45% for Hispanic Americans (44.6% for women, 36.3% for men). The combination of low rates of physical activity and high rates of obesity has significantly increased rates of several chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes in Hispanic Americans (CDC, 2005; Ogden et al., 2006; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Fahlman et al. (2006) reported adolescent Hispanic girls had the worst aerobic fitness rates of any ethnic group, with 72% classified as "poor." The University of the Incarnate Word requires undergraduate students take a 2-hr wellness class to improve overall wellness of students. The class lasts 15 weeks, and students perform 1 hr of structured aerobic exercise per week in class and 30 min per week outside of class. This study aimed to determine if a university wellness course produced significant differences in obese Hispanic students' 1.5-mile run times and cardiorespiratory fitness levels at the end of a semester of instruction. Data were collected from 18 obese Hispanic students (13 women, 5 men) who were on average 20 years old. Body mass index rates greater than 30 were classified as obese. Pretest/posttest 1.5-mile run times were collected 15 weeks apart, and Cooper Institute (2005) norms were used to assess cardiorespiratory fitness. T tests were used to determine significant differences in run times and cardiorespiratory fitness levels, and the level of significance was set at p , .05. T tests determined significant improvements in both 1.5-mile run times and cardiorespiratory fitness. Run times improved by 7.8% and were reduced an average of 91.7 s ( p , .001). Aerobic fitness improved significantly from 9.59 at pretest to 13.88 posttest ( p , .019). The results suggest that a university wellness class that provided obese Hispanic students with 1.5 hr of structured aerobic activities per week for 15 weeks significantly improved their cardiorespiratory health by the end of a semester of instruction.