Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Fountain, Brent J.
Committee Member
Chromiak, Joseph A.
Committee Member
Byrd, Sylvia H.
Date of Degree
8-5-2006
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion
Degree Name
Master of Science
College
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Department
Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion
Abstract
Health experts are recommending an average of 10,000 steps daily to attain certain health benefits and suggesting the use of pedometers for calculating ambulatory activity, such as walking. A 13-week, worksite walking program was implemented with teachers at an elementary school providing pedometers, weekly walking groups, bimonthly supplemental nutrition information, and a survey upon program completion to evaluate the effectiveness. Results showed that of the 31.3% that participated, 93.6% have tried to increase their daily activity in the past and 58.1% found the Bee Active walking program to be more effective than previous attempts. Participants reported that wearing the pedometer helped motivate more physical activity and increase total daily steps taken. For non-participants (63.6%), schedule conflicts and lack of time were the top two participation barriers. As a result of providing the bimonthly nutritional information, both participants and non-participants have attempted to make healthier food choices, while increasing their daily consumption of fruits and vegetables significantly.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20234
Recommended Citation
Woolfolk, Sara, "Behavioral and Healthy Lifestyle Changes after Implementation of a Walking Program among Teachers at an Elementary School" (2006). Theses and Dissertations. 859.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/859