Dr. Gay and several PACE Lab students have received funding from the UGA Division of Student Affairs to examine the impact of studying behaviors on Vitamin D levels in college students. This project is student-driven research designed to provide research and health promotion outreach opportunities for undergraduate students in the PACE Lab. More on this study here.
PACE Lab Students Present Their Research at CURO Symposium
Congratulations to Catriona Geddes, Rhiannon Euhus, and Ginny Lee Olivier presented research projects at the 2017 Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) Symposium!
Catriona’s pre
sentation, Determining Fidelity of the Physical Activity and Learning (PAL) Program, described how closely the teaching activities mirrored those in the original grant and lesson plans. Using data from random direct observations, she found no difference in the fidelity to teaching strategies or student engagement across math, reading, and physical activity games. She did find that student participation more closely followed the plans in reading than in math (p=0.032). There was room for improvement in all subjects. Process evaluation is important for understanding why we may or may not see desired academic achievement outcomes in students participating in PAL. The next step is to generate an overall implementation score that incorporates these fidelity values with dose delivered, dose received, and participant satisfaction.
Rhiannon examined body image dissatisfaction and pressure to look a certain way among Mexican American students participating in a
esthetic and non-aesthetic sports in her project, The Association between Body Image Dissatisfaction and Sports Participation in Mexican-American Youth. She found that 80% of the students reported participating in organized sports. Twenty-one percent of the athletes felt pressure to “look a certain way”, with the majority saying the pressure came from friends, not parents, coaches, or judges. Compared with students who did not play sports, aesthetic sport athletes thought they were smaller than their ideal body image (p=0.0263). BMI percentile, sports participation, physical activity, and sex were significant predictors of body image dissatisfaction (p<0.05 for all associations). These findings provide a better understanding of BID among Mexican-American youth; The results may inform parents and coaches how to identify youth who are at most risk, and aid in the creation of programs that mitigate BID.
Ginny Lee’
s research, Examining Younger Age at Menarche in Mexican-American Girls, assessed the association between body composition and timing of menarche among Mexican American girls. Girls in this sample attained menarche at a significantly younger age than their mothers by 1.5 years (p=0.000). The relationship between mother’s age at menarche and daughter’s age at menarche was significant after controlling for chronological age and BMI percentile. The relationship between mother’s age at menarche and daughter’s age at menarche did vary by BMI percentile (p=0.008), such that girls who were in a higher BMI percentile had a younger age at menarche relative to their mothers. Similar associations were seen for body fat percentage. As earlier age at menarche has been shown to be associated with greater cardiovascular disease risk, this factor may be considered in prevention efforts.
All three plan to write up their findings and submit papers for peer-reviewed publication.
PACE Lab Is Looking for Workplaces Interested in Health Promotion
The PACE Lab is recruiting for worksites in Georgia to take part in an intervention study to increase physical activity of employees who spend a lot of time sitting at work. Research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health issues, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and poor mental health. The average American sits nearly 8 hours per day, and much of this sitting happens at work. This project is testing the impact of a seated active workstation with employee sedentary time, mood, and productivity. Please contact Dr. Jennifer Gay for more information, jlgay@uga.edu or (706) 542-6698.
Dr. Gay and students featured on UGA’s homepage!
A story featuring Dr. Jennifer Gay’s research, teaching, and student mentoring was posted on the homepage of the University of Georgia’s website today. Dr. Gay discusses what she finds interesting about her research, her teaching style, and some of her favorite things to do in her free time. You can find the full story here. Many thanks to the Clinical and Translational Research Unit (https://ctru.uga.edu/) for their support of Dr. Gay’s research and allowing the photo to be taken in their space!
Congratulations to Rosemary Corriero and Kaitlyn Pannell!
The PACE Lab would like to congratulate Rosemary Corriero and Kaitlyn Pannell on their new positions! Kaitlyn Pannell, MPH is serving as the Newton County Wellness Coordinator, working on an employee wellness program. This position builds on her experience during her MPH internship planning worksite wellness programs for Athens Regional Medical Center.
Rosemary Corriero, MPH is an ORISE Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She works in the Office of Infectious Disease in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, Immunization Services Division. Her main focus is the evaluation of the CDC billables project (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/billables-project/), where she utilizes her quantitative and qualitative analysis skills. Hew new position extends the work of her MPH Capstone project examining rates of HPV vaccination before and after the Affordable Care Act.
Congratulations to both of you!
Congratulations to Ellen Wenders, former PACE Team member, on her Presidential Fellowship at USC!
Ellen Wenders, a graduated MPH student under Dr. Jennifer Gay, was awarded the Presidential Fellowship to study physical activity and the built environment with Dr. Andrew Kaczynski and the BEACH Lab at the University of South Carolina. The Presidential Fellowship provides four years of support for doctoral students at the university. Ellen is one of 10 new PhD students to be awarded the Fellowship in the Arnold School of Public Health. Full story from the Arnold School of Public Health here. Congratulations Ellen!
PACE Lab Welcomes New Students
With the start of the new school year we welcome new students to the PACE Team. Check out Catriona Geddes’ and Heather Bornstein’s profiles on our PACE Team page. We are so glad you are part of the group!
Fit Desks Added to Miller Learning Center on UGA’s Campus
One of the biggest classroom and study centers on UGA’s campus has added some cycling desks to use as active workstations. Great idea! Check out the story in our student magazine, the Red & Black, or on the Miller Learning Center Facebook page.
Stair Climbing Study in Full Swing!
Check out one of our awesome stair climbing participants at the new Clinical and Translational Research Unit at UGA! We are learning about different activities to help control blood sugar during the day. For more information on our Clinical and Translational Research Unit, check out their Facebook page!
Congrats to PACE Lab Graduates!
Congratulations to all of the students graduating this past week from the MPH and PhD program! Ellen Wenders, Rosemary Corriero, Kaitlyn Pannell, and Dr. Lindsay Prizer all graduated this week. Wishing you all the best!