Month: January 2022

Dr. Allison Smith led a research study into the physiological and psychological health concerns related to competitive cheerleading. In her sample all cheerleaders had low energy availability and more than half had both low energy availability with increased risk of disordered eating. The female athlete triad also consists of low bone mineral density and menstrual dysfunction, which Dr. Smith had a relatively high prevalence among her cheerleading sample.

Dr. Allison Smith recently received her PhD from the University of South Carolina, and is now faculty at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Dr. Jennifer Gay served on her dissertation committee and is co-author on the published study. The full article is published online.

The CDC recently released new data on state-level prevalence of physical inactivity. At least 25% of Georgians are physically inactive. This means they reported no physical activities like running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise in the past month. Physical inactivity is associated with higher risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and many other chronic conditions. Check out the Active People, Healthy Nation initiative from CDC or the International Society for Physical Activity’s 8 Investments That Work for Physical Activity to learn how to engage your community in physical activity.

The mission of the PACE Lab is to reframe existing spaces for physical activity. Part of this work includes evaluating social and physical environments. Dr. Jennifer Gay is Co-Investigator on a new interdisciplinary team, the UGA Space and Planetary Science and Engineering Program. One of the goals of this program is to investigate space environmental effects on human health, medicine, and in-situ monitoring. Updates for this project will be posted online. Be sure to check it out!

A new research article by Dr. Jennifer Gay and her colleague, Dr. David Buchner from the University of Illinois, has been published. “Twelve-Month Stability of Accelerometer-Measured Occupational and Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Compensation Effects” is now available online ahead of publication and will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour. Dr. Gay found that physical activity, measured by an accelerometer, was stable over 6 and 12 months, with greater stability seen in field versus office-based jobs. This is the fourth article published out of Dr. Gay’s American Heart Association funded study on occupational physical activity and health.

Occupational Physical Activity Opposes Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Modern Replication of the Morris 1953 London Busmen Study

An examination of compensation effects in accelerometer-measured occupational and non-occupational physical activity

Associations Between Office Location and Adiposity in Office Workers