Author: Jennifer Gay

My name is Marcus Dumas and I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior at the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health.  I am conducting a research study as part of the requirements of my degree in Public Health, and we are inviting you to take part in a study about where youth go for their sexual health information.  It should only take about 15 minutes to complete.  I am looking for students who are currently in high school (9^th-12^th grade) in any metropolitan Atlanta school district to participate.  If that is you, please take a few minutes to fill out this brief survey. 

Follow this link to the Survey: Survey Link or copy and paste the URL into your internet browser: https://ugeorgia.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3VltXMn9KXb9FXg

As you take the survey, you may encounter some questions about sensitive behavioral information that pertains to sexual behavior that may make you uncomfortable.  Should you experience any feelings of embarrassment or discomfort, please remember that all your responses will be kept confidential and your responses will not be associated with your name in any way. 

There are minimal emotional and psychological risks involved with your participation in this study.  Although you may not see the direct benefits associated with participating in this study, the information we will gather will be used to improve sexual health education curriculum for students like you. 

Participation in this study is confidential.  Any information that you share will remain private and not shared with anyone outside of the research team.  The findings of this study may be presented at conferences or published for academic/scientific audiences, however any identifying information that you might provide will NOT be revealed. 

For your participation, you will be entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card (one gift card per every 50 participants).  Participation in the survey is not required to enter the drawing.  To enter the drawing without taking the survey, you may click through to the end of the survey or send an email to marcus.dumas@uga.edu with your first and last name and email address.  Your name will be provided to the Health Promotion and Behavior Department’s business office for tracking purpose if you win.  If you know someone who meets the above criteria and you think they would be interested in participating, feel free to share this email with them!

Interventions to increase physical activity in the workplace, like those conducted by the UGA Workplace Health Group, have been named as one of the eight investments that work for physical activity by the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH). A summary of worksite interventions is provided here and the full description for all eight investments are online also.

Check out some of the latest from the Workplace Health Group:

Associations Between Office Location and Adiposity in Office Workers

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

Translating CDSMP to the Workplace: Results of the Live Healthy Work Healthy Program

The International Society for Physical Activity and Health have released an advocacy kit highlighting 8 key areas where we can support and increase participation in physical activity. Over the next few weeks ISPAH will release podcasts detailing how to invest in each area. Check it out!

For adults, the guidelines include:

1. Move More: Add movement throughout your day, including a variety of types and intensities. Aim to accumulate at least 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity, muscle strengthening activities at least twice a week, and several hours of light physical activities, including standing. Those 65+ should also include physical activities that challenge balance.
2. Reduce Sedentary Time: Limit sedentary time to 8 hours or less per day including no more than 3 hours of recreational screen time and breaking up long periods of sitting where possible.
3. Sleep Well: For those aged 18-64 set yourself up for 7 to 9 hours of good quality sleep on a regular basis, and 7 to 8 hours for those 65+ years. Consistent bed and wake up times are also key.

More at https://csepguidelines.ca/

Jennifer Gay, PACE Lab Director, recently published a paper with her colleague, Dr. David Buchner (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) on correlations between office location with physical activity participation and adiposity. See the UGA Research News coverage here and video summary. The full paper is published in the October 2020 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Dr. Jennifer Gay provided expertise for this article at UGA Today on getting active outdoors during COVID-19. Read the full article here.