Tomorrow's leaders in health promotion are being educated at American University today.

 

Robin Brookfield

An In-Depth Look at the Health Status of American University Graduate Students Between the Academic Year of 1991-1992, and 1993-1994

The Graduate Student Council and the graduate students in the Health Fitness Management program sponsored the third annual Graduate Student Health Week from April 4-6, 1994. Students in the Health Fitness Management program volunteered their time and skills to conduct the health screenings, which included blood pressure, body composition, total cholesterol, and a health risk appraisal. The goals of Graduate Student Health Week included providing health screenings for and educating graduate students about their health risks, collecting longitudinal health data of this population for future use, and using these data in planning appropriate health promotion activities for American University graduate students.

One hundred and twenty-six graduate students participated in 1994's Graduate Student Health Week; 60% were male and 40% were female. Further descriptive statistics reveal that average total cholesterol for this population was 174.9 mg/dL, and average blood pressure was 115.67/76.11 mmHg. The male participants had an average body fat of 17.02%, and the females' average body fat was 26.38%. Results were compiled for the 1994 graduate student population as a whole and were then compared to the results from the previous two years to determine the extent to which health risks and lifestyle habits have changed in this population. Participant results were then divided according to their college within the university and then by demographic variables. Interesting variations in health risks and lifestyle habits were observed between these subgroups.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The data was collected at FITStops during Graduate Student Health Week. The FITStops are conducted by staff of the AU LIFE Club. It is part of the campus wellness programs offered through the AU LIFE Club. This paper was presented at American University's College of Arts and Sciences Student Research Conference on February 25, 1995. Robin Brookfield graduated with a masters of science in health fitness management in May, 1995.

It was posted on October 2, 1995.

Last Updated: December 10, 2001