Students living in the College of Agriculture’s Residential College will be using pedometers throughout the spring in their first fitness challenge.
The students will count their steps each day throughout the semester, and the group with the most steps will win the competition.
At least 150 pedometers have been given out by the College of Agriculture, and participants for the competition, which ends April 30, include students from all seven floors of Blake Hall and the AgCollege administration, faculty, staff and student workers, said Betsy Garrison, associate dean of the College of Agriculture.
The program should prevent students from gaining weight, and in some cases, it may even help them lose weight if followed correctly, according to Sandra May, coordinator of Extension’s LA on the Move Walking Program.
“The purpose of this fitness challenge is to help increase the physical activity of the participants and to show them that exercise is not only beneficial to one’s health, but also fun to do, especially when you have the help of friends’ motivation and a goal to work towards,” Jamie Mascari, graduate assistant in the College of Agriculture, said in an e-mail.
During the first week of the Fitness Challenge, Blake Hall’s second floor raced to first place with a combined 497,169 steps, equaling 248 miles, Garrison said.
In addition to the use of pedometers, the students will enter their daily number of steps into the America on the Move website.
The America on the Move Foundation is a national non-profit organization. Its mission is “to improve health and quality of life by promoting healthful eating and active living among individuals, families, communities and society,” according to the foundation’s website.
AOMF offers the opportunity to participate in the program to several states in the country, and the University accepted the offer to join, said Ellen Murphy, associate director at the School of Human Ecology.
The University contributed money to the foundation, and students were given free pedometers to watch and record their daily activity, Murphy said.
Several years ago, the AgCenter became a partner with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the University put money up front to create a database to collect the number of steps from participants, May said.
“We do nutrition programs with the general public and the elderly,” May said. “We wanted to see if we could improve their nutrition and health of their family.”
Louisiana has a higher obesity rate than most other states, and pedometers can be a motivating factor to get people active, May said.
“Dr. Betsy Garrison contacted us to get her students involved in the walking program through the Fitness Challenge,” Murphy said. “Apparently, it is as successful with her students as it has been with our clientele.”
The pedometers will make students aware of their daily activity, and organizers hope this program will increase physical fitness for some students, Garrison said.
While using the America on the Move website, students will track their steps every day. Participants have been asked to measure their normal amount of steps per day and increase the number by 2,000 steps. In addition, they will decrease their average daily caloric intake by 100, May said.
The floor with the most number of steps will receive a prize at the end of the semester.
“We haven’t decided on anything yet, but I’d like to see a bicycle, bicycle tire pump or tennis shoes for the winning floor,” Garrison said.
 
 
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]