Obesity and physical inactivity are on the rise in our society today. Combined with poor eating habits, many Americans are overweight or obese. Churches have become important settings for providing health education programs, especially for African-American populations. There have been mixed results from faith-based physical activity studies, and few have been conducted with Caucasian populations. The present study used the Walk to Jerusalem program as a motivational tool within a Caucasian faith-based setting. The objectives were to increase physical activity, decrease blood pressure and weight, if needed, and improve attitude toward physical activity. The primary objective of the project was achieved as the results showed a significant increase in level of physical activity from pre to post-program. There were no significant differences in weight or blood pressure. Faith-based settings can be useful for proving health promotion and education programs, especially for those lacking access to health care, but more long-term studies are needed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Obesity and physical inactivity are on the rise in our society today. Combined with poor eating habits, many Americans are overweight or obese. Churches have become important settings for providing health education programs, especially for African-American populations. There have been mixed results from faith-based physical activity studies, and few have been conducted with Caucasian populations. The present study used the Walk to Jerusalem program as a motivational tool within a Caucasian faith-based setting. The objectives were to increase physical activity, decrease blood pressure and weight, if needed, and improve attitude toward physical activity. The primary objective of the project was achieved as the results showed a significant increase in level of physical activity from pre to post-program. There were no significant differences in weight or blood pressure. Faith-based settings can be useful for proving health promotion and education programs, especially for those lacking access to health care, but more long-term studies are needed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schmidt, Lisa"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health Promotion and Human Performance","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christine Karshin, PhD, Chair","Joan Cowdery, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:36Z","subjects":["Exercise Social aspects","Health education","Health promotion","Public Health Education and Promotion","Sports Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/264","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christine Karshin, PhD, Chair","Joan Cowdery, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Schmidt, Lisa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health Promotion and Human Performance"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Exercise Social aspects","Health education","Health promotion","Public Health Education and Promotion","Sports Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/264"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Obesity and physical inactivity are on the rise in our society today. Combined with poor eating habits, many Americans are overweight or obese. Churches have become important settings for providing health education programs, especially for African-American populations. There have been mixed results from faith-based physical activity studies, and few have been conducted with Caucasian populations. The present study used the Walk to Jerusalem program as a motivational tool within a Caucasian faith-based setting. The objectives were to increase physical activity, decrease blood pressure and weight, if needed, and improve attitude toward physical activity. The primary objective of the project was achieved as the results showed a significant increase in level of physical activity from pre to post-program. There were no significant differences in weight or blood pressure. Faith-based settings can be useful for proving health promotion and education programs, especially for those lacking access to health care, but more long-term studies are needed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Walk to Jerusalem: Facilitating physical activity in a faith community"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Christine Karshin, PhD, Chair","Joan Cowdery, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Schmidt, Lisa"],"dc:description.abstract":["Obesity and physical inactivity are on the rise in our society today. Combined with poor eating habits, many Americans are overweight or obese. Churches have become important settings for providing health education programs, especially for African-American populations. There have been mixed results from faith-based physical activity studies, and few have been conducted with Caucasian populations. The present study used the Walk to Jerusalem program as a motivational tool within a Caucasian faith-based setting. The objectives were to increase physical activity, decrease blood pressure and weight, if needed, and improve attitude toward physical activity. The primary objective of the project was achieved as the results showed a significant increase in level of physical activity from pre to post-program. There were no significant differences in weight or blood pressure. Faith-based settings can be useful for proving health promotion and education programs, especially for those lacking access to health care, but more long-term studies are needed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/264"],"dc:subject":["Exercise Social aspects","Health education","Health promotion","Public Health Education and Promotion","Sports Sciences"],"dc:title":["Walk to Jerusalem: Facilitating physical activity in a faith community"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Promotion and Human Performance"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:36Z"}