Walk to Jerusalem: Facilitating physical activity in a faith community

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Health Promotion and Human Performance

Year

2009

Author dc:creator

• Schmidt, Lisa

Contributors dc:contributor

• Christine Karshin, PhD, Chair
• Joan Cowdery, PhD

• Exercise Social aspects
• Health education
• Health promotion
• Public Health Education and Promotion
• Sports Sciences

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/264

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-1263