Kinesiology
Angelique Luna, aeluna20sp@ollusa.edu
Our Lady of the Lake University, with Dr. Emily Sauers
Kinesiology
Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Hispanic College Aged Women
Cardiovascular diseases is the number two cause of death for Hispanics in the U.S. Cardiovascular disease are closely rated with high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and can increase your risk for heart disease and this is closely related to obesity. The CDC stated in 2017-2018, 44.8% of Hispanics met the criteria for obesity. Vella (2011) found a positive correlation between low physical activity and heart disease in young Hispanic women, only 30% of participants met the physical activity guidelines and had a reduced risk of heart disease, According to McEligot (2020) Hispanics have a higher obesity rate and higher body fat percentage compared to other populations, but this was due to stress rather than lack of physical activity. Current Literatures is unclear regarding, correlation between Hispanic women between the ages of 18-24 and cardiometabolic risk factors. I will be conducting quantitative and descriptive research, investigating Hispanic women between the ages of 18-24, I will measure their blood for lipid count, glucose levels and collecting their body mass index, body composition, resting heart rate, resting blood pressure and fitness measurements over a two-day testing period. Day one will be collecting preliminary measurements, anthropometrics following a 12-hour fasting period. Day two will take place 24-48 hours after day one and will include cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness testing. The research will help increase the literature to better understand the relative risk of cardiometabolic risk factors in Hispanic women between the ages of 18-24.
Nathan Mekuria, nathanmekuria13@gmail.com
Texas Tech University, with Dr. Joaquin U. Gonzales
Kinesiology
Correlational Analysis Between Heart Rate Variability and Physical Activity: Comparing Young Adults Who Meet or Fail to Meet Published Recommended Daily Step Count
We investigated the influence of meeting the recommended amount of daily steps on heart rate variability (HRV) in college students. Thirty-four young adults (M/W: 19/15; 23 ± 5 years) were asked to wear accelerometers at the hip for at least ten wake-time hours across seven consecutive days. On the eighth day, morning HRV was measured using 3-lead electrocardiography (EKG). Heart rhythms were assessed for 10-minutes during seated rest with both feet on the ground, eyes closed, and in a fasted state. The last five minutes were used for HRV analysis to determine root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), low-frequency power (LF), high-frequency power (HF), and LF/HF ratio. Daily steps were averaged across all seven days, and participants were categorized into two groups using the threshold of 7500 steps/day, which is recommended for adults to achieve health benefits associated with a physically active lifestyle. Independent sample Student t-tests were used for group comparisons. No differences were found between adults that met the daily step threshold (active) versus those that did not (inactive) for RMSSD (active vs. inactive: 34.9 ± 18.2 vs. 38.3 ± 19.5 ms, P = 0.60), LF (7.0 ± 1.1 vs. 7.2 ± 0.8 log ms2, P = 0.55), HF (5.9 ± 1.0 vs. 6.1 ± 1.2 log ms2, P = 0.61), or LF/HF ratio (1.9 ± 0.2 vs. 2.0 ± 0.4, P = 0.35). These results indicate that HRV in young, college-aged adults is not influenced by being physically active, as reflected by total daily steps.
Promise Robinson, pjr7212@mavs.uta.edu
University of Texas at Arlington, with Mei-Hua Lee
Kinesiology
The Effect of Age-Related Differences and Object Properties on Manual Exploratory Behaviors in Infants
Throughout the first years of life, infants explore various object through throwing, chewing, and dropping toys on the floor. As infants age, they learn how to manipulate objects and interact with the environment around them. However, it is unknown how manual exploratory behaviors change in the first few years of life based on object properties. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of age-related differences and object properties on manual exploratory behaviors in infants. To test this, manual exploratory behaviors were observed longitudinally in infants aged six-to twelve- months of age. The infant behaviors were captured via video cameras as they explored nine objects of different shapes (cube vs. sphere), sizes (2” vs. 4”), and textures (soft vs. hard). Datavyu, an open-source behavior coding software, was utilized to code object manipulation behaviors of reaching and grasping. Exploratory behaviors were categorized as actions involving the wrist, fingers, or transportation of the object. The results indicated that finger actions were the most common categorical action across all age groups, with transportation activities as the next recurring behavior. Object properties influenced how the infants interacted with the toys, as larger objects afforded limited ability to be transferred between hands. Overall, the video analysis revealed that infants demonstrated a wide range of manual exploratory behavior patterns. Thus, the findings from this study can serve as an indicator of the developmental undertaking involved in object exploration during the first year of life.