Course Description
Health-related aspects of exercise, physical activity, and physical fitness from the perspective of epidemiology. Biological mechanisms for healthy adaptations to physical activity and the behavioral determinants of exercise participation.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Weekly seminar and research paper.
Athena Title
Exercise Epidemiology
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in KINS 4300 or KINS 6300
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught 95% or more online.
Undergraduate Prerequisite
[CBIO 2200-2200L and (CBIO 2210-2210L or CBIO 2210E)] or VPHY 3100 or VPHY 3100E
Graduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will be able to: o Describe contemporary trends in the prevalence rates of leading risk factors of illness and death in the United States, including physical inactivity according to age, sex, race, region, education level, and disability. o Identify behavioral correlates of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in developed nations and explain how exercise, physical activity, and physical fitness may influence, or interact with, other known health risk factors to promote health and prevent disease. o Describe the methods of exercise epidemiology and the cardinal criteria for establishing causality for health risk factors. o Identify and describe major epidemiological evidence that shows an association between habitual physical activity and/or physical fitness with morbidity and mortality. o Identify and discuss the disease-specific benefits and risks of physical activity and exercise for cardiovascular disease (i.e., coronary heart disease and stroke), hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer and immunity, anxiety, and depression, according to age, sex, race, and disability. o Identify and discuss biologically plausible mechanisms whereby physiological adaptations to exercise and physical activity might reduce risks for disease or improve health or longevity. o Discuss known personal, environmental, and physical activity characteristics associated with participation in leisure-time physical activity. o Discuss the key elements of theories used to understand physical activity and guide interventions to increase it. o Describe typical interventions designed to increase physical activity and their effectiveness.
Topical Outline
WEEKLY TOPIC: Week 1 - Epidemiological Thinking and Causal Theory Week 2 - Measures of Disease Occurrence and Study Designs Week 3 - Measuring and Evaluating Associations Week 4 - Physical Activity Measurement and Surveillance Week 5 - Physical Activity and All-cause Mortality Week 6 - Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Disease Week 7 - Physical Activity and Stroke Week 8 - Physical Activity and Metabolic Syndrome Week 9 - Physical Activity and Obesity Week 10 - Physical Activity and Diabetes Week 11 - Physical Activity and Osteoporosis Week 12 - Physical Activity and Cancer Week 13 - Physical Activity and Disability Week 14 - Hazards of Physical Activity Week 15 - Maintaining an Active Lifestyle
Syllabus
Public CV