3 research outputs found
Understanding the Role of Art Programming in Mitigating Social Exclusion as Experienced by People Experiencing Poverty
No full textInspired by her own work in the art programs in Denver’s own The Gathering Place, the author explores the role that art programs play in the lives of people experiencing poverty. This interdisciplinary thesis challenges our traditional notions of poverty-alleviation services that would construe art programming as a misappropriation of limited resources. The author explores social isolation and social exclusion in the lives of people experiencing poverty through the broad framework of intersectionality. Art programming is offered as one potential way we could navigate intersectional concerns of exclusion, and this programming is explored through the framework of Relational-Cultural Theory. Art Programming offers to people experiencing poverty social connection, which enables financial independence, close bonds with other participants, individual rehabilitation, and the chance to be integrated and make an impact on the broader community. For these reasons, Art programs can be a powerful tool in changing the lives of people experiencing poverty
Evaluation of BMI Accuracy in Predicting Elevated Body Fat in Law Enforcement Officers
No full textExcess body fat may place unnecessary physiological stress on the body and negatively impact the wellbeing of law enforcement officers (LEOs). It is crucial to have an accurate predictor of body fat status to guide programming that promotes healthy body fat levels. This is especially important for LEOs who may be sitting for extended periods (e.g., researching, writing reports) or must respond suddenly to address a physically demanding task (e.g., pursuing a suspect). PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the specificity and sensitivity of BMI compared to skinfold measures of body composition in active LEOs. METHODS: Twenty-three active male LEOs (40.4 ± 9.2 y, 178.7 ± 6.8 cm, 93.0 ± 11.7 kg) voluntarily completed a 7-site skinfold test (7-SKFT) to evaluate body composition (%BF) and had their height and weight recorded to determine BMI. Skinfold measurements were taken using a spring-loaded caliper at seven standardized sites (chest, midaxillary, tricep, subscapular, abdomen, suprailiac, and mid-thigh). The 7-SKFT scores were converted to %BF using established equations and 7-SKFT were used as the gold standard comparison. The %BF and BMI values were coded to indicate overfat or obese status using established criteria: 1) BMI scores \u3e25, and 2) %BF scores less than the 50th percentile based on current age. Sensitivity (cases where BMI and 7-SKFT classified an individual as overfat or obese) and specificity (cases where neither BMI or 7-SKFT classified an individual as overfat or obese) were calculated using the crosstabs program in SPSS version 30 (IBM Corp). RESULTS: The rate of overfat or obese for BMI was considerably higher than that determined by %BF (82.6% and 8.7% respectively). Compared to %BF, BMI showed 100% sensitivity and 10.5% specificity. For the BMI scores in the current study, the false positive rate was 89.5% and the false negative rate for overfat or obese was 0%. CONCLUSION: Similar to prior research in firefighters this study highlights the limitation with using BMI measures as indicators of excess body fat. BMI does not differentiate between muscle mass and fat mass, which could lead to inaccurate classification. Therefore 7-SKFT measures as opposed to screening tools like BMI are recommended when conducting assessments to guide health- and fitness-driven interventions in LEOs
Differences in Hand Grip Strength in Division I Male Student-Athletes Across Multiple Sports
No full textHand grip strength (HGS) is often used as a marker of hand and forearm muscular strength, but also as an indirect gauge of upper-body muscular strength and shoulder stability. For sport athletes that utilize grasping actions (e.g., tennis, lacrosse, wrestling), HGS measures can be used to help guide programming to increase strength and stability of the upper extremity and to monitor progress through rehabilitation programs following upper extremity injury. However normative values for HGS for different sport athletes are scarce. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare potential differences between bilateral HGS across multiple sports in Division I male student-athletes. METHODS: During a preseason screening, 146 Division I male student athletes (19.9 ± 1.5 y, 182.3 ± 8.0 cm, 83.2 ± 11.1 kg) volunteered to complete a standard hand-grip test. A hand-held dynamometer was used to determine HGS for the right (HG-R) and left (HG-L) hands using standard procedures. The highest of three trials was recorded for each hand. One-way ANOVAs with Tukey’s post-hoc test were conducted to assess differences across the different sport athletes using SPSS v30 (a = 0.05). RESULTS: Normative data showed significant differences in HG-R and HG-L across sports (F[5] = 3.940, p = 0.002 and F[5] = 5.871, p \u3c 0.001, respectively). Wrestlers had the highest HG-R and HG-L (52.1 ± 10.1 and 51.9 ± 8.1 kg), whereas tennis had the lowest HG-R and HG-L (42.7 ± 4.2 and 35.7 ± 5.0 kg, respectively). Wrestlers had significantly higher HG-R than basketball and soccer, and significantly higher HG-L than soccer, tennis, and lacrosse (p \u3c 0.05). Male tennis athletes had significantly lower HG-L than basketball, baseball and lacrosse (p \u3c 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest absolute HGS varies across different male sport athletes, therefore, normative values for HGS should be sport specific. Future research that explores the relationship between HGS and injury risk is recommended to assess the utility of using HGS to monitor fatigue and injury risk in athletes, especially those where grasping and grip is inherent to the sport-related tasks. Furthermore, this study focused exclusively on male Division I athletes, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to female athletes or those in different divisions or levels of competition
