As part of a project, students at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences encouraged staff at the university to be more active and were able to achieve positive health benefits for them
Kleve/Kamp-Lintfort, 21 January 2016: Our evolutionary history means we are naturally built to be runners. Our ancestors had to cover long distances on foot every day to ensure their survival. Today, our daily lives have become less active due to the rapid technological progress of our time and the resulting social developments. However, the fact that we are still geared towards an active lifestyle today is clearly evident from the structure of our muscles, tendons and skeleton.
Physical activity is part of human nature and is closely linked to our health; it is the focus of much scientific research, as well as of occupational health management at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. As part of the university’s workplace health management programme, the Faculty of Life Sciences has now conducted a study to determine what health benefits can be achieved through a tailored running programme for untrained university staff.
Nine students from the ‘Bio Science and Health’ degree programme at the Faculty of Life Sciences carried out this study as part of a project supervised by Prof. Dr Robert Renner, Professor of Health Promotion and Nutrition at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. The aim of the project was to train staff members over a period of several weeks so that, by the end of this period, all staff members would be able to cover a distance of five kilometres at a gentle jogging pace without stopping. None of the staff members who took part in the study had any previous running experience, nor were they otherwise physically active. A key motivator for the staff members throughout the training sessions was the goal of taking part together in a five-kilometre company run in Emmerich at the end of the programme.
Once the students had drawn up a training programme, the university staff were trained twice a week under the students’ guidance. The focus of each training session was on tailoring the training to each individual staff member. Initially, the training sessions began with gentle ‘walking’; however, after a short time, the training intensity was increased and the staff were able to cover their first short distances at a gentle running pace.
In order to scientifically investigate any potential health effects, the staff underwent an endurance test, a body composition analysis and blood lipid tests at specified intervals.
The results of the study show that the participating staff members’ endurance capacity improved significantly. The students also found that these individuals had a reduction in fat mass and an increase in muscle mass. Positive changes were also observed in blood lipid levels. This led the students to conclude that moderate endurance or running training can help to strengthen the cardiovascular system, have a positive effect on blood lipid levels and reduce fat mass.
