Modifying the American Fitness Index Toolkit to Assess the Health of a Campus: Healthy Campus, Healthy Eagles
Faculty Mentor
Katie Taylor
Document Type
Poster
Start Date
10-5-2023 11:15 AM
End Date
10-5-2023 1:00 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Department
Public Health
Abstract
The American Fitness Index (AFI) analyzes a composite of health behaviors and outcomes, community infrastructure, and census data. The AFI ranks the 100 most populous US cities on health and fitness metrics but could be used in other areas and communities. College campuses provide a unique opportunity to determine areas of excellence for promoting healthy active lifestyles as well as opportunities for improvement. To date, there has been no modification to the AFI toolkit for college campuses.
PURPOSE: To modify the AFI toolkit for college campuses and assess engagement in healthy active lifestyles.
METHODS: Institutional data was used to determine demographics of the college campus. Secondly, data was collected from students (n=90) on health behaviors and outcomes using an online survey. Finally, the campus environment was assessed using walkability surveys and geographic measurements to determine proximity of recreation facilities.
RESULTS: On average, EWU students reported sitting 5.4hours/day and sleeping 6.8 hours/night. Further, EWU students struggle to relax approximately 15 out of 30 days. The average student consumes 230 mg/day of caffeine, and the majority of students meet the RDA for dark green vegetables. However, students have inadequate intake of orange vegetables and lean poultry/fish. In terms of campus health, the inner campus has a walkability score of 23.3 whereas the outer campus was lower at 16.5.
CONCLUSIONS: The AFI toolkit for cities can be used to assess college campuses. The modified AFI assessment highlights areas for improvement to empower students to engage in healthy lifestyles. Future assessments should determine ways to improve campus walkability.
Recommended Citation
Garcia, Analicia and Macharia, Christine, "Modifying the American Fitness Index Toolkit to Assess the Health of a Campus: Healthy Campus, Healthy Eagles" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 20.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/res_2023/p2_2023/20
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Modifying the American Fitness Index Toolkit to Assess the Health of a Campus: Healthy Campus, Healthy Eagles
PUB NCR
The American Fitness Index (AFI) analyzes a composite of health behaviors and outcomes, community infrastructure, and census data. The AFI ranks the 100 most populous US cities on health and fitness metrics but could be used in other areas and communities. College campuses provide a unique opportunity to determine areas of excellence for promoting healthy active lifestyles as well as opportunities for improvement. To date, there has been no modification to the AFI toolkit for college campuses.
PURPOSE: To modify the AFI toolkit for college campuses and assess engagement in healthy active lifestyles.
METHODS: Institutional data was used to determine demographics of the college campus. Secondly, data was collected from students (n=90) on health behaviors and outcomes using an online survey. Finally, the campus environment was assessed using walkability surveys and geographic measurements to determine proximity of recreation facilities.
RESULTS: On average, EWU students reported sitting 5.4hours/day and sleeping 6.8 hours/night. Further, EWU students struggle to relax approximately 15 out of 30 days. The average student consumes 230 mg/day of caffeine, and the majority of students meet the RDA for dark green vegetables. However, students have inadequate intake of orange vegetables and lean poultry/fish. In terms of campus health, the inner campus has a walkability score of 23.3 whereas the outer campus was lower at 16.5.
CONCLUSIONS: The AFI toolkit for cities can be used to assess college campuses. The modified AFI assessment highlights areas for improvement to empower students to engage in healthy lifestyles. Future assessments should determine ways to improve campus walkability.
