March, 2011 COSAM E-Newsletter
Contact: Professor Ann McDermott
805-756-6447 amcdermo@calpoly.edu
Congresswoman Capps Comes to Cal Poly for a Tour of STRIDE
Congresswoman Lois Capps (center, in red) met with STRIDE Director
Ann McDermott (center, in black) and Cal Poly students and faculty.
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- U.S. Representative Lois Capps (center, in red) came to Cal Poly for a presentation about the STRIDE (Science through Translational Research in Diet and Exercise) project.
Much of STRIDE's work has been made possible by support from Cal Poly benefactor Jennifer Maxwell and The Webster Family Foundation, as well as the Kinesiology Department and College of Science and Mathematics.
STRIDE projects include an "A-Team" of Cal Poly undergrad and grad students taking health assessments and reporting health data on campus and in the community. The team has also worked with local high schools to conduct health assessments before and after student physical fitness programs.
STRIDE's "Pink and Dude Chefs" program partners with local food banks and sends Cal Poly students to teach healthy cooking lessons in after-school programs in disadvantaged areas — turning middle school students into healthy chefs for their families. STRIDE students are working on creating a webinar demonstrating how to put together the after-school sessions so other communities can use the program as a model.
Read about the Pink and Dude Chefs Program
STRIDE is also conducting a long-term study on the health of Cal Poly students: The FLASH study. Since it launched in Spring, 2008, the A-Team has completed more than 1,900 physical assessments on Cal Poly students, looking at their height, weight, resting blood pressure and other health markers. STRIDE has also compiled more than 5,000 student responses to its annual health questionnaire. The Statistics Department is currently partnering with STRIDE to analyze the data and present findings.