STRIVING TOGETHER: UH STUDY EXAMINES PEER
GROUP
INFLUENCE ON HEALTHIER LIVING
STAR Project Focuses on Diet, Exercise Habits of African American
Women
HOUSTON, February 13, 2006—A University of Houston study
wants to know if there really is strength in numbers.
The STAR project, Striving Together Achieving Results, will examine
if belonging to a group can have a positive influence on exercising
and eating right.
“Group strategies, like Weight Watchers, have been successful
in helping people meet individual goals. This project is different
because it focuses on a group of women with a shared goal,”
Rebecca Lee, assistant professor in the UH Department of Health
and Human Performance and lead investigator in the STAR project,
said. “For example, a group goal may be to walk more or incorporate
more fruits and vegetables into their diet. Groups that focus on
a shared group goal usually have stronger outcomes and better maintenance
than groups that focus on individual goals.”
To that end, the project is recruiting African American women
between the ages of 25 and 60 years old who are in good health.
Each person will receive a health assessment (weight, height, body
fat, blood pressure and resting heart rate) and a modest stipend.
Participants must agree to attend weekly classes on physical activity
or nutrition and adopt programs set by their group. For example,
adopt an exercise regiment or eat more fruits and vegetables.
The STAR project focuses on African American women because they
are at a higher risk for obesity and related illness and because
there is little research into this group, Lee said. The first phase
of the project begins March 1 and lasts eight weeks. Six weeks after
the completion of this phase, participants will receive a health
assessment to check on their progress. Seventy-two women are needed
for this first phase, though the project will eventually follow
250 women.
“We’re hoping to partner with community centers, churches
and other organizations as we continue with this important research,”
Lee said.
The study simultaneously will be going on in Houston and in Austin.
One group of women will focus on increasing their physical activity,
while the other will focus on increasing the amount of fruits and
vegetables in their diets.
Those interested in participating in Lee’s study should contact
Jacque Reese-Smith at 713.743.1183 or jyreese@ku.edu.
Lee has done extensive research on the subject of obesity, in particular
the neighborhood factors that may lead to obesity such as availability
and quality of fresh produce, and the quality and quantity of physical
activity resources available in neighborhoods. To read more about
her research, please visit these sites:
http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2005/05may/052305nihgrant_rlee.html
http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2005/10oct/102505para.html
http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2004/11nov/112904obesitystudy.html
Lee’s current study is funded in part by the University of
Houston’s Competitive Grants to Enhance Advance Research (GEAR),
the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
For more information on the UH Department of Health and Human Performance,
please visit www.hhp.uh.edu/.
For more information on Rebecca Lee’s research, please visit
www.hhp.uh.edu/undo/.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan
research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research
centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with
corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse
research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education,
research and service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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