NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2006

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

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
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