Spring Break
CUPS program a success, to be included in URI 101
Noelle Myers
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: News
10/03/08 - The Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences conducted a study last spring about weight control, and the department is now undergoing a study that will eventually be incorporated into introductory URI 101 classes.
Earlier this year, the department paid a small group of volunteers to participate in its six-week program -Controlling Unwanted Pounds, or "CUPS." This was the first time URI has conducted such a program.
Those in charge of the program wanted to prove it would not necessarily make people lose weight, but allow people to maintain a healthy weight, Katherine Melanson, associate professor in nutrition sciences, said.
Melanson explained the procedure of the program and the impact of the study. She said the first session of the program began with an introduction about eating, maintaining a healthy weight and how to keep a successful diet.
The volunteers were given up-close and personal fitness test questionnaires, and also guidelines on how to record their diets and behavior patterns.
Melanson said each individual was responsible for recording their diets and behaviors in diaries and food logs. These personal diaries were then shared with the other volunteers at each session.
The volunteers discussed their accomplishments, the types of foods they ate and the impacts of these foods at weekly meetings. There were new lessons each session, such as proper exercising techniques, and various discussions.
The volunteers did height and weight assessments before and after the program. According to Melanson, the program was a success. The individuals maintained a "healthy weight" during the six-week study, she said.
"[It is] much easier to prevent weight gain than [have to] take it off and try to lose it," said Melanson.
She said it is most common for young adults to gain weight, and targeting a young age group will help diminish unnecessary weight gain. She also said that people are less likely to gain weight in their 20s and 30s if they keep a healthy body weight from the start, and carry this good aspect through adulthood.
The study has had, "very popular feedback from volunteers about study design and the session we conducted," said Melanson.
Due to the success in the spring, Melanson and her colleagues said they are hoping to incorporate this study into URI 101 classes.
She said currently there are six sections of URI 101 classes undergoing this study, and eventually they would like to include this healthy portion into every URI 101 class. She explained that the students in URI 101 have done height and weight assessments in the beginning of the semester, and will be doing a final assessment before the last.
They also are being introduced to different types of eating and exercise behaviors, Melanson said. The students will be listening to three of these lectures, where 50 percent of the lecture is about eating behavior and the other 50 percent is about exercise behavior.
"We can learn a lot from what volunteers say in that kind of study," Melanson said.
Earlier this year, the department paid a small group of volunteers to participate in its six-week program -Controlling Unwanted Pounds, or "CUPS." This was the first time URI has conducted such a program.
Those in charge of the program wanted to prove it would not necessarily make people lose weight, but allow people to maintain a healthy weight, Katherine Melanson, associate professor in nutrition sciences, said.
Melanson explained the procedure of the program and the impact of the study. She said the first session of the program began with an introduction about eating, maintaining a healthy weight and how to keep a successful diet.
The volunteers were given up-close and personal fitness test questionnaires, and also guidelines on how to record their diets and behavior patterns.
Melanson said each individual was responsible for recording their diets and behaviors in diaries and food logs. These personal diaries were then shared with the other volunteers at each session.
The volunteers discussed their accomplishments, the types of foods they ate and the impacts of these foods at weekly meetings. There were new lessons each session, such as proper exercising techniques, and various discussions.
The volunteers did height and weight assessments before and after the program. According to Melanson, the program was a success. The individuals maintained a "healthy weight" during the six-week study, she said.
"[It is] much easier to prevent weight gain than [have to] take it off and try to lose it," said Melanson.
She said it is most common for young adults to gain weight, and targeting a young age group will help diminish unnecessary weight gain. She also said that people are less likely to gain weight in their 20s and 30s if they keep a healthy body weight from the start, and carry this good aspect through adulthood.
The study has had, "very popular feedback from volunteers about study design and the session we conducted," said Melanson.
Due to the success in the spring, Melanson and her colleagues said they are hoping to incorporate this study into URI 101 classes.
She said currently there are six sections of URI 101 classes undergoing this study, and eventually they would like to include this healthy portion into every URI 101 class. She explained that the students in URI 101 have done height and weight assessments in the beginning of the semester, and will be doing a final assessment before the last.
They also are being introduced to different types of eating and exercise behaviors, Melanson said. The students will be listening to three of these lectures, where 50 percent of the lecture is about eating behavior and the other 50 percent is about exercise behavior.
"We can learn a lot from what volunteers say in that kind of study," Melanson said.
