UMass Amherst Seeks Older Volunteers for Exercise Study

AMHERST, Mass. – Researchers in the department of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are seeking individuals ages 61-85 to participate in a study to measure walking steps during treadmill exercise and during activities in daily life.

Participation in the study involves one to three visits to the Physical Activity and Health Laboratory on campus for a total time commitment of 4 to 4.5 hours. Participants will be asked to walk on a treadmill at different speeds and also perform activities that they would perform in their daily life such as folding laundry, watching a movie and completing computer work.

While participants are doing these activities, they will wear several small gadgets that measure physical activity on the waist, wrist, thigh, ankle, foot and chest. They will also wear a portable metabolic system used to measure the air being breathed in and out. For safety purposes, they will also wear an ECG system of chest patches and cables and a blood pressure system on the upper arm to monitor cardiovascular responses during the test.

Participants will receive a $75 Target gift card as appreciation for their time.

An additional, optional component of the study includes one week of physical activity monitoring during usual free-living behavior, and a fourth visit to the lab to complete a peak aerobic fitness treadmill protocol. Two $50 Target gift cards will be offered for these optional components of the study.

For more information or to volunteer to participate, contact the lab at cadencestudy@gmail.com or 413/545-1583.