EXAMINATION OF LIFESTYLE BEHAVIORS AND CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK FACTORS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ENROLLED IN KINESIOLOGY DEGREE PROGRAMS GINA M. MANY, 1 ANDREA LUTSCH, 2 KIMBERLY E. CONNORS, 2 JANE SHEARER, 2,3 HALEY C. BROWN, 1 GARRETT ASH, 4 LINDA S. PESCATELLO, 4 HEATHER GORDISH-DRESSMAN, 1 WHITNEY BARFIELD, 1 GABRIEL DUBIS, 5 JOSEPH A. HOUMARD, 5 ERIC P. HOFFMAN, 1 AND DUSTIN S. HITTEL 2 1 Children’s National Medical Center, Research Center for Genetic Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia; 2 Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; 3 Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; 4 Human Performance Laboratory, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut; and 5 Human Performance Laboratory, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina ABSTRACT Many, GM, Lutsch, A, Connors, KE, Shearer, J, Brown, HC, Ash, G, Pescatello, LS, Gordish-Dressman, H, Barfield, W, Dubis, G, Houmard, JA, Hoffman, EP, and Hittel, DS. Examination of lifestyle behaviors and cardiometabolic risk factors in university students enrolled in kinesiology degree programs. J Strength Cond Res 30(4): 1137–1146, 2016—Preventing physical inac- tivity and weight gain during college is critical in decreasing lifelong obesity and associated disease risk. As such, we sought to compare cardiometabolic risk factors and lifestyle behaviors between college students enrolled in kinesiology and non- kinesiology degree programs to assess whether health and exer- cise degree programs may influence health behaviors and asso- ciated disease risk outcomes. Anthropometrics, fasting blood glucose, insulin, lipid profiles and HbA1c%, blood pressure, and peak oxygen consumption (V _ O 2 peak) were assessed in 247 healthy college students. The homeostasis model assess- ment of insulin sensitivity (HOMA) was calculated using glucose and insulin levels. Self-reported physical activity from the Paffen- barger questionnaire was collected to estimate the average calo- ric expenditure due to different types of physical activities. Despite no significant differences in body mass index or waist circumference between groups, kinesiology majors presented with ;20% lower fasting insulin levels and HOMA (p = 0.01; p , 0.01, respectively) relative to nonmajors. Kinesiology majors reported increased weekly participation in vigorous-intensity sport and leisure activities and, on average, engaged in .300 metabolic equivalent-h$wk 21 , whereas non-kinesiology majors engaged in ,300 MET-h wk 21 (p = 0.01). Our data suggest that students enrolled in kinesiology degree programs display improved healthy behaviors and associated outcomes (parame- ters of glucose homeostasis). Practical outcomes of this research indicate that implementing components of a compre- hensive kinesiology curriculum encourages improved health be- haviors and associated cardiometabolic risk factors. KEY WORDS college students, kinesiology curriculum, metabolic syndrome, HOMA-IR, Paffenbarger, REAP INTRODUCTION T he transition from adolescence to adulthood is asso- ciated with increased sedentary behaviors, poor eat- ing habits, increased alcohol consumption, and weight gain (15). Young adults entering a college/ university setting are at a critical point in their lives in terms of developing personal lifestyle habits, such as physical activity and dietary behaviors, which impact obesity status and asso- ciated health outcomes (28). Obesity and physical activity are associated with the clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors, which include but are not limited to insulin resistance, dysli- pidemia, hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, and systemic inflammation (24). Metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) is classified as a complex health condition associated with overweight/ obesity and comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) (11). It is estimated that 12–15% of the world’s population has MetSyn, which accounts for ;4 million deaths annually (18). Although increasing age has historically been the strongest predictor of increased MetSyn risk, it has been reported that up to 17% of young Canadian adults aged 18–39 years have MetSyn (26) and the age-adjusted prevalence of MetSyn in the US adults older than 20 years is ;23% (3). Left Address correspondence to Dr. Dustin S. Hittel, dhhittel@ucalgary.ca. 30(4)/1137–1146 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Ó 2016 National Strength and Conditioning Association VOLUME 30 | NUMBER 4 | APRIL 2016 | 1137 Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.