Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2004

Contact: Lisa Merkl
713.743.8192 (office)
713.605.1757 (pager)

HOUSTON, Sept. 1, 2004 – Lugging tubas across a field while playing the “Cougar Fight Song” won’t be an Olympic event anytime soon, but marching band members are soon to be treated like athletes at the University of Houston.

Like other “jocks,” members of the UH Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band perform at high levels of competition. These athletes participate in intensive training regimens that include impressive line formations and detailed “plays” on the field. Band and cheer team members are no different than other athletes, needing an understanding of their health, nutrition and fitness levels to be at the top of their game during events and competitions.

To promote that understanding, Band Director David Bertman and the Moores School of Music have entered into an agreement that will result in the more than 300-member UH band and cheer squad to undergo fitness, health-related quality of life and nutrition testing in the Quality of Life, Activity, and Diet Assessment Program (QUAD) in the Department of Health and Human Performance of the UH College of Education.

“The football players won’t be the only athletes taking the field Sunday when the UH Cougars take on the Rice Owls at Reliant Stadium,” Bertman said. “Our musicians not only are drilled thoroughly in their musical pieces for each performance, but also must meet rigorous physical requirements to be able to march. We hope these comprehensive profiles of band members’ overall fitness and nutrition further enhance our performances during events and competitions.”

The QUAD is part of the new Obesity Prevention and Urban Fitness Center under development in the Department of Health and Human Performance that will be housed in Garrison Gymnasium.

“This university recognizes that the obesity epidemic across the nation is a growing concern and was instrumental in providing us the opportunity to develop this center,” said Charles Layne, professor and chair of health and human performance in the College of Education. “This is a unique partnership between two campus units that traditionally have had minimal interaction – the UH band and cheer teams and the human health and performance group. To our knowledge, QUAD is the first program of its kind in the country, and we are extremely excited to be a part of it.”

According to Assistant Professor Jill Bush, QUAD co-director, the band members will be run through a series of tests to include:

• Lower and upper body muscle strength
• Walking/gait analysis
• Aerobic fitness levels
• Blood cholesterol and glucose measures
• Body composition analysis
• Analysis of motivation and readiness to change health and fitness behavior
• Dietary assessment

“The fitness assessments will provide us with information on the best type of exercise prescription to maintain or improve fitness levels that enhance performance of marching band members,” Bush said. “Members of the band will be reassessed in December and again in April to track changes.”

Assessing health-related quality of life will provide further information regarding general health impact on daily activities, adds Assistant Professor Whitney Boling, also a co-director of QUAD. This will give a more comprehensive understanding of factors that influence health and fitness behaviors. Extracurricular exercise regimens would be recommended, outside of practice, to improve health, fitness and quality of life based on individual assessments and motivation level. These could include aerobic activities to improve cardiorespiratory function and resistance exercise to improve muscle strength and endurance.

“The great thing about this program is that the knowledge we gain about the unique needs of the band and cheer members will allow us to prescribe activities specific to each individual’s needs,” Layne said. “For instance, we might outline specific exercises for tuba players to strengthen their trunk muscles or balance-training activities for the cheerleaders being supported on a single palm.”

Shreela Sharma, another QUAD co-director and registered and licensed dietitian, says the nutritional assessment element will provide critical information on food, water and alcohol consumption, as well as supplement use, of individuals, allowing inferences to be made about each band member’s nutritional status. The information will be used to identify nutritional needs, develop an intervention plan and subsequent education through individualized nutrition counseling. Band members identified at nutritional risk based on their assessment will be provided with one-on-one counseling, individualized meal plans and guidelines about how to eat during marching season, as well as in the off-season, to meet their nutritional needs and improve performance.

Both master’s level and undergraduate students from the UH Department of Health and Human Performance, as well as interns from the department’s Dietetic Internship Program, will assist in the QUAD program. This will allow these students an opportunity for practical application of what they learn in the classroom.

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 university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.