Research study helping participants improve their health through increased activity
Gateway and Lawson still looking for more participants in year-long study
Janice Kuntz, of Bayfield, used to describe herself as a sedentary person whose idea of a perfect day was sitting on the couch with a good book or keeping busy with some handiwork.
But, since joining a year-long ARTEMIS (A multi-centre, prospective, Randomized study To determine the effects of Exercise Managed Intervention) study run by the Gateway Rural Research Institute and the Lawson Research Institute, Kuntz can't wait to get outside for her daily walk and has lost 21 pounds since November.
"Now, I'm an active chick," she laughs.
The ARTEMIS study follows a three-month pilot called the DaTA (Diabetes and Technology for Increased Activity) study, which looked at 25 people in the Huron County area who were at risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The goal was to use technology - a Blackberry, blood pressure and glucometer devices with Bluetooth technology and a pedometer - to see if awareness of a person's health statistics and an increase in daily physical activity could reduce the risk of developing disease.
The ARTEMIS study has divided participants into two groups – one group uses the same technology as in the DaTA study while the second group follows an "exercise prescription" without the technology.
"I went to an information meeting out of curiosity and I happened to qualify for the study. I saw it as an opportunity to turn my life around. I thought if I don't get myself healthy and in shape now, I'll never do it," says the 63-year-old woman who is part of the group not using the technology.
While she started out walking for 20 minutes, Kuntz is now walking for an hour a day and is doing resistance exercises at home, such as abdominal crunches and wall push-ups, three times a week, recording her progress in a personal diary.
"I'm keeping motivated because it's doing me good," she says, adding that while she hasn't been on a bicycle for 50 years, she's considering buying one now that she is looking for more ways to be active. She's also scanning booklets about walking trails in Huron County, planning a summer of tackling increasingly more difficult trails.
Encouraged by how much better she's feeling with the increased exercise, Kuntz has also changed her diet, cutting back on salt, sugar and fat and eating more vegetables and fruit.
"I feel better about myself, stronger. I feel like I'm doing something constructive," she says.
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Kuntz says that while she has no technology to test herself, she's feeling as if her blood pressure has dropped to a healthier range and that her blood glucose levels are better as well.
Sheree Shapiro, ARTEMIS research coordinator, says the study will follow 150 people for a year to determine if technology really does provide motivation for people to improve their lifestyle and their health, reducing blood pressure in particular. The pilot study saw health improvements in the majority of participants with improved fitness levels.
While 25 people from throughout Huron County started the study last November, another 25-30 began in January and in March with the fourth group planned to begin in June.
"We're still looking for about 50 people," says Shapiro, adding that so far, many more women have joined the study than men.
While the DaTA study looked for participants with three out of four symptoms, including high blood pressure, overweight, high blood sugar and high cholesterol, she says the ARTEMIS study will accept participants with two of the four symptoms.
While there are no definitive results to the study yet, Shapiro says that participants are generally losing weight and increasing the amount of exercise they do each day.
"We've seen people lose 10 to 20 pounds so far and inches from their waist, which is really important since fat mass around the organs is really dangerous," she says.
People who sign up for the study go through an initial fitness test with researchers who either have or are working on their Masters in Kinesiology. They also receive an ultrasound of their arteries on their necks and arms to measure the plaque that might be there.
Mary Vanden Hengel, of Tuckersmith, who along with her husband Tony, participated in the DaTA study and is now taking part in the ARTEMIS study, says it's very reassuring to take part in the health testing, such as the ultrasound of the arteries.
"I've been trying to get an appointment for a physical with my doctor for a year and seven months and she's too busy for me to get in. If it weren't for this study, I'd be going crazy," she says.
The Vanden Hengels are part of the group that is using the technology, testing their blood sugars and blood pressure three times a week and recording the results on their Blackberrys.
Mary says she lost 15 pounds on the DaTA study and an additional 16 pounds on the ARTEMIS study since November. She says the study also keeps her on top of her blood pressure, which is high.
"I'm able to do stairs much better than I did. I've started feeling better and I wouldn't have done any of this without the study," she says.
While the expectation is to do 10,000 steps a day, Mary says she started out doing 2,500 and is up to 7,500. And, she finds using a pedometer is very motivating.
"If I look at my pedometer at 5 p.m. and I've only done 3,000 steps, it gets me out for a walk that night, And, using the glucometer motivates you to stay away from sugars because you want to see the readings stay at a healthy level. You know if you had a pop the night before it's going to show up on the reading," she says.
Tony says participating in the study is far better than getting an annual physical at the doctor's office.
"It makes you exercise more. It's difficult some days to get in those 10,000 steps, especially when the snow is blowing. But, today, I can get in 12,000 steps easily," he says on a sunny May afternoon.
While Tony says he doesn't need to lose weight, he's seeing his glucose levels go down and he's got more energy than he's had in a long time.
"A lot of men think, 'Who cares about your health?' But, I think there's a lot of men out there who should be on this study," he says, adding that the additional energy is a stress reliever for him.
Shapiro says the ARTEMIS study is only the beginning of a goal to work with Gateway to help Seaforth become a model healthy community. She says organizers are planning community presentations about the study to share the results participants are gaining so far.
Anyone interested in joining the ARTEMIS study can call Gateway at 519-600-2273.
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