Maison D'Amelio '22 is presenting her research at the 2022 Grimes Research Competition.
Her research title is: The effect of post meal walking on daytime blood pressure in young adult women
Please describe your research in non-technical language. How did you become interested in your research subject?
We looked into how walking for 15 minutes after each meal can affect blood pressure. As a former Division 1 distance runner, I’ve always enjoyed exercising and I think movement can be beneficial for more than just the physical aspect, but some people might not have the time or the desire to go for an hour-long run or go to the gym to lift weights. Dr. Brian introduced me to post-meal walking and I thought it was a great program for busy college students in order to help them stay healthy. When we were looking into the research, I realized how underrepresented women were, which is why I chose to focus on young women exclusively for the study.
What are the most interesting findings from your research?
Just walking 15 minutes after each meal, our participants nearly doubled their steps on the exercise day compared to a normal day. We found that their central blood pressure and their heart rate increased on the day that they exercised. We anticipated a decrease in blood pressure, but we think that their body had not adapted to the exercise yet, which is why we saw the increase.
