Healthy Hoofin'

Two CSULB faculty members are demonstrating the multiple health benefits of walking and dancing.

A recent study by psychology Professor Robert Thayer and a group of student researchers shows that the more people walk each day, the more energetic they feel and the better their mood. “People seem to be interested in walking as a health benefit, but here, we’re seeing it is not just cardiovascular health and other kinds of physical health that are important, but psychological health as well.”

The group assessed 12 males and 25 females who wore pedometers throughout the day and evening for 20 days. There was a demonstrated positive relationship between the number of steps taken by subjects and their overall mood and energy level, Thayer said.

Professor Phil Martin of Kinesiology and Physical Education is working on a 15-year study of dance as exercise. Like walking, dance also has both physical and mental benefits. "It is possible for dancers to burn calories at a faster rate than someone running a five-minute mile," he said. "The great thing about dancing is that even a few minutes of it combined with good music and socialization can improve your mood and your health.

METRANS Funds Transportation
Issues Studies

Four CSULB professors received grants to study area transportation issues from METRANS, a University Transportation Center joint partnership between CSULB and USC sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Economics professors Kristen Monaco and Seiji Steinmetz are investigating issues involving truck traffic at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s busiest container port complex.

Pollution from older trucks is a major problem, so Monaco received $83,000 to survey truck drivers to determine how they finance their vehicles and to assess the viability of either purchasing newer trucks or retrofitting their existing trucks.

Steimetz received $65,000 to study traffic mitigation policies at the ports. Excessive port congestion has numerous economic implications. Many drivers are low-income earners who are paid per trip, so “congested conditions can mean fewer trips and even less income, ” he said. “Moreover, I think of congested ports as gross domestic product bottlenecks.”

Geography Professors Christine Jocoy and Vincent Del Casino received $84,980 to study the movement patterns of Long Beach’s homeless. The study focuses on chronic and transitional homeless people and seeks to discover how often they use public transit, where they go, what bus routes they use and their reasons for using public transit.