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Mark J. Kasper, Ed.D Professor of Exercise Physiology |
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Areas of Expertise:
- Physical activity
- Exercise and health outcomes (i.e., heart disease, hypertension, lipids, obesity, and bone mass
Brief Bio
Mark J. Kasper, Ed.D., professor of exercise physiology, has been a principal investigator for numerous grants in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and osteoporosis education. He has written several articles on physical fitness and health related issues that were published in scholarly journals; and presented numerous papers at national academic conferences. Kasper is a member of the advisory board for the Lowndes County Partnership for Health (LCPH) and serves on the Healthy Living Task Force. His work with the LCPH centers on educating citizens of the importance of physical activity and better nutrition.
Education
- Bachelor of Science in physical education (teacher certification) from Eastern Illinois University
- Master of Science in physical education/exercise science from Eastern Illinois University
- Master of Science in health education from Columbia University
- Doctorate of Education in health education from Columbia University
Research
Kasper is currently working on a collaborative effort to collect data on the fitness levels of competitive women cheerleaders at VSU. The research focuses on the level of physical activity and fitness for competitive women cheerleaders in comparison to more traditional women competitive sports.
Kasper, along with VSU faculty members Adam Banwarth, Melissa Benton, LaGary Carter, Chuck Conner, Scot Raab, Green Waggener, and Caren Walls, have collected data from VSU cheerleaders on a variety of tests that measure different components of fitness — flexibility, strength, power, agility, speed, cardiovascular, balance, and body composition.
The data suggests that competitive cheerleaders (from VSU) have similar (and sometimes higher) levels of physical fitness than other recognized women athletes (basketball, volleyball, softball, etc). The data collected suggest that women participating in competitive cheerleading may benefit from strength and conditioning, much like women athletes in other traditional sports.
Kasper and others associated with the research have been selected to present “Physical Fitness Characteristics of Division II Competitive Female Cheerleaders” and “Evaluation of Body Composition, Strength and Power of Division II Competitive Female Cheerleaders” posters at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (June 2010).