![]() Acevedo brings to the team not only technical knowledge and expertise but also a genuine commitment to contributing to the development and academic training of students, as well as a broad and up-to-date view of trends and challenges in the field of research,” Elsangedy said. Working with Acevedo on the project was an enriching experience, he said. Looking for an enjoyable physical activity is essential to changing this scenario,” he said. “In just 3 months, more than 50% of people who start exercising at a gym give up. Can we alter our motivation to make it meaningful for us?”Įlsangedy has been researching the science of behavior change to increase the level of physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior in physically inactive people for several years. “That is his ‘meaningful why.’ It’s not just I am going to exercise. “He was motivated to accomplish this task,” Acevedo said. A subject in the lab of UFRN kinesiologist Daniel Machado, Ph.D., undergoes brain stimulation. The video jumps forward to show the man nicely dressed with his family – and with the strength to pick up his granddaughter so she can put an angel on top of a Christmas tree. The man is lifting weights in his garage, using a poor technique but nevertheless making the effort. He illustrates the concept using a video of an older gentleman. “What is it about setting a goal in terms of physical activity that is ineffective? How can we change? We developed strategies to address the meaningfulness of these goals.” “People have goals for physical activity, but for whatever reason, following through is very challenging,” Acevedo said. On his first project, he worked with professor Hassan Elsangedy, Ph.D., in UFRN’s Department of Physical Education to explore decision-making that can regulate many behaviors. ![]() Starting this past August, he spent more than four months in Brazil. “I wanted to see what can be done to enhance physical activity participation.” ![]() “Physical activity is critically important to physical and mental health, but many people don’t exercise,” Acevedo said, noting that 27.5% of adults worldwide are inactive, with 25% in the U.S. The award gave him the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) in Natal, Brazil, on two research topics. Last year, he was selected as a 2023-24 Fulbright Scholar through the State Department program that promotes intercultural exchange. “I’ve been interested in the role the brain plays in motivating a person to do physical activity and helping them adhere to a physical activity program,” said Acevedo, Ph.D., professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences in the College of Humanities and Sciences. “I have also always been interested in trying to understand how individuals like athletes or first responders push themselves beyond their limits, performing superhuman physical tasks under high-risk situations.”įor nearly 35 years, Acevedo has been researching psychobiology and physical activity – specifically, how the brain and body are connected, and how people experience that connection during physical activity. Edmund Acevedo hopes to clear up an age-old question: Why do people vow to start an exercise routine but rarely follow through?
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