By RAYMOND ADEEKO

Staff Writer

Demetrius Willis, a graduate of health and exercise sciences, will be the first Tech graduate to have his research on exercise and health admitted for presentation.

The presentation will be held at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine June 2-5 in Indianapolis, Ind.

Willis, a registered dietitian currently working as the clinical dietitian at the Christus Schumpert Health Systems in Shreveport, said the research titled "Relationship between Exercise and Depression in Active and Non-Active Registered Nurses" focuses on how depression and exercise levels relate and its effect on efficiency.

"I wanted to take a closer look at how it affects people personally and professionally," Willis said. "I also wanted to see how depression and stress affects people's productivity, judgment, ability to work with others and overall job performance."

Willis also said he was encouraged to carry out the research by the lack of data available which educated people on the benefits of exercise and warned them of the dangers of stress.

"An incentive for me to take a closer look into this topic was the fact that I was able to identify only a few published studies on activity or exercise levels and even less that specifically targeted depression for this population," Willis said.

He said information on such matters is important for public knowledge because it affects their daily living.

"High personal depression levels have the potential to negatively affect both patient care and impact public health," Willis said.

Dr. James Heimdal, head of the department of health and exercise sciences, said he is pleased with the Willis' accomplishments.

"He has excelled in all aspects of [his] class training, and we are all proud of him. We know he will be successful in the future on any profession that he chooses," Heimdal said.

Willis said he is excited about his presentation, and he anticipates making a contribution toward health improvement.

"I cannot wait to share the results of this study and to educate people on the importance of exercise (and diet) to better control all aspects of our personal lives and daily interactions," Willis said. "This study is merely opening the door to many more to come."

He added the study also provided him with the some motivation to pursue a doctorate degree, possibly at Tech.

Willis added sharing his research with others "hopefully will encourage more studies in this area."