| Course | EF310 Applied Exercise Science for Healthy Aging and Special Conditions |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Risk stratification exercise |
| Length | About 700 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health Science |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for EF310 Unit 3
Four Months Since the Last Cigarette: A Unit 3 Risk Stratification Exercise for a Fifty-Eight-Year-Old Transit Dispatcher
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
EF310: Applied Exercise Science for Healthy Aging and Special Conditions
Unit 3 Risk Stratification Exercise
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The client and his values are composite; the risk factor thresholds follow the guidelines text the course uses, and the screening update cited is real.
The Client
A fifty-eight-year-old man who works seated twelve-hour shifts dispatching buses. He wants to lose weight and lower his blood sugar after a warning from his doctor. No chest pain, breathlessness out of proportion to effort, dizziness, ankle swelling or palpitations. No known heart, lung, kidney or metabolic disease.
The Factor Table
Each factor is listed with the threshold the course text gives, his value and a verdict (American College of Sports Medicine, 2021).
1. Age. Threshold: men 45 or older. His value: 58. Met.
2. Family history. Threshold: heart attack, revascularization or sudden death in a father or other first-degree male relative before 55, or a female relative before 65. His value: father's heart attack at 53. Met.
3. Cigarette smoking. Threshold: current smoker or quit within the previous six months. His value: quit four months ago after thirty years. Met.
4. Physical inactivity. Threshold: not meeting at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on at least three days a week for three months. His value: sedentary job and no regular exercise. Met.
5. Obesity. Threshold: body mass index of 30 or higher, or waist above 102 centimeters in men. His value: BMI 31. Met.
6. Hypertension. Threshold: 140 over 90 or higher on two occasions, or on medication. His value: 134 over 86, no medication. Not met.
7. Dyslipidemia. Threshold: LDL 130 or higher, HDL below 40, or on medication. His value: LDL 118, HDL 62. Not met.
8. Prediabetes. Threshold: fasting glucose of 100 to 125. His value: 104. Met.
Positive factors: six. Negative factor: HDL of 60 or higher, which subtracts one. His HDL is 62. Net count: five.
The Tier
Under the risk stratification scheme the course teaches, a person without symptoms or known disease who has two or more risk factors is placed at moderate risk.
He belongs at moderate rather than low because five factors is well past the threshold of two, and at moderate rather than high because high is reserved for symptoms or known disease, of which he has neither.
Against low risk: low risk means one factor or none. Even if the smoking factor were set aside because he has quit, he would still have four.
Against high risk: his blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose are borderline, but none is a diagnosis. Prediabetes is a risk factor, not metabolic disease. He reports no symptoms.
What the Tier Means for His Program
Moderate risk under this scheme supports starting moderate-intensity exercise without an exercise test, while vigorous exercise would call for a medical examination first. For him, that means brisk walking and resistance training at moderate effort, building toward the activity his glucose and weight goals need. Regular activity improves glucose control and is a core part of efforts to keep prediabetes from progressing (Colberg et al., 2016).
A Note on the Newer Screening Approach
The course text's risk-factor count is no longer the main screening tool in the current recommendations, which focus instead on current activity, known disease and symptoms (Riebe et al., 2015). Under that newer approach, a sedentary man with no known disease and no symptoms could begin light to moderate exercise without medical clearance and progress gradually. Both approaches point the same way for him. The risk-factor count still matters because it describes how much attention his blood pressure, glucose and weight need as the program goes on.
Monitoring Points
1. Recheck blood pressure at the start of sessions for the first month.
2. Watch for any new chest discomfort, unusual breathlessness or dizziness, and stop and refer if they appear.
3. Ask at each visit whether he has stayed off cigarettes; relapse is common in the first months and exercise can help.
4. Share his progress with his physician, who is following his glucose.
References
American College of Sports Medicine. (2021). ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Colberg, S. R., Sigal, R. J., Yardley, J. E., Riddell, M. C., Dunstan, D. W., Dempsey, P. C., Horton, E. S., Castorino, K., & Tate, D. F. (2016). Physical activity/exercise and diabetes: A position statement of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care, 39(11), 2065-2079. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc16-1728
Riebe, D., Franklin, B. A., Thompson, P. D., Garber, C. E., Whitfield, G. P., Magal, M., & Pescatello, L. S. (2015). Updating ACSM's recommendations for exercise preparticipation health screening. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 47(11), 2473-2479. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000664
EF310 Unit 3 instructions, in plain terms
The third unit usually supplies a client's history and measurements and asks you to stratify risk using the thresholds in the course text, then defend the tier and state what it means for exercise. Exercises often run three to four pages with a factor table. Credit goes to each factor tested against its exact threshold, borderline values handled openly, the negative factor applied correctly and a tier defended against the tiers on either side. Many sections reward noting how the newer screening approach would treat the same client. Show each value beside its threshold. Cite the guidelines text and, if you mention it, the screening update that changed the approach.
How this EF310 Unit 3 example is built
The exercise introduces the client, his job, his goals and the absence of symptoms or known disease. A numbered factor table gives each criterion's threshold, his value and a verdict, from age through prediabetes. A line tallies six positive factors, subtracts one for high HDL and gives a net of five. The highlighted sentence defends the moderate tier against both neighbors, and two short paragraphs make each defense explicit. A section explains what moderate risk means for starting exercise, citing a diabetes position statement for his glucose goal. A note compares the course's scheme with current screening guidance, and four monitoring points close the exercise.
Where the points sit in the EF310 Unit 3 rubric
Risk stratification work is generally graded on accurate application of each threshold, correct counting including the negative factor, a defended tier, implications for exercise and use of sources. Accurate application weighs heavily, since a single misread threshold, such as treating a recent quit as nonsmoking, changes the count. Defense of the tier is rewarded when both neighboring tiers are addressed. Implications earn credit when the tier is translated into what the client may safely start. Sources should be the course text and any newer guidance mentioned. A clean table that puts each value beside its threshold makes the work easy to check and usually earns presentation marks. A sentence explaining the practical meaning of the tier for the first weeks of exercise usually earns the last few points.
EF310 Unit 3 help: mistakes that cost points
Students often count a former smoker as a nonsmoker without checking how long ago they quit. Another common slip is forgetting the negative factor for high HDL, or applying it when HDL is below the threshold. Some exercises label borderline blood pressure as hypertension. Others place a client at high risk because of several risk factors, when high risk requires symptoms or known disease in this scheme. Leaving out what the tier means for exercise stops the work halfway. Stratifying a different client, perhaps one with borderline values everywhere? Share the values, and each threshold can be applied and defended in turn. Using thresholds from a different edition of the text without saying so can also cost marks.
Get an EF310 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 3 client profile, with any lab values and measurements it lists, the classification model your course text teaches, and the rubric. Every factor is counted against its stated threshold, borderline readings are handled openly, and the tier is argued against both of its neighbors. A first request is free, back inside 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More EF310 papers and BS in Health Science samples
- EF310 Unit 1: Aging Changes Discussion Post
- EF310 Unit 2: Client Screening Summary
- EF310 Unit 4: Exercise Prescription
- EF310 Unit 5: Chronic Condition Case Study
- EF310 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- EF310 Unit 7: Progression Plan
- EF310 Unit 8: Fall Prevention Program
- EF310 Unit 9: Client Education Handout
- EF310 Unit 10: Comprehensive Program Portfolio
- HS111 Unit 3: Integumentary System Glossary
- HS499 Unit 3: Problem Statement
- HS140 Unit 3: Dosage Calculation Practice Set
- HS460 Unit 3: Scope Statement
EF310 Unit 3 questions, answered
Does the three-tier model still apply?
It depends on the course text. Newer preparticipation guidance from ACSM decides referral from exercise habit, known disease and symptoms rather than from a factor count, but many courses still teach the count because it organizes cardiovascular risk clearly. If the prompt asks for a tier, provide one and, where it helps, note in a sentence how the newer screening logic would treat the same client.
How should borderline values be handled?
Openly. State the reading, the threshold, and why it does or does not meet the criterion, for example a single blood pressure measurement where repeated readings are required. Then check whether the tier depends on that factor. If it does not, say so; if it does, explain the choice made and what additional information would settle it.
Can the exercise recommend a program for the client?
Briefly, if the prompt asks. Most Unit 3 work is graded on the classification and its defense, so a sentence connecting the tier to supervision, testing or intensity is usually enough. A full prescription belongs to later units. Any decision about medical testing or clearance stays with the client's physician, and saying so plainly tends to earn credit rather than cost it.
Where can I find a free EF310 Unit 3 sample paper?
You can read the complete Unit 3 exercise here, stratifying a fifty-eight-year-old dispatcher as moderate risk with a net of five factors.
Does a recent former smoker count as a smoker?
Under the risk factor thresholds in many course texts, yes, if the person quit within the previous six months.