​Formulas of the Fisíque

Background Story

        My name is Olivia and I am currently a freshman at Princeton University. Since I could walk, sports and physical activity have been the greatest passion, if not an obsession, in my life. My mother tried to dress me in floral dresses with ruffles and bows as a child and bought me more dolls and than i could keep track of. However, it didn't take long for my mother to realize that I was never going to be the girly-girl, dressed in pink, that she had been. Why would I sit inside and play with makeup when I could be outside climbing trees, shooting hoops, or playing tag with the neighbors? Sports and exercise were a major part of my daily routine from the very beginning and that is still the case today. However, my motives for participating in physical activity and competition changed slightly with the coming of age. When I was young, I tried every sport possible, and did so because i loved the social aspect of sports; but what I also thoroughly enjoyed were the unique challenges that each sport presented. As I got older, squash, tennis and golf had proven to be the favorites, and squash, in particular, grabbed my attention in a way that none of the others were able to. By the age of seven, I began participating in squash tournaments around the east coast, getting private lessons each week and constantly trying to improve any and every element of my game that needed it. My commitment to squash intensified with each day and what began as a recreational hobby transformed into a passion and lifestyle. I have traveled all over the world, represented my country numerous times in competition, won several titles, made friends from all over the globe, and most recently joined the squash team at Princeton (the best team ever:)).

        As I became more invested in the game of squash, my health, fitness and well-being became topics of great importance. Over the years, I have tried several different fitness and health programs, many different food regimens, and various strategies to enhance my overall health and fitness so that my squash game would profit (considering the fact that I probably would have elected to live off of chicken fingers, french fries and lemonade throughout my child if i had had the choice, in addition to my unmatched sweet tooth and my dental record that is in a class of its own, there weren't many other directions to go but up in terms of the maturation of my eating habits).  With the existence of such advanced technology in modern society, the majority of the ways in which people monitor their health, diet, and activity require little thought and are simply just a few clicks away from sending you on your way to your goal. Technology has many benefits when it comes to monitoring your health because not only does it do all of the planning for you, but it also makes it easier to record data and track progress.  As a result, most people don't think about the mathematic foundation to all of the different ways that we evaluate, monitor, and test our health. By taking a closer look at the formulas and mathematical techniques used to determine one's well being, we would likely enhance our understanding of how to and how not to live a healthy lifestyle. Who knows, if people took a closer look at the math behind determining health, we could potentially develop an even more advanced and effective system that could guide society towards a healthier state of being.