By Jordan Moser
Staff Writer
Students juggle academics, involvement in organizations, their social lives and, often, a job. With so many daily obligations, students often disregard one of the few things in life that we can control; our health and wellness.
Ninety-four percent of UW-Whitewater students reported that they are not eating their recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables, according to the National College Health Assessment conducted last spring. Along with malnutrition, 58 percent of students are not getting enough exercise and 88 percent experience daytime sleepiness on a regular basis. These are just a few of the behaviors that Wellness Coordinator, Whitney Henley, is trying to help students and staff combat with the 2015 installation of the UW-Whitewater Wellness Fair.
The Wellness Fair will be held on Oct. 6, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the University Center Hamilton Room. At the fair, attendees can expect to see exhibits from on-campus and off-campus organizations as they spread the word of wellness to students and faculty.
This event will feature free health screenings, prizes, giveaways and a number of different resources attendees can use to monitor and assess their personal health. In addition, University Health and Counseling Services will offer free chair massages.
“The goal of the Wellness Fair is to help UW-Whitewater students and staff learn ways to be their healthiest selves,” Henley said. “While the positive consequences of being well are a huge motivation, the negative consequences of not being well are too severe to ignore.”
Many short and long-term consequences can have a deflating effect on the lives of individuals who do not take an active approach in making healthy lifestyle choices.
“In the short term, you won’t feel good on a daily basis,” Henley said. “Your academics, work, and social life may suffer. In the long term, you will suffer from decreased life expectancy and quality of life.”
Of the numerous organizations that will have exhibits at the Wellness Fair, UW-W Recreation Sports and Facilities plans to host a fun and engaging activity.
The activity is meant to teaches our students and staff about what the department offers to our campus. Jen Kaina, assistant director of Rec Sports, gives a sneak peek into what students can expect to gain from the exhibit.
“Rec Sports offers many student job opportunities to expand their own fitness and wellness knowledge and to also lead by example through health promotion,” Kaina said.
She adds that Rec Sports will be handing out free samples of men’s and women’s deodorant, doing giveaways and coordinating interactive activities while sharing with attendees all of the programs Rec Sports has to offer
As a health, human performance, and recreation major, junior Nate Hauser is no stranger to the logistics of promoting a healthy lifestyle. Hauser stresses the importance of healthy eating and the positive effect it can have on our daily lives.
“Eating a healthy diet will give you more energy and won’t cause you to crash like energy drinks would,” Hauser said.
In terms of physical fitness, Hauser is also a strong proponent of the on-campus recreational facilities, specifically the Williams Center, as a way to create healthy workout habits.
“If you want to stay in shape or get in shape, the [Williams Center] is a really good place to make it happen,” Hauser said.
Many often associate wellness strictly with physical fitness and are unaware of the complex definition of what it means to be healthy. In order to educate the attendees of the Wellness Fair, the main concepts the exhibitors will cover this year are the Seven Dimensions of Wellness (physical, mental, social, occupational, environmental, intellectual and spiritual).
This event, organized by the University Health and Counseling Services, is extremely relevant and will provide valuable information to attendees that is applicable to our every day lives.
“We all have different goals related to our classes…but health is one thing that we all have in common,” Henley said.
