The Nevada Sagebrush

Workshop to promote student health, fitness

Monday, March 2, 2009 - 11:12 PM

Students participate in various fitness activities during last semester’s Expedition: N-ergy workshop. Photo courtesy of Enid Jennings.

The Student Health Center and health-conscious clubs are making a joint effort with a long-term program aimed at whipping students into shape.

Expedition: N-ergy, originally conceived as a former graduate student’s thesis, will take place every Wednesday through April 1 at no cost to participating students in the Joe Crowley Student Union. The program aims to promote education about nutrition and fitness rather than drastic weight loss.

Enid Jennings, a health educator with the Student Health Center, put the project in motion last summer as part of the Student Health Center’s health promotion efforts and evolved into a program that inspires students to reform their lifestyles.

“We did a needs assessment by collecting data about students’ health habits,”Jennings said. “We found that UNR students were far less likely to do as much physical activity or eat as well as students in other colleges across the nation. There was an obvious need for information about nutrition and physical activity.”

The assessment resulted in Expedition: N-ergy, a five-week wellness challenge so popular that Jennings has expanded the program to allow 200 people to participate this semester, up from 150 during the program’s inaugural run last October.

Participants meet each Wednesday in March to explore a different aspect of wellness via modules that involve learning about the topic of the week. Expedition: N-ergy intends to make nutrition fun for students who are tired of being lectured about eating right, Jennings said.

Jeremy Jones, who participated in the program last semester and will serve as one of 20 to 30 volunteers this semester, said he appreciated the program’s unique style.

“It was easy to stay involved,”Jones, a 22-year-old health ecology major, said. “The times are open, it’s not at all demanding, and you are in control of your own goals.”

Karla Callison, a 20-year-old nutrition major specializing in dietetics, will volunteer again this semester. She originally heard about Expedition: N-ergy from the Student Nutrition Association. She helped set up modules, doing electrical impedance diagnostics, which calculate body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage, and educated students on how to improve their health.

“It was only a month, but I noticed (participants) taking an active approach and getting excited about their own health,”Callison said. “Walking around campus, I would notice people wearing pedometers. You can see a difference in their attitude to health.”

Jennings’ efforts to improve last semester’s successes include encouraging increased student volunteering, working with the Lombardi Recreation Center and adding a piece on the mental health benefits of meditation and stress management. Optional activities beyond the weekly check-in will also take place almost every day in order for students to learn as much as possible. Additional activities for students include stadium workouts, hiking trips and classes at Lombardi.

Despite increasing the scope of the program, Expedition: N-ergy remains relatively inexpensive for the university. The Student Health Center used a portion of students’ annual $79 health fees to contribute most of the money. Donations pay for guest speakers and prizes.

Organizers hope the program will be as successful as last semester’s event.

“It wasn’t everyone’s goal to lose weight, but about 45 percent still reported weight loss,”Jennings said about last semester’s program. “(Our) goal is to change the culture of our college. People are more likely to be active if they see others doing it and having fun. So many people are intimidated by working out and see it as a chore, but we want it to be fun.”

Kathleen Phelan can be reached at news@nevadasagebrush.com.