NEWS
Employees aim to eat well, live well
Eat well. Live well.
Those will be the watchwords for the next eight weeks for faculty and staff in Crofts Hall, Kimball Tower and the Educational Opportunity Center who are taking part in a health promotion initiative organized by Wegmans and sponsored by University Human Resources.
The goal of the “eat well. live well. challenge” is to encourage individuals to move more and increase the amount of fruits and vegetables they consume. Beginning Sunday through May 16, participants will use pedometers to count and record the number of steps they take each day and tally the number of cups of fruits and vegetables— they are encouraged to “strive for five”—they eat each day. Participants are asked to record the data online.
Although the competition is being conducted between the three buildings, the winner of the challenge will be determined by the team, unit or department—Procurement, HR or Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, for example—with the highest average number of steps and/or that has consumed the highest average number of cups of fruits and vegetables at the end of the eight-week contest. A prize, which has yet to be determined, will be awarded to the winning group. Check the online UB Reporter regularly to track of the progress of the units competing in the challenge.
The eat well live well program has operated successfully for several years in Rochester with such employers as Eastman Kodak, Xerox and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Wegmans and the statewide initiative BeActive New York State have been partnering to roll the program out gradually to interested employers in the Buffalo area, says Kathie Frier, director of the Wellness and Work/Life Balance unit in HR. Last year, 10 Buffalo-area employers took part in a pilot program; Wegmans this year asked about 40 local companies to participate, including UB, which was invited, Frier says, because “we have established a pleasant working relationship with them (Wegmans and BeActive) regarding their smoke-free initiative and other nutrition-related collaborative efforts.” She adds that Michael Noe, associate dean for community relations and clinical affairs in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, also recommended that UB participate in the program.
Frier explains that UB’s involvement in the program initially will be as a pilot, with Crofts, Kimball and EOC selected to participate so that each of UB’s three campuses was represented.
“We are rolling this out as a pilot so that we can evaluate its ease of use and effectiveness with a smaller employee population. If it is successful, we will consider offering it to the entire campus in the fall,” she says.
Frier points out that statistics from Wegmans indicate that many participants in previous challenges have seen multiple health benefits, including weight loss, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, better overall eating habits, more energy and a decrease in depression-related symptoms.
She notes that anyone from UB can go to www.eatwelllivewell.org and use the nutritional information provided to the general public. Moreover, every Wegmans store in Western New York will host a kickoff event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday to showcase the “eat well live well” principles—strive for five cups of fruits and vegetables a day, get moving, calories count and measure progress.
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