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Next eat well, live well challenge to begin
Employees from more than a dozen units at UB are taking up the challenge to “eat well, live well’ as the second round of the health promotion initiative kicks off on Sunday and runs through Nov. 28.
The goal of the eat well. live well. challenge, organized by Wegmans and sponsored by University Human Resources, is to encourage individuals to move more and increase the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat.
Participants from last spring’s pilot challenge, representing Crofts Hall, Kimball Tower and the Educational Opportunity Center, walked a total of 121,891,264 steps and consumed a total of 59,795.9 cups of fruits and vegetables over the course of the eight-week competition. The overall winner was Team 11 from the School of Public Health and Health Professions in Kimball Tower, which averaged 5 cups and 11,085 steps a day.
Participants 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. They record the data online, and are eligible for incentives and giveaways.
The success of the pilot challenge prompted HR to expand the program, says Jennifer Bowen, assistant vice president for human resources.
“We received a lot of good feedback,” Bowen says. It’s easy to do; it’s not a complicated program. Anyone can participate.”
Unlike the pilot, in which participants were organized according to buildings, the next challenge structures the teams according to smaller work units. The other change, Bowen notes, is the partnership with the Western New York Wellness Works initiative in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions. Researchers affiliated with the initiative have personalized a health risk assessment (HRA) for use by UB employees. Those participating in the eat well. live well challenge may take advantage of the confidential HRA, which asks general health-related questions. Participants have the option of filling out the HRA, both before and after the challenge, to determine their progress.
Participants also have the option to enlist in various research programs in the public health school.
Joan Dorn, interim chair of the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, is principal investigator of Wellness Works.
The units participating in the eat well. live well. challenge are Academic Planning and Budget; Center for Academic Development Services; Counseling Services; Environment, Health and Safety; University Honors College; Department of Nuclear Medicine; School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; School of Management; Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces; Office of Internal Audit; Research Institute on Addictions; University Residence Halls and Apartments; and University Communications.
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