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Program shows that fit is the way to go
By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor
As project director of the Western New York Wellness Works initiative in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, Cassandra Hoebbel consistently sees the importance of taking action to improve one's health.
The Weigh Cool Girls—Joan Brant,
left, and Ann Marie Metzler—use their lunch break to take a walk around
the indoor track in Alumni Arena.
PHOTO: NANCY J. PARISI
“I spend a lot of my time researching and communicating the importance of health behavior change, but do not spend enough time and effort on my own,” says Hoebbel.
But that has changed for Hoebbel, one of 44 UB faculty and staff members participating in Move It To Lose It, UB’s version of the popular reality television show “The Biggest Loser.”
Move It is a 12-week fitness challenge that pits two-person teams against each other in order to get fit, lose weight and win prizes. It is administered by Wellness & Work/Life Balance, a new unit within University Human Resources, in collaboration with the School of Public Health and Health Professions and Recreation & Intramural Services in the Division of Athletics.
“We know that a successful wellness program for employees really is based on behavior change and long-term commitment and teaching people how to change their behavior,” says Katherine L. Frier, director of the Wellness & Work/Life Balance unit. “But we needed to get people’s attention quickly and in a way that appealed to them. Knowing that “The Biggest Loser” was a very appealing concept to people, we decided that was a way to get people’s attention,” Frier says.
The initial call for participants for the challenge was extremely successful, with 29 teams applying to be part of the program, says Amy M. Myszka, coordinator of Wellness & Work/Life Balance. To be eligible, participants had to have a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 and approval from their physician and workplace supervisor.
Although only 15 teams were accepted into the main competition due to manpower restrictions in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, “we didn’t want to leave out the extra teams. We wanted everybody to have a chance,” she says.
So the program, which began on Friday and will run through May 2, was expanded to include all the teams, although at different levels of participation. The 15 teams in the main competition were dubbed the “Movers,” the extra teams the “Shakers.”
The Movers, who are competing for a grand prize of two flat-panel LCD television sets, receive weekly weigh-ins and have been assigned a student from the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences who will serve as a mentor and shepherd them through the program. They also will keep bi-weekly journals that will be posted on the Move It To Lose It Web page.
The Shakers, who are competing for two iPod touch screen MP3 players, had an initial weigh-in and will have a final weigh-in, but will not receive a weekly weigh-in. They also will receive diet and exercise advice from students, but will not have an official student mentor.
Both groups receive free access to fitness facilities in Alumni Arena, North Campus, and Clark Hall, South Campus.
Moreover, in an effort to get the rest of the campus involved, employees who want to follow the program can download a personal weight-loss tracker from the Web page and use it to track their own performance. At the end of the program, employees can print their tracker and mail it to the Wellness & Work/Life Balance office. All participants will be entered into a random drawing to win a digital camera.
Hoebbel and her Class One Dropouts teammate Harvey A. Berman, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, are “Movers.” Hoebbel says the Move It to Lose It program appealed to her.
“The idea of a group of colleagues here at UB supporting each other, while also providing resources—such as a mentor to provide support, tips and a weekly weigh-in—was an opportunity I couldn't pass up,” she says. “I know that if I have to be accountable for my lifestyle choices every week at a weigh-in with my teammate, there is more reason for me to stay on track.
“My doctor told me at my last physical, ‘you're not 25 anymore,’” she continues, “and I realized it really was time to make the changes in my life that would help me become a healthier person. The prize is just icing, although I do have the perfect place picked out,” she jokes.
Berman agrees that Move It To Lose It offers “a golden opportunity” to work toward his fitness goal. “I have fabulous access to exercise scientists, nutritionists and personal trainers who are providing point-on advice,” he says, noting the program allows him to focus on a goal within a circumscribed time frame. “And they made it so easy to start,” he adds.
The Weigh Cool Girls—Ann Marie Metzler and Joan Brant, both of whom work in Divisional HR, Administrative Services—say the competition is a “terrific incentive to shed some pounds, work together to lead a healthier lifestyle, get exercising and to have fun.”
“We think it’s great that HR is offering this wonderful opportunity and is promoting wellness at our university,” the Girls wrote in an email to the Reporter. “We hope this program is the first of many that will inspire the UB community to lead healthier lives.”
Frier notes that while Move It To Lose It is a fun event, the goal of the Wellness & Work/Life Balance unit is a more serious one: to promote behavior change and help employees make better choices for healthier lifestyles.
“We want the campus culture in the long run to be one where fit is the way to go,” she says. “We’re going to be talking about health in the whole picture,” including emotional and spiritual well-being, she points out. “We’re concentrating right now on physical fitness, but in the long run we want to be able to provide services to employees that really show that the university cares about their well-being.”