From diet to exercise to sleep, students all have their own personal theories on living a healthy lifestyle, but they may not always be correct.
To educate students about health-related issues as well as campus programs and resources, the Student Welfare Commission will be holding Bruin Health Week beginning today.
The event ““ a series of workshops, presentations and community engagement activities ““ is one of the Student Welfare Commission’s largest projects every year, said Linda Phi, executive board member.
“Bruin Health Week brings the 10 committees together to show students the importance of health on campus,” Phi said. “Health is an important issue because basically our health affects how we perform in school and in life.”
Beginning and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is particularly relevant in college, as most students are independent for the first time and are faced with the responsibility of making specific lifestyle choices, said Elisa Terry, program director of FITWELL, a UCLA Recreation program that provides advice to students working to lead healthy lives.
“Students were used to eating at home in high school, and they used to have organized physical activity through sports or the physical education requirement, but now they have to make these choices for themselves,” she said.
There is a correlation between physical activity and a student’s emotional condition, said Dr. Andrea Ruman, a primary care provider at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center. Frequent physical activity can build self-confidence, relieve stress and inspire students to apply aspects of their workout routines to their academic work ethic.
Conversely, students can be negatively impacted by an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle, she said.
Yet for many students, finding the right balance of diet and exercise is difficult because of limited food options and less time to schedule physical activity. As a result, they often gain weight in their college years, specifically the “freshman 15″ their first year, Ruman said.
But the “freshman 15″ is not a natural phenomenon, Ruman said. Students can overcome the challenges of living on a college campus for the sake of their physical and emotional well-being, Ruman said.
“I think that carving out that time to exercise for 30 minutes a day and taking that time out to prepare a home-cooked meal is difficult, but you can find the time.”
Ultimately, the extra effort students put into their daily lives will result in long-term benefits in multiple aspects of their lives, Ruman said.
“It’s been proven that people who are more physically active tend to remain healthier and not just in terms of preventing disease and maintaining physical health but mental health as well, that the act of working out releases endorphins that are natural mood elevators,” Ruman said.
Bruin Health Week aims to reach out to more students by co-programming with other groups on campus, Phi said. The “Global Food Fest” will involve campus culture groups and feature foods from around the world, promoting awareness of global health issues. The Office of Residential Life will also hold a movie screening of “May I Be Frank,” a documentary of the transformation of an obese, drug-addicted man.
The goal of the event is to allow students to realize the importance of personal, community and global health, and to inspire them to make lifestyle changes that will impact their lives beyond their college years, Phi said.
“I hope they gain a better understanding of why it is important to be committed to being healthy, that it’s not a one-week or one-day thing but something to carry after they graduate UCLA and in the future.”