Healthy U program launches this fall

The University will launch a new program this fall, Healthy U, to help students become more… The University will launch a new program this fall, Healthy U, to help students become more aware of their health.

Healthy U organizers plan for the project to pull all the different wellness programs on campus under one umbrella in an organized, accessible fashion. This includes all the different programs put on at the fitness centers, nutritional programs, study skills workshops, political events, study abroad programs and career development.Marian Vanek, director of Pitt’s Student Health Service, said the program is meant to help students be healthier all around.

The program is not just about physical health; rather, there are seven dimensions of wellness that the program aims to integrate: the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, occupational, environmental and spiritual.

“We realize it’s a somewhat holistic approach, but if you really look at it in this perspective and you are healthy in all these dimensions, you’re going to feel much better about yourself,” Vanek said.

All of these programs will be listed on the new website, www.healthyu.pitt.edu, which will be launched during New Student Orientation week. Vanek said the site will contain information about the seven dimensions of wellness, feature suggestions on how Pitt students can achieve wellness in these areas and provide a broad collection of resources and programs at Pitt that students can use to attain wellness.

The program is meant to make students realize their overall health. The programs are free to all undergraduate and graduate students.

Healthy U is not only going to promote programs that already exist on campus, it’s also going to put on many of its own events.

Vanek said the program’s organizers have planned a number of evens for students. They will hold a variety of clinics and offer some new programs.

One of them is “Know Your Numbers,” which will be an ongoing campaign to help students track key health indicators that they might not normally be aware of, including blood pressure, body mass index and body fat and cholesterol levels, which Student Health Service Physicians will be on-campus to conduct.

“The more you know about yourself, the more you can continue doing what you’re doing if you have good numbers or improve on it,” Vanek said.

She said students who are aware of their health have a better chance of being successful academically.

“It’s going to help them, not only to be more successful in their college experience, but these are hopefully good healthy practices and lifestyle habits that they could adopt and carry through into their adult lives,” Vanek said.

Kathy Humphrey, vice provost and dean of students, said the University has decided to place more emphasis on health and wellness because it is critical for success in the classroom.

“It’s important for students to take their health seriously, not just their physical well-being, but their emotional well-being, their social well-being — their whole mind, body and spirit,” Humphrey said in an email.

Student Government Board member Zachary Weber became involved in the project in January after a meeting with Vanek. She pitched an idea that related to his Board initiative of organizing all information regarding healthy options at Pitt into one centralized online location.

“We have great resources like the Baierl Center at the Pete, workout facilities in the residence halls and an excellent recreation and intramurals program, to name a few,” Humphrey said. “We have programs like the ‘Talk About It’ campaign to educate students on depression and the Stress Free Zone to help students deal with anxiety, so it’s important that students know about these types of resources and use them.”

The Counseling Center offers numerous resources for emotional and spriritual health, including different support groups and workshops that students can customize.

Healthy U is in part in response to the National Health Service survey the University participates in every other year. Vanek said Pitt’s data was very similar to national data. There is a significantly high obesity rate, high levels of stress and anxiety and high levels of hypertension and metabolic disorders that don’t typically affect the younger population.

Vanek said the survey showed that 30 percent of college students are obese, 48 percent have overwhelming anxiety, 31 percent are significantly depressed and only 19 percent reported doing moderate exercise.

Vanek said that she’s asked for feedback from students during the planning of the program, and that it’s been positive..

“I’ve been talking to quite a few students, and no one has said, ‘That’s lame,’” Vanek said. “Everyone seems to be positive.”

Weber said the overall goal of the program is to simply expose students — primarily freshmen, since they live in dorms without kitchens and are new to the urban campus — to healthy options. And it will provide suggestions and ideas along the way to becoming healthier.

“Students should care about this program, because it’s tough to be healthy in an urban environment,” Weber said in an email.

“This program can help with maintaining a healthy diet, fitness routine and overall healthy lifestyle.”