Creating a Healthy Campus Lifestyle And Community

By Lorraine McKinney

 

A lot of people think that being a college student gives them an excuse to live an unhealthy lifestyle. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. If you are not healthy, your studies are going to end up suffering. Your health is something that you need to take care of, and so do your fellow students. That is why so many college campuses are setting up a variety of health and wellness programs. Here are a few ideas that you can run with to help make your campus community a healthy one.

 

1. Smart Choice Menus – Many campuses offer nutritional meals that are low in calories and high in nutrients our bodies need. The menus are often written up by student nutrition interns, and each menu also shows the calorie counts for each food item on the menu. This program can be vamped up by having an accompanying website that offers nutritional resources for students that includes information for restricted diets, articles about diet and exercise, tips, and more.
2. Farmers Markets – Another way to make sure that you are eating healthy is to shop at your local farmers market. Some schools are even setting up their own farmers markets, which ensures that students are going to be getting fresh, healthy produce on a regular basis, at prices they can actually afford. Local farmers supply the produce, and in some cases, the students actually grow their own produce through agricultural programs that they receive credit for.
3. Outreach Events – At many campuses you will find outreach programs and workshops that revolve around health topics, including diet and exercise, sleep disorders, safe sexual practices, smoke-free campaigns, wellness workshops, and a lot more. These programs and workshops can help students to learn a lot about a variety of health issues and take better control over their own health.
4. Campus Websites – If your campus doesn’t already have a health and wellness website, it is time for you to suggest it, or even create one yourself. West Palm Beach SEO services will help make sure it gets good rankings on search engines. This may seem like something for a business to get publicity, but if no one knows about a health and wellness site for your campus, no one is going to use it.
5. Relationship Workshops – Relationships can affect our health in a variety of ways. Relationships can be stressful. Some relationships are violent. Some are controlling. If you or someone you know is having difficulties in a relationship, see if your campus offers programs that help people deal with relationship issues. If not, find out if the campus is tied to any community services, or if they can recommend services off campus.
6. Health Counselling – There are a lot of health issues that are related to students, including alcohol and drug abuse, preventing sexually transmitted to students, etc. It is important for college campuses to offer counselling services to those who have questions about these and other important health issues. Many campuses are linking up with community-based programs to ensure that students have full access to health care and information about health related issues.
7. Designated Driver Program – Let’s face it. You are a student, you are on your own for the first time, and you are going to do your fair share of partying. This is fine, as long as you do it safely. Always have a designated driver so you can get home safely. Check to see if your campus has a designated driver program. If not, see what you can do to get one started. You may just save a life.

 

Lorraine McKinney is an academic tutor and elearning specialist.