By Hemesh Patel Daily Bruin Contributor
Students at the School of Public Health will be handing out
smoothies and recipes this morning to kick off an annual event
aimed at promoting wellness in the university community.
Health Week will last until Saturday and will include programs
revolving around exercise and general fitness, this year’s
theme.
"Students are young, energetic, and generally physically
healthy. Ironically, they are the group which is most likely to be
practicing unhealthy living habits such as eating high-cholesterol,
high-fat and low-fiber food," said Catharina Wong, a representative
from PHSA.
Arthur Ashe’s nutritionist, Sherry Alpert, will be participating
in a booth on Bruin Walk this afternoon and will focus on healthy
eating.
"I think awareness for public health is really important in
college," Alpert said. "There are a lot of myths in dieting and
there is pressure for women to achieve a certain body type."
She said that how a student eats affects how he or she performs
academically and athletically.
Alpert stressed the importance of focusing on eating foods in
balance to attain a healthy diet.
"The latest craze is totally bashing carbs. It’s a fad, just
like 10 years ago when everything was fat-free," she said. "These
types of diets lead to disorders – its all about balance and
moderation."
On Wednesday, Alan Nagamoto, a clinical psychiatrist at UCLA,
will be discussing motivation and stress management.
Students said that when dealing with stress it is important to
find a balance in their hectic lives.
"Its important to have a good balance in your activities when
managing stress. No matter how interesting a class may be, you
won’t be able to get as much out it once you tip this balance,"
said Neetal Parekh, a second-year student.
Other events include an elevator boycott on Thursday where PHSA
representatives will be discouraging students, professors and staff
from taking the elevator and encouraging them to take the
stairs.
Every person who takes the stairs will be given a button in
recognition.
Dan Wagman, a certified strength and conditioning specialist
will answer student questions Friday on Bruin Walk about lifting
weights.
The week’s festivities will culminate on Saturday morning with a
run-walk-bike-rollerblade-a-thon in Santa Monica.
UCLA is one of the many universities celebrating National Public
Health Week. Other schools participating in week- long events
include Berkeley.
This year’s nationwide theme for Public Health Week is "Healthy
People in Healthy Communities."
Wong said that a university community is the best place to
spread awareness for a complete state of physical, mental, and
social health.
"We aim to educate students to utilize the resources that are
already available on campus and to take better care of themselves,"
she said.
"We want students to enjoy and have fun with healthy habits and
lifestyles," Wong added.