ABAC EMPLOYEES & STUDENTS GET ‘FIT FOR LIFE’

Faculty, staff, spouses, and students at Abraham Baldwin College can get “fit for life” without ever leaving campus. The Fit for Life Program, ABAC’s new Health Club, began in January and has 130 members.

Coordinated by the Public Service and Business Outreach Center (PSBOC) at ABAC, club membership is free and includes confidential health assessments and monthly wellness and nutrition seminars and activities provided by the ABAC nursing faculty. Other services include weight management classes conducted by the UGA Extension Service and ABAC’s Nursing Division; fitness training opportunities provided by ABAC’s Division of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; and a low-cost, “heart-healthy” breakfast and lunch provided daily by ARAMARK.

Set up as a “design it yourself” health program, members can choose from several different options. Every month, the nursing faculty presents health-related education programs. Topics include “For Men Only,” “For Women Only,” “Stress Busters,” “Post Holiday Repair,” “Don’t Be a Heart Breaker,” “Loving the Skin You’re In,” and “Too Sweet for Your Own Good?”

Before beginning club activities, members receive free health assessments from the ABAC Health Clinic. If potential health problems are detected, members

are referred to their personal physician. Weight management classes meet each Wednesday at noon in the Donaldson Dining Hall. Each week, members focus on nutrition topics, such as “Where to Cut Extra Calories,” “Fats in the Diet,” Nutrition Labeling,” “Cutting Sodium,” “Fiber—the Hidden Treasure,” “No Bones About It—Get Your Calcium,” and many others. In addition to becoming more aware of how to make good, nutritional choices and eat right, participants have lost more than 100 pounds total since mid-January.

B. J. Smith, Director of ARAMARK Dining Services, and her staff provide “heart-healthy” breakfasts and lunches at a very low cost Monday through Friday. Smith sends out campus-wide e-mails, informing members about the “Fit for Life” selections for the day and their nutritional value and calorie count. One club member reported that she lost 20 pounds simply by eating “fit for life” meals in the dining hall every day.

“As a result of the Fit for Life Program, members are becoming healthier and more fit,” Diane Kilgore, PSBOC Director, said. “They are free to select their favorite activities and complete them at their own pace and according to their own time schedules.

“Members are walking the ABAC track almost any time of the day or night. They are jogging, doing yoga, aerobics, weight training, bowling, dancing, water aerobics, golf, and playing intramural sports, including volleyball, softball, flag football, and more.”

Response to the program has been excellent. One member said, “A side benefit is that student-faculty interaction increased with so many teachers eating in the cafeteria.” Another member added, “I enjoyed meeting people through some of the programs that I would not have met otherwise.”

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