Students, faculty and staff join in competition to learn healthy habits
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 10:00PM By Amanda Phipps
phippsa@thejohnsonian.com
Stepping on the scale can earn students, faculty and staff a new pair of shoes.
Prizes and weigh-ins are motivational tools the Office of Recreational Services offer through its competitive incentive program this semester.
The “Biggest Loser” competition started with the first sign-up meeting on Sept. 9, said Lindy Lunkenheimer, program director for fitness and aquatics.
The program offers students, faculty and staff the chance to receive weekly nutrition tips and exercise challenges, Lunkenheimer said. The tips will also vary depending on if the participant has chosen to work at the begginer level or the advanced level.
The participants will also weigh in each week, and Lunkenheimer and Rob Schroeder, the graduate associate for fitness and aquatics, will record their progress during the competition, Lunkenheimer said.
“We provide them with someone to hold them accountable,” she said.
The program will run for six weeks, and the last weigh in will be held on Oct. 22, Lunkenheimer said. The winner is the person with the biggest percentage of body weight lost.
Prizes will also be offered to each contestant, and a grand prize of a pair of running shoes will be awarded to the winner, Lunkenheimer said.
Though it is too late for anyone else to join as part of the competition, people can still receive the tips and challenges each week and participate in the weigh ins, Lunkenheimer said. They would just not be eligible for the prizes.
The program allows people to have goals each week, which some find helpful to their efforts to be healthier.
“It has given me an incentive to stop eating bad foods,” freshman biology major Brittany Lawrence said.
The informative aspect of the program provides each member with nutrition tips, which one member found helpful as well.
“The program answered my questions about nutrition and exercise,” adjunct chemistry instructor Pam Jaco said. “I found it interesting and helpful.”
Working with others is part of the program that hold people accountable for their challenges.
“I decided to join because I thought it would be helpful to do something with a group of people,” online learning coordinator Kimarie Whetstone said. “The excitement of competition also made me more motivated to eat healthier and to exercise.”
