Nearly one out of every four Utahns is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That’s more than 600,000 people.
Utah State University’s Nutrition and Food Sciences Department can’t help all of those individuals — who are at greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and other negative health outcomes — but it can challenge those on campus to start living healthier lifestyles.
And that’s just what the USU Dietetics Student Association will be doing starting March 4, when it launches the “Get Your Plate In Shape" challenge.
The challenge is a three-week plan that includes eating healthy and getting adequate sleep.
“There are a lot of simple behavior changes that can have really big outcomes,” said Cami Jo Satterthwaite, president of the DSA. “Eating right and getting enough sleep can benefit our nutrition overall. These little, itty-bitty changes are all it takes to feel better.”
DSA member Megan Schmidt said the group is issuing challenges that are important to the health of students but relatively easy to accomplish. These challenges include eating a healthy breakfast, ensuring that plates are at least half-full of fruits and vegetables, and getting the proper amount of sleep.
According to the CDC, adults who slept less than six hours had the highest rate of obesity and those who slept seven to eight hours had the lowest.
“I’ve watched a lot of people become unhealthy just because of lazy behaviors,” Satterthwaite said. “The world is a different place now. You can access things without even leaving your couch. Because of the simplicity of things, we need to become more proactive than we ever have before.”
Teams will include of four students. Each team will receive weekly points for posting pictures of themselves on Facebook fulfilling the challenges. Prizes will be given to the team with the most points at the end of each week.
“I think it is very important for everyone to do it,” said Karen Schmidt, a USU student participating in the challenge. “Being healthy can change your life.”
“By taking care of yourself first, you can help other people improve their lives,” Satterthwaite said.
Rebecca Eisenhower, Eric Jungblut, Trevor Anderson, Ryan Neeley, Marisa Nielsen, Trey Williams, Nicole Murray, Bailey Nielsen contributed to this report.
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