WELLWVU, West Virginia University students’ center of health, is encouraging all students to eatWELL and tweatWELL each day.

eatWELL is a part of the overall liveWELL campaign, which uses monthly thematic educational programs and social marketing campaigns to promote healthy behaviors. It aims to increase student’s fruit and vegetable consumption to at least five servings each day.

tweatWELL is a unique point-based social networking program, designed to get WVU students to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The program aims to provide students with a fun and interactive venue for promoting healthy lifestyles. It encourages students to check-in and post foods they are eating on the homepage http://www.tweatWELL.com.

Students can update information via text message or Twitter that will automatically update the tweatWELL page. Faculty and staff members are encouraged to play along, but aren’t eligible to win badges or prizes.

WELLWVU’s Office of Wellness and Health Promotion developed the program in conjunction with Videntity Solutions, a WVU business incubator tenant and award winner in the West Wireless Health Institute’s developer challenge.

To keep the program exciting, students will be able to earn points based on different categories and can compete to become a professor, dean and president of different fruits and vegetables. Prizes will be awarded throughout the program to participants.

According to the National Collegiate Health Association’s 2008 report of student health behaviors, the majority of college students eat fewer than three servings of fruits and vegetables per day. The survey conducted at WVU in February confirmed that WVU student’s behavior was comparable to the national standard. The daily recommendation for fruit and vegetable consumption provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is five to nine servings per day.

eatWELL will provide the incentive and education needed for students to make positive changes in their nutritional habits, moving them closer to the CDC recommendation.
Other educational games and hands on activities that will be introduced this month include: Nutrition Bingo; “Freggie” Match-up; What’s in Season?; and Myth or Fact.

WELLWVU’s Office of Wellness and Health Promotion works in partnership with Residential Education to bring liveWELL programs such as these to students in residence halls via their wellness coordinators. Games will also be played in the Mountainlair on eatWELL event days and can be requested by any group by requesting a program on our weblink: http://well.wvu.edu/wellness/request_program.

All students are encouraged to watch for Health Monday messages on MIX and sign-up for cooking classes in February. Classes will be sponsored by WELLWVU OWHP and offered at Mountain People’s Co-op. Mountain People’s is also offering a 10 percent discount to WVU students with ID on Fridays. For a complete listing of eatWELL programs and activities, see: https://www.facebook.com/WELLWVU.

-WVU-

ch/01/09/12

CONTACT: Colleen Harshbarger, WELL WVU
304-293-5054, Colleen.Harshbarger@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.