COLUMBUS, Miss.-- Columbus residents are getting ready to shape up and
get fit to make positive lifestyle changes.
The encouragement is coming from a new educational program called
`Commit to be Fit' sponsored by Mississippi University for Women's masters
of science in health education program.
Dr. Joyce Yates, associate professor of health and kinesiology said,
"Health advocacy is a mission for the health education master's level
class and planning and implementation of a health program is part of that.
We want the students to get `hands on' experience in implementing a
community health program."
The students are helping to set up a yearlong program to promote
healthier lifestyles. They will compile educational material on health
advocacy and serve as motivators and communicators.
"The concern of Americans today is that heart disease and cancer are
the number one and number two killers and strokes and lung disease are the
number three and four. All of these diseases are chronic, meaning
lifestyle factors effect the diseases," Yates explained.
Mississippians are at the threshold of a health crisis. According to
the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Mississippi was ranked
first on the "Top Ten Least Healthy States" in the nation.
Yates said "The goal of `Commit to be Fit' is to encourage and educate
people through health promotion to make choices that ensure better quality
of life."
It is a health promotion program on health advocacy. Lifestyle choices
that effect sedentary lifestyles include improper eating habits, problems
in dealing with stress, cigarette smoking and alcohol, and improper sleep
habits.
"All of these plus many more are factors that can lead to a healthier
quality of life or a life that is prone to chronic disease. It is all
about lifestyle choices," she said.
"Commit to be Fit" is based on the framework of PRECEDE-PROCEED, which
is a national health model that has steps for ways to help community
health problems. In coming weeks, information will be released through the
media that will provide tips on how to live healthier. Information will
continue to be released leading up to the MUW Health Fair on Wednesday,
March 5 where participants can sign commitment sheets. Until then, sign up
sheets will be available in local areas.
Dr. Jo Spearman, head of the Division of Health and Kinesiology, said,
"The graduate students in our M.S. health education, along with their
professor, Dr. Joyce Yates, have broadened the fair to include the `Commit
to be Fit' program. This is a large undertaking and we hope that the
Columbus and Lowndes County communities will join in. A healthy lifestyle
is important to each of us with the daily stresses that we all endure."
