It is nearly impossible to go through a
day without being inundated with information about health and wellness. Try getting through a magazine, newspaper or
TV show without an advertisement dedicated to health and wellness, which is one
of the largest industries in America, and continues to flourish despite
economic hardships in many other fields.
However, wellness is not another or a New Years Resolution; it is at the
core of our very existence. It is
shocking that despite being the richest country in the world, we continue to
battle sickness at such high rates, and are beleaguered with stress, poor
nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle.
The United States ranks 27th in
the world in life expectancy behind nations such as Japan, Iceland, Andorra,
Israel, and Malta. However, in
comparison with Cuba which ranks 28th in the world, we spend 25
times more per capita on health care[1]. We live in a nation where companies such as
Starbucks and GM spend more on health care than they do on coffee and steel,
respectively[2], [3]. Our businesses spend hundreds of billions of
dollars a year to address burnout, turnover, higher absenteeism, lower
production and increased health care costs because of job stress. More than 7 out of 10 people over 20 years of
age are overweight, obese or extremely obese[4]. Nearly 40% of Americans do not engage in any
leisure physical activity, and nearly 70% do not exercise regularly [5].
The time has long passed for us to do more
than drop our jaws at these statistics and facts. It’s time for action. We need to make a lifestyle difference and
begin our pursuit towards Wellness.
Last fall, Bay Path College took charge
and created a Wellness Department which works
collaboratively to promote all elements of wellness through facilitating
programming, providing educational opportunities, and advocating for and
supporting the campus community to reach their full potential in all aspects of
life. We have adopted a holistic
approach which views wellness not merely as an absence of disease but a
continuous pursuit towards physical, mental and social well-being. We are excited to offer personal training
appointments, cardio and fitness classes, nutrition advice, stress management
workshops, counseling appointments and health services to the Bay Path College
community, in addition to other programming throughout the semester. We will be launching a wellness challenge
during the month of February to encourage everyone connected to Bay Path
College to try one new thing in each dimension of Wellness.
[2]
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/07/news/companies/starbucks_schultz_healthcare.fortune/
index.htm
[3]
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2005-06-22-gm-healthcare-usat_x.htm
[4]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_adult_07_08/obesity_adult_07_08.htm
[5]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_245.pdf
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