SHAC program to aid student weight loss

news@dailylobo.com

The Student Health and Counseling Center began a new program Monday to help improve students’ health and physical fitness.
SHAC Health Education Manager Malissa Lyons said that for a $45 nonrefundable fee, qualified students can participate in the Healthy Weight Program, which is designed to help students make healthy lifestyle choices. She said each participant will receive a customized health weight plan and support from the Healthy Weight Team to meet their personal goals.

The fee includes 16 sessions with a personal coach, 10 sessions with a nutritionist and five sessions with a personal trainer.

Students will meet with the personal coach at SHAC to create a healthy-lifestyle plan that incorporates healthy eating and exercise habits. The nutritionist will evaluate students’ eating habits and offer advice about making healthier food choices and small changes that can improve diet, while the personal trainer will meet with students in Johnson Gym and go through personalized exercise plans.

In Albuquerque, a consultation with a nutritionist costs between $100 and $200, follow-up visits cost about $80 to $150 per visit, and one-on-one personal training sessions cost about $45.

But Lyons said the program can only accommodate 20 students at a time and is only available to students enrolled in six credit hours or more. She said participants must meet the body mass index requirements for their healthy weight goal.

The body mass index, or BMI, is a calculation taken from an individual’s height and weight to indicate the amount of fat in one’s body. Students who want to lose weight must have a BMI above 24.9 and students who want to gain weight must have a BMI below 18, in order to ensure that students maintain a medically approved healthy weight.

Lyons said SHAC surveyed students last March in order to find out what kind of services students wanted SHAC to offer, and out of the 16 percent of UNM students who participated in the survey, one of the most popular requests was for SHAC to provide students with access to a nutritionist and a low-cost weight management program. In response, SHAC hired a nutritionist and implemented the Healthy Weight Program.

Lyons said she feels the addition of the program was a good choice for SHAC and that the program takes class and work schedules and personal challenges into account.

“Each team member works together to assist the student with a lifestyle change,” she said. “I think the program gives students an opportunity to make changes and sustain their progress.”