Heathy Gators puts UF community on path to good health

December 5, 2006

With help from Healthy Gators 2010 – a campuswide initiative aimed at producing a healthier University of Florida community – students, faculty and staff soon will be able to follow many paths to stress relief.

And we mean that literally. This month, campus sidewalks are being adorned with the Healthy Gators logo on five routes ranging from one to five miles long.

Jill Varnes, vice chair of the UF coalition, said the group chose to focus on stress this year because the issue is especially important on a college campus, where the pressures of exams and teaching can affect students and faculty in different ways.

“The nature of academia is stressful,” Varnes said. “There is good scientific evidence that stress is related to a number of chronic conditions.”

Healthy Gators 2010 is a coalition of more than 40 UF departments and organizations concerned about the well-being of all members of the campus community. The work of the coalition is being conducted in concert with national programs aimed at improving the health of Americans.

Over the course of the multiyear project, the group will conduct comprehensive assessments of campus health and subsequently will design, implement and evaluate interventions that will move UF toward a campus environment supportive of the development and maintenance of a healthy body, mind and spirit for all members of the UF community.

UF First Lady Chris Machen, who serves as chair of the Healthy Gators 2010 coalition, hosted a kickoff celebration earlier this fall for Gators on the Go, a free Web-based program that allows participants to track their physical activity on an ongoing basis.

“I believe that prevention is the best way to stay healthy,” Machen said. “The hope is to get people moving and reducing their stress by daily exercise that they can do during their working day.”

Physical activity is just one of the ways Healthy Gators 2010 promotes stress relief. A comprehensive Web site highlights services that are already in place on campus to help faculty, students and staff make healthier lifestyle choices. The site also includes lists of scheduled events.

“The program is so multidimensional,” said Varnes, who is also a professor in the College of Health and Human Performance. “The Web site provides one-stop shopping for campus health resources and services.”

To learn more, visit www.healthygators.hhp.ufl.edu.