Biggest Loser announced Tuesday in ground-breaking wellness campaign
Janel Shoun |
With recent studies showing that 35% of college students are overweight or obese and the typical collegiate lifestyle – lack of sleep, increased stress and increased caloric intake – contributing to weight gain and obesity, the Lipscomb Department of Campus Recreation has launched a new wellness program this year based on the popular television reality show The Biggest Loser.
Lipscomb’s first ever Biggest Loser competition had resulted in more than 150 pounds lost by 80 students after just the third week of the six-week competition.
The winning Biggest Loser team will be announced, Tuesday, March 8, during National Nutrition Month, at a celebration in Bison Square at 11:30 a.m. The winners get a weekend trip to Gatlinburg.
The day’s activities will also include a blow-up obstacle course on the Square at 11:45 a.m., healthy sack lunches provided by Sodexo and a volley vault tournament on the intramural field at 3 p.m.
The Lipscomb Biggest Loser students have been competing through weekly weigh-ins and competitions, nutrition consultations and three weekly workouts with a trainer since the first weigh-in on January 24. In addition, Lipscomb food service provider Sodexo has partnered with campus recreation, providing a Biggest Loser combo meal between 400 and 500 calories and nutritional information at each meal in the dining hall.
Winners are determined from two categories: the amount of participation points earned in all the offered activities and the amount of body weight percentage lost.
Studies demonstrate that students who complete wellness programs in college have improved health assessment results from year to year. Such campaigns have proven to be an effective method to instill healthy eating habits
Another wellness program campus recreation has offered this semester is “RecRewards,” allowing any student to earn points based on participating in intramural games, wellness programs and fitness programs, outdoor adventure trips and exercising at the Student Activities Center. Students win prizes based on the amount of points they earn.