Contrary to popular belief, a steady diet of Taco Bell and Skittles followed by the occasional walk to Mill Avenue will not satisfy a student's daily exercise and nutritional requirements.
The Health and Wellness Center is funding and introducing Stay Fit-Eat Right, a new fitness and nutrition program to students in Uni 100 - a class offered to first-year ASU students to help them become accustomed to university life - during the fall 2005 semester in an effort to change students' habits.
Stay Fit-Eat Right Coordinator Marielle Rasmussen said the center learned through surveys that most students want to learn about fitness and nutrition.
"They want a reliable way to get information," she said. "They feel the classroom is the best way."
The program consists of three presentations: fitness, nutrition and a closing activity.
Rasmussen said the fitness portion was presented during the first week of classes.
Pedometers were given out in an effort to show students how much or how little they were moving during the day, she said.
"It's an easy way to work more activity into your lifestyle," she said.
Ten thousand steps is the ideal amount to walk in one day, she added.
Uni 100 teaching assistant Jason Green used his pedometer religiously - until he accidentally washed it with his clothes.
"It really helped me see how much I was walking," he said. "If I wasn't reaching my 10,000 steps, I would walk more - maybe take the long way to class or to my car."
Green said it was easier to monitor his 10,000 steps a day as opposed to going to the Student Recreation Complex to workout for an hour.
The last week of September and the first week of October are reserved for the nutrition presentation.
Rasmussen said the presentation focuses on eating the proper amount of fruits and vegetables every day and getting a variety of foods from all of the food groups.
The proper amount depends on weight and activity level, so she tells students to visit the Web site mypyramid.gov and enter their information to see what their requirement for healthy living is.
"It reassures healthy eating," business freshman Jennifer Felts said. "I realized I should eat more vegetables."
A bottle of multivitamins, donated by the March of Dimes, is also handed out during the nutrition presentation. If students can't get their daily requirements of vitamins and minerals from their food intake, it's important to supplement with multivitamins, Rasmussen said.
The program will conclude at the end of November, a time when students will fill out a survey sharing their thoughts about the program, Rasmussen said.
The program will continue in spring 2006, but beyond that it will depend on student input, Rasmussen added.
Reach the reporter at kristi.eaton@asu.edu.
