U.B. Wellness Fair aims to keep students healthy
Every year the University of Belize hosts a Wellness Fair at each of its campuses. Student Services Coordinator, Sharon Palacio, says it’s all to keep a healthy student population. Jose Sanchez reports from the U.B. Belize City Business and Social Science’s Campus.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
Every year the University of Belize hosts a Wellness Fair at each of its campuses. Student Services Coordinator, Sharon Palacio, says it’s all to keep a healthy student population.
Sharon Palacio, Student Services Coordinator, U.B.
“We look at students in giving it a holistic approach because around this time it’s coming onto this time it’s coming on closer to examinations. And you know that around this time they could be stressed out. So we brought in several different organizations that give attention to both male and female students.”
Most of the services are free and for those that are not, the cost is not more than two dollars. You can get a foot massage and even find out your body mass index.
Karen Rosito
“I’m taking this individual’s weight. This scale is a special scale cause it gives you your body fat, muscle mass, total amount of water in your body and it also tells you if you have lose or gain weight. It’s a good a start if anybody wants to embark on a get healthy plan and so it kinda bring people to reality. As, you know, you weigh just now, so you kinda know .”
Jose Sanchez
“I need to gain some weight?”
Karen Rosito
“It’s a Tanita body analysis scale, so for two dollars today you can get weighed and know where you are and then do something about it, for example, this young lady only have eleven pounds to lose and we were talking that the last time I saw her she had quite—I think about twenty or so and now she only has eleven, so obviously she has done something.”
Cornelio Marfield, Starfield Lifestyle Wellness Center
“We have some food samples here. Now we have different whole wheat products. We have freshly made juices as well as we have a fruit salad. And then we also have a practical aspect, we have—today we are demonstrating Hydrotherapy and massage. It involves using hot and cold method of water. For example, I can show you a demonstration where you can use a hot fruit bath to bring down hypertension or when people are congested in the upper part of the body and basically what—you’ll put the person’s feet in hot water and then it’s gonna open their blood vessel or vascular dilate their blood vessel, and then this will allow the blood to come down and continually circulate much better and then we would do that for about ten to fifteen minutes, keeping the upper part of the head cool and then after the administering this method we would put the cold water to contract it. Another method that we can use similar is called the Russian Steam bath. This is very good for detoxification purposes especially for young men and women who have been on drugs, you know, cocaine etcetera. So what it is gonna do is create an individual to sweat as much as possible, releasing the toxin.”
Sharon Palacio, Student Services Coordinator, U.B.
“We also have Belize Family Life Association and they’re sharing a lot of information. The booths under the tent we call interactive booths because inside the University Building as such we have vaccines going on. We have different examinations, we have a blood drive that we also are promoting.”
Student
“this is normal. Your normal range is from seventy to one hundred and ten and usually, we accept one twenty too.So you’re normal, you have nothing to worry about.”
Lucia Ellis, Numasa Wellness Resource Center
“Here, I’m focusing on stress management, okay.”
Jose Sanchez
“What are the tools of your trade?”
Lucia Ellis
“What are the tools for stress management, massage oils, dry skin brush, massage wheel and also the stress management chart, first of all to decide—you look at what are your issues and where you fit on this and if you’re stress you maintain that and you put these in place so that you can be consistent, you know, because stress is a fact of life, you know that right. Something stressed you out this morning but you look like your happy and you’re coping.”
Jose Sanchez
“I’m looking at those wheels. What do you use them for?”
Lucia Ellis
“For massaging”
Jose Sanchez
“I’m stressed.”
Lucia Ellis
“Can I do you here? The back is where most people carry their stress, back and in the shoulder areas, right. So a little push here, you know, I ask you breathe in deeply and when you breathe I, you breathe positive thoughts and positive messages and breathe out the negative one right.”
Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
The U.B. staff was not left out of today’s activities. After the Wellness Fair, they were treated to an anger management workshop conducted by Doctor Corinth Morter Lewis.
