Winter can mean more weight without exercise, healthy eating
Joanna Hooste, Staff Writer
For many people, those infamous winter pounds are back, invited by holiday food and not enough exercise.
Without the sun to lure people outside, the winter months can turn even active people sedentary. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter bring large meals and tempting carbohydrate-packed desserts and sweets.
Additionally, students do not have as much access to fresh fruits and vegetables as they do in the summer.
To combat the traditionally poor eating habits that come with winter, the National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsor a Web site at www.5aday.nci.gov. The site focuses on the importance of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The site also allows people to enter personal health data into a calculator that figures how close they are to premium health.
Students may not think of winter as an outdoors season. However, the landscape of Logan, and Utah in general, gives students several options for winter exercise. Skiing, snow shoeing, snowboarding and biking are a few viable activities for the winter months.
Cold weather activity actually has added benefits, according to In Body Bulletin, a health magazine.
“The body burns extra calories just to stay warm. And exercising in daylight can ward off season affective disorder (SAD) – a form of depression that occurs among people who live in places with less exposure to sunlight.”
USU also provides students opportunities to exercise indoors.
The HPER offers three gymnasiums, six handball/racquetball courts, an aerobics room, a weight room, steam rooms, locker and shower facilities, an equipment room, two dance studios, classrooms and a gymnastic room.
Additionally, the Fieldhouse has five handball/racquetball courts including two wallyball courts, a squash court, a 200-meter running track, two basketball courts, a weight room, two tennis courts and a rock climbing gym.
No fair blaming the season.
It is possible to stay fit and healthy during the winter months.