Good Choices are Colorful Choices
Monday, March 2, 2015
According to the 2014 State of the State’s Health Report, Oklahoma has the next to lowest rate of fruit consumption and the 44th lowest rate of vegetable consumption in the nation. What better way to turn that statistic around than with a fun, friendly competition?
America’s Healthiest Campus® is challenging its employees to adopt healthy eating habits by kicking off the OSU system-wide Colorful Choices program on March 9. Colorful Choices is OSU’s first ever system-wide challenge, open to all five OSU campuses, four A&M affiliates and 77 county extension service offices.
Colorful Choices is a user-friendly program through Health Enhancement Systems focused on putting produce first. This simple, six-week nutrition program encourages participants to eat at least five servings of produce every day, with a minimum of three vegetables – in red, orange, yellow, white, green, and blue.
“Simply by increasing fruit and vegetable intake, participants can decrease the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension,” said Elizabeth Lohrman, a registered dietician and nutrition counselor.
Through this fun online program, participants earn daily points by eating a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables and score bonus points by eating Top Choices. Participants also stay on track with support from their Colorful Choices team and use daily tips, recipes, and tracking tools to make eating healthy easy.
At the end of the six weeks, prizes will be awarded to the top individual and top team. Tracie Brown, associate director of the Student Union, won the challenge last semester and improved her health as a result.
“The Colorful Choices program changed my eating habits in a lot of ways and not just for the short-term of the program,” said Brown. “As for the health benefits, I physically feel better and have more energy. When I’m feeling a little sluggish, I instantly look at the foods I have eaten and realize I need to grab a quick veggie or fruit to get me going again.”
To learn new ways to prepare and cook produce, a veggie cooking class was offered free-of-charge last semester for Colorful Choices participants. After the cooking class, 95% of participants reported to trying the new recipes out at home. Brown said she enjoyed sampling new vegetables and cooking methods she would not have otherwise tried.
“Some new favorites are cauliflower, edamame, and Brussel sprouts,” she said. “My husband and two sons even enjoyed many of the vegetables I prepared and we have continued to incorporate them into our daily eating habits.”
For those who claim produce is inconvenient and inaccessible, OSU-STW Dining is passionate about making healthy eating simple and easy by offering a multitude of healthy options and programs. For example, nearly every cash register in OSU-STW Dining has displays of fresh seasonal fruit.
“We have three 15-foot salad bars on campus,” said Terry Baker, director of University Dining Services. “All our dining venues have multiple types of fresh fruit and veggie offerings such as stir-fry, steamed vegetables, and veggie pasta.”
Registration for Colorful Choices opens March 2. The program runs from March 9 to April 19. Any benefits-eligible OSU employee at all campuses and county extension service offices can sign-up as an individual or as a team. Prizes will be awarded to the top individual and team participants. For more information or to register, visit http://okstate.colorfulchoices.com.