Everyone knows about the Monday blahs, but when it comes to getting healthy, Monday is often the day of the week people decide to start fresh.
That's the theory behind
HealthyMonday, a national initiative to get people thinking about making - and sticking to - healthy habits at the start of the week.
HealthyMonday was founded in 2005 by Johns Hopkins, Columbia and Syracuse universities. Its aim is to end chronic, preventable disease by promoting health awareness and actions through community, private and public organizations.
Locally,
HealthyMondayNKY launched in 2008 at Northern Kentucky University, and expanded last spring with the help of the Northern Kentucky Health Department.
HealthyMonday doesn't just give out advice, the organization also provides resources through its web site to make healthy living attainable. Among HealthyMonday NKY's initiatives are Meatless Mondays, which encourages people to eat vegetarian once a week (along with veggie friendly recipes online). There's also the Monday Mile, a challenge to walk at least a mile (the web site contains mapped out routes in Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties, as well as in Covington and Newport). You can see other initiatives and supporting resources
here.
The effort so far has mostly been limited to NKU students and a number of people reached by the University, the health department and other partners. But within the next two months, with the aid a grant from the National HealthyMonday organization, HealthyMonday NKY will release with a bigger promotional push.
"We basically did a pilot when we first built our web site. But we're getting it running again and will also start an aggressive use of
Twitter," said NKU Director of Wellness Karen Campbell. "Every Monday we can send a health tip out that will help people stay motivated and focused."
HealthyMondayNKY is relying on community partners to support residents who want to live healthier, more active lives. HealthyMondayNKY is also working with area restaurants to promote dining out on Meatless Mondays. Through Twitter the organization can alert diners to places that are serving vegetarian meals that day. The organization also will be working with Covington schools to promote vegetarian friendly lunch options.
"This is absolutely crucial. Simply raising awareness is important in impacting health changes, but what really makes a lasting impact is environmental changes, where making a healthy choice is an easy choice," Campbell said.
Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: NKU Director of Wellness Karen Campbell
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