Over the past seven weeks the University has been campaigning for health through the Lucky 7 Wellness Challenge.

According to the Lucky 7 Wellness Challenge program overview, the challenge is a seven week long wellness campaign that challenges individuals to partake in physical activity and healthy behavior, such as maintaining a healthy diet and relieving stress.

There are approximately 200 participants engaging in this event. People can join individually or as teams, throughout the challenge there has been 37 teams and the size of each ranging from two to seven participants said Karyn Smith, who is coordinating this event.

Each week participants are given activities to complete, they range from taking a 10-minute walk to eating a healthy snack. If they accomplish them they are rewarded with tokens. You can also earn additional tokens by logging your exercise minutes for the week.

Some of the particular activities that were assigned week to week throughout this challenge were to consume five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, do some type of stress relaxation, take laps around the Eppler South Gym Track.

“By focusing on just a few activities each week, participants are able to make healthy lifestyle changes without being overwhelmed by them,” said Amanda Long, a team captain.

The more tokens a participant or team earns the more prizes they can win.

“Some smaller prizes include workout gear and equipment and healthy eating giveaways such as lunch boxes & salad shakers. Some larger prizes include massages, free healthy catered lunch for you and your colleagues, and free personal training packages and Group Exercise passes to the Student Recreation Center,” said Smith.

The Lucky 7 Wellness Challenge has the opportunity for being very beneficial for all those who are involved in it. It brings the participants together and helps them meet new people while participating in the weekly activities.

“With seven challenges each week, there was something for everyone. I am part of a team of five ladies, all with varying backgrounds. Every single member of my team has improved her lifestyle over the past 7 weeks,” said Long.

Each week participants have been pushing themselves more and more to maintain a healthier lifestyle and stay active.

“The real emphasis of this program is on developing a habit of regular exercise and other healthy behaviors, and utilizing social support and variety to promote adherence,” said Faith Yingling.