University of New England

Twice around the Earth: UNECOM “Step it UP!” program promotes winter wellness

BIDDEFORD, Maine - Nearly everyone in the College has one. They look like little blue pagers on the hips and laces of students and staff alike. No, they aren’t the latest mini-laptop from a certain computer manufacturer; neither are they the secret decoder boxes of initiates into a clandestine society. They’re pedometers, and there is no secret as to their purpose: to promote community health in the darkest months of the year.

MSIs Sophie Mazuroski and Steve Makovitch show off a new "Step it UP!" T-shirt.

Maine winters may tempt even the most dedicated fitness junkies to hibernate for a month or two. At the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, students have decided to make winter fitness a top priority. Pedometers and t-shirts purchased through an American Osteopathic Association (AOA) grant and the Office of Recruitment, Student, and Alumni Services (RSAS) have been distributed free of charge to all interested faculty, staff, and on-campus students. The goal is to have everyone in the College monitor their steps each day and mindfully increase their winter activity levels.

The program is the brainchild of second-year students Stephanie Schneider, from West Suffield, Connecticut, and Juliann Minnon, from Manchester, New Hampshire. “It started out with us working on a project for our pediatrics class,” says Schneider. “We had to design a program to encourage grade school kids to get active and healthy. After we finished planning out the project, Jules and I looked at each other and said, ‘This sounds fun! I wanna play!’ And then Step it UP! sort of steamrolled from there.”

The project received enthusiastic support from the Student Government Association and the College’s deans, and it also dovetailed nicely with AOA President Peter Ajluni’s 2008 theme of “D.O.s: Fit for Life.” Schneider says that fitness is important for everyone, but especially for healthcare professionals who should model healthy lifestyles for their patients. “It’s so hard to look a patient in the eye and say, ‘You need to exercise more and eat better,’ when you don’t do it yourself,” she laments. “You feel like a hypocrite. But this is something that everyone can do.”

Stephanie Schneider, MSII, Dean Patricia Kelley, and Juliann Minnon, MSII.

A little bit of healthy competition doesn’t hurt, either. The first and second year classes are competing to see which class “Steps it UP!” the most, and have also challenged the faculty to a proportionate contest. The winning class will receive UNECOM water bottles and bragging rights for the next twelve months.

The program rolled out on January 15, and will run for five weeks. Participants wear their pedometers all day long, then log their daily step total and try to increase their steps over the course of the program. Physicians recommend 10,000 steps a day for good health, which is roughly equal to a half-hour of vigorous activity (in terms of energy expended; not actual time elapsed.) Many people don’t realize how many steps they can add simply by taking the stairs rather than the elevator, or pacing the halls in between classes.

How many steps equal a mile? That depends on an individual’s height and pace, but for a 4mph rate, the average person may range between 1850-2000 strides per mile. For those trying to shed a few holiday pounds, one pound of body fat is equal to about 3500 calories. It takes about one mile of walking (2000 steps) to burn 100 calories. Over the course of one week, an individual who walks 10,000 steps a day may burn the equivalent of 1 pound of body fat. Of course, healthy eating and rest are also important components of a healthy lifestyle.

To put the program in perspective, if the 300 individuals who have picked up pedometers each walk 10,000 steps per day (5 miles), over the course of the program the total distance walked should be around 52,500 miles, or roughly twice the circumference of the earth. Not bad for a Maine winter.

- Steve Smith, RSAS

(Press release posted Jan. 22, 2008)