Health
DO YOUR
A FAVOR by Julene Reese ʼ 85
Photo courtesy of Julene Reese ’85.
What’s holding back your health?
54 UTAHSTATE I SPRING 2020
Too often, the best intentions to eat a healthy diet and become physically active are overshadowed by busy schedules, lack of motivation, and competing priorities. A healthy lifestyle is associated with many long- and short-term benefits, including reduced risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, improved cognitive function, mood, and weight maintenance; however, obtaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a challenge. Utah State University Extension’s Create Better Health Utah (SNAP–Ed) program, formerly known as Food $ense, aims to help Utahns make better health a reality, regardless of location, budget, or time constraints. The program name was recently changed to more accurately reflect that its scope is broader than just food, says Casey Coombs, ’13, MS ’18, assistant director for Create Better Health. The program provides a variety of resources and classes on nutrition, budgeting, cooking, food safety, and physical activity. “The purpose of the program is to teach youth and adults these skills in the locations where they eat, live, learn, work, and shop,” she says. “Our goal is to increase their knowledge of an overall healthy lifestyle, and USU Extension is in a perfect position to do that. Since we are a statewide program with offices that serve every county in Utah, we are able to reach all corners of the state.” Hiram Wigant, a Create Better Health ambassador for Cache County, loves to see people make choices that bring them to a healthier lifestyle. He teaches nutrition education classes that encourage healthy shopping, cooking, and eating habits. “You can spend 10 minutes every night agonizing about what to eat, or you can spend 30 minutes a week planning it all out,” Wigant says. “Why not save yourself around 40 minutes a week, not to mention the unnecessary stress? Of course, starting anything new will take a little more time, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a speedy and even enjoyable process.”
