by Ilanit Chernick | Feb 27, 2015 | Sport
WORK IT: First year BSc student Neo Khokhone stretches her work out
partner during bootcamp. Photo: Ilanit Chernick
Wits SRC campus wellness officer Jamie Mighti has challenged Witsies to “get fit” with the SRC’s fitness campaign.
The campaign, which launched on Monday in conjunction with Virgin Active aims to combat obesity and unhealthy lifestyles amongst students, and features a three-week fitness progam.
“We are trying to save lives and create long term longevity of Witsies,” Mighti said.
He encouraged Witsies to join the three-week exercise program as a way of enriching their lives and to create discipline.
“Gyming consistently creates a discipline that will trickle down into both your academic and social life,” he said.
Mighti told Wits Vuvuzela that students are careless about their health and fitness.
“It’s in our twenties when we mold our bodies. We pick up bad habits like smoking, drinking and reckless sex which can affect us for the rest of our lives.”
Mighti encouraged all students both fit and unfit to join because “something is better than nothing”.
“So far we’ve seen around 50 students attend the fitness training but we want to push this to at least 300 students.”
“It’s in our twenties when we mold our bodies. We pick up bad habits like smoking, drinking and reckless sex which can affect us for the rest of our lives.”
His vision together with the SRC is to see Wits becoming the “healthiest university in the world.”
Promoting healthy eating and engagement with physical, emotional and social wellness are on the agenda for this year.
“Wellness is going to be a massive criteria for the university. We want happy and healthy students on our campus.”
Mighti is also working on a “shared bicycle” initiative, which sees students being able to ride bikes around campus to different lecture halls especially when they are far from each other.
By the beginning of the second quarter, Mighti hopes that there will be at least 50 bikes on campus available for students to share-ride and use around campus.
Healthy eating on campus is also a major concern for Mighti. “We need to create a conscious awareness about healthy food especially at the vendors and the food halls at residence.”
“The university hasn’t been serious about health issues and it is time they walk-the-walk. They must take initiatives to improve health on our campus,” he said.
The fitness program will be taking place for the next two weeks on Monday and Friday from 6.30 am to 7.30 am on the Library Lawns.
by Pheladi Sethusa | Mar 7, 2014 | Featured 1
BMI Drive: Karin vander Walt, senior catering manager calculating student’s BMI to make them aware of the health implications of the food they eat. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
by Pheladi Sethusa and Nqobile Dludla
A Body Mass Index (BMI) drive by RoyalMnandi was launched on Monday in an effort to raise awareness among students.
BMI drive
“BMI is basically the ratio that you use, if you’re a certain height you should ideally be a certain weight,” said dietician Neroshnee Govender.
“We weigh their weight and measure their height, we take that down and use a calculation method and then we let them know whether they are within the normal range for their height or whether they are overweight, obese or underweight,” she said.
The testing left Witsie Sannie Baloyi smiling at the paper holding his results.
He said learning a BMI could be “traumatic”. Though Baloyi was happy with his results he said would still try to improve his lifestyle.
“It’s [BMI] somewhere along the lines of being accurate but it traumatizes people. Now I’m going to try eating healthy food and I’m going to start exercising.”
Royal Mnandi liason officer Bontle Mogapi said the health awareness drive was put in place to provide students with information and the means to lead healthier lifestyles.
While students were queuing, waiting to be measured and weighed, Zazele Mabaso expressed a different opinion as he dodged the weigh-in.
“It’s a waste of time really. What do I gain from knowing my BMI?” Mabaso asked.
[pullquote]BMI “doesn’t look deeper” because it doesn’t give an accurate reading of muscle mass and body fat.[/pullquote]
Is it useful?
The calculation of BMI is contentious and there are different views of its validity. The intentions of the calculation, to correct unhealthy lifestyles is not in question but the methods of the calculation are in dispute.
For example, a rugby player who weighs 100 kilograms and measures 1.8 metres tall has a BMI score of 30.9, which would fall on the obese side of the BMI scale.
The calculation fails to factor in muscle weight, which is much heavier than fat, so people who are fit and muscular are not catered for in the calculation. “The body mass index becomes worthless when it is used on a general population,” said sport science lecturer Marc Booysen.
He suggested making use of other measurements like hip to waist ratio, in conjunction with a body fat caliber to measure such a diverse population.
He added that BMI “doesn’t look deeper” because it doesn’t give an accurate reading of muscle mass and body fat. Given the example of the “obese” rugby player, he said it would be more accurate to measure body fat in that situation with caliphers.
In a case where the population group being measured is fairly similar, like a soccer or rugby team, the BMI could then be useful because those people have a fairly homogenous BMI score said Booysen.
by Sibusiswe Nyanda | Sep 20, 2013 | News
AT HIS BEST: A now healthy and strong Joshua Irwin at the Wits gym.
Photo: Sibusisiwe Nyanda
Joshua Irwin had been overweight all his life. During his first year at Wits, his weight reached the point that he was forced to use the disabled parking area.
He remembers the shame of being “effectively disabled” by his weight. At his heaviest, Irwin weighed 130kg.
But two years ago, the third year Psychology major took matters into his own hands and, on his own healthy eating plan, Irwin lost 55kg in eight months. And this year, the self-confessed former sugar and carbohydrate addict took his quest for health a step further.
He is now a nutritional coach and personal trainer. The business idea came to him after he joined the Wits gym and saw “most people doing stupid things”. He became the “go-to guy” after people heard about his success.
He has since landed 13 clients, eight of whom are fellow Witsies. A former anthropology major, Kirby Randall, lost 12kg on his plan. Irwin claims another client lost 9kg in two months and that his own mother lost 12kg after taking some of his nutrition advice.
Irwin’s approach to nutrition goes against some well-known theories about how to get healthy. He argues people don’t need six meals a day to function, especially because most people underestimate the portions they have.
He fasts 16 hours in a day and stays away from carbohydrates and sugar. “By accident I didn’t have carbs once and I decided to go a few days without.”
He says the cravings for unhealthy foods “disappeared” when he stayed away from bread, grains and sugar.
He also doesn’t believe in using food as a reward.
A friend once told him: “Never reward yourself with what you’re trying to recover from.”
At 77kg, Irwin has come a long way from the first year who couldn’t walk from student parking areas.
“Walking uphill and downhill from East to West Campus can be incredibly painful when you’re overweight.”
For a long while, he tried to lose weight but would gain it back. He saw nutritionists for help but felt their “cut and paste” eating plans were impersonal and out of date. Irwin said his confidence had taken a beating.
“I was just tired of it and it hurt. You get overlooked often. You’re not even in the friend zone – you’re just not an option because you’re not desirable.”
He enjoys being able to be more sociable now. “I remember feeling I was extremely visible for my weight, not because I was a nice person or because I was smart … It was just, you know, that fat white guy with long hair. People would have preconceived ideas about you.”
He believes being thin is linked to how well people deal with their past life experiences.
Nutritionists miss this point, he argues, and this leads to their clients not being able to conquer weight problems successfully.
Irwin plans to do his Honours and Masters in psychology, focusing on behavioural and eating abnormalities. He feels the person-centred approach of therapy will help develop more meaningful relationships with his clients.
He wants to be the “go-to guy” for fitness and health in Johannesburg and has his sights on famous South Africans.
“I want celebrities who have had weight problems to be able to tell their friends: ‘You should go see Josh’, because of my work.”
buyisiwe@witsvuvuzela.com
by Pheladi Sethusa | Sep 19, 2013 | Featured 1
By Nokuthula Manyathi and Pheladi Sethusa
As summer creeps on in, health and fitness are key to looking and feeling good all season. Wits Vuvuzela put together a few health and fitness tips that can help out with getting back into shape.
by Natalia Ribeiro | Aug 11, 2011 | News
Clinical associate students feel they are pioneers in a programme that will be the future of healthcare field.
Clinical associates are mid-level healthcare providers who work under the supervision of doctors in a wide range of medical services, primarily at district hospitals. “Clinical associates are the future. I’m not a doctor, not a nurse. I’m somewhere in between,” says first year clinical associate student, Martene Esteves.
The Clinical Associates Programme, which was launched at Wits Medical Campus in 2009, already has over a hundred students. The programme was created as a response to the low doctor-to-population ratio in South Africa.
The course runs for three years and has a strong focus on practical learning. Esteves says the course integrates skill and theory to give students working experience.
Another student, Samantha Ncube explains that nurses and doctors are restricted to the field of their specialisation, which is very limited. However, clinical associates do “something in-between and beyond.”
Chairman of the soon to be formed Clinical Associates Programme Society, Abram Tabane feels people do not understand this new field and often claim they are “half doctors”.
Ncube agrees: “The stereotype of it being an easy course should fall away. People underestimate what we can do.”
All three students described the course as challenging, exciting and intense. “I’m very proud of wearing my scrub,” says Esteves. They say it’s a promising field, and the number of applicants has been growing every year.
The students also feel the profession offers good job opportunities. Ncube says the majority of final year students have job offers. “It’s guaranteed a job.”
The clinical associates’ programmes throughout the country are offered in partnership with the South Africa Military Health Service (SAMHS) and departments of health.
The first class of clinical associates for Wits will graduate end of this year.
by tebogo | May 27, 2011 | News
A sick employee of an outsourced company at Wits University was allegedly turned away by Campus Health on Monday because he didn’t have any money for a consultation.
Oricon Environmental Services employee Bonzi Daga, looking sick and unable to talk, sat on a chair at Campus Health waiting for assistance when Vuvuzela arrived at the clinic.
His friend, who was sitting next to him, said they were refused assistance because they didn’t have consultation money.
“We went back to get the money, Daga got worse, we have been sitting here for like 30 minutes without any assistance”, he said.
Campus Health department head Yvonne Matimba said the receptionist told her Daga and the friend wanted to find out how the system works in terms of contract workers who are not Wits employee ,when they first came and went back to get the money. They came back earlier than the given appointment time and the Doctor was busy with another patient who was scheduled earlier.
“We don’t send anyone who is sick away because they don’t have money; we don’t ask about money in an emergency situation, she said.
Other students complained about the long hours they have to wait in queues since the beginning of this year as only two, sometimes one, nurse is working.
1st year BSc actuarial science student, Precious Mamosebo, said: “I have school work to do, I have been in this queue for an hour, it’s procrastination; Campus Health should do something about this”.
Another student who spoke to Vuvuzela on condition of anonymity said she went to the clinic for contraceptives on Monday but was told to come back on Wednesday as there was only one nurse working.” It’s just giving me pills, there is no need for such a drag”, she said.
Tshegofatso Maisela, 1st year chemical engineering, said: “I am on medical aid but I have been sitting here for like an hour, this is totally unacceptable.”
Matimba said: “This is a walk-in clinic; anybody who comes here has to wait, it’s winter time and there is a high demand for health care services.”
Nurses also prioritise if there are more sick people; they have no option but to send a person seeking contraceptives away, she added.
Matimba said Campus Health has had two nurses since the beginning of this year and a post for another nurse has been advertised, but she did not know when the new nurse would be hired.
“If one of the nurses is on leave, there will be only one nurse available hence my involvement in clinical work to assist to relieve the queues,” she added.
Matimba said they work overtime because they take their jobs seriously and sometimes leave late because of emergencies. According to the register, there was an emergency on Monday at 5.35pm when they were about to leave.
