The University of Central Arkansas is bringing the Rethink Your Drink campaign to campus to educate students, faculty and staff on the harmful effects of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages and to encourage healthier beverage options. Several events are planned this month to encourage UCA students, faculty and staff to choose healthier drink options.
The campaign, developed by the Healthy Active Arkansas initiative, is being implemented at UCA through a unique collaboration with the UCA Office of Student Wellness and Development, Employee Wellness and Aramark. Jenna Davidson, director for the UCA Office of Student Wellness and Development; Alicia Landry, employee wellness coordinator and assistant professor; and Nathan Slinkard, campus dietitian, have collaborated to create a campus action plan.
The Rethink Your Drink action plan includes:
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Educational Events: From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19 and Monday, Sept. 23, faculty, staff and students will gather in the lobby of the UCA Student Center to watch demonstrations that will provide a better understanding of sugar content in soft drinks and other beverages. Facilitators will provide guidance to participants on making healthier beverage choices such as 1% or fat-free milk, tea and coffee with no sugar, or seltzer water. Free samples of fruit- and herb-infused water will be available as well.
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30-Day Soda-Free Challenge: UCA faculty and staff are encouraged to go “soda-free” for one month, only drinking beverages with no added sugars, artificial sweeteners or alcohol.
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Bring Your Water Bottle to Work/School Day: On Tuesday, Sept. 24, faculty, staff and students will be encouraged to bring their own water bottle to work and school in order to drink more water and create an environment that supports healthy beverage choices.
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Rethink Your Drink Posters: Posters will be placed near vending machines, in the cafeteria and around campus.
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Social Media: Throughout the campaign, UCA Student Wellness will post messages with facts and strategies from the Rethink Your Drink toolkit.
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Weekly Emails: These will be sent to faculty and staff for continued motivation.
Healthy Active Arkansas is a 501 c(3) nonprofit whose mission is to increase the number of children, adolescents and adults who are at a healthy weight. The team is working on ways to help Arkansas communities, schools and the state be healthier, particularly in the realm of physical activity and nutrition. Members represent a wide variety of organizations, agencies and health care providers.
To learn more about the Rethink Your Drink campaign, visit https://healthyactive.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Rethink-Your-Drink-Toolkit.pdf.
