HAWC delivers Just what the Doctor Ordered

  • Published
  • By Nick Stubbs
  • Thunderbolt Staff Writer
MACDILL AFB, Fla. --  Tis' the season of giving, and while holiday gift baskets often are loaded with things that don't exactly qualify as "good for you," a unique basket distributed on base this week by the Health and Wellness Center is brimming with all things healthy.

The baskets, part of operation "Just what the Doctor Ordered," were distributed Tuesday through Thursday to wing and mission partner units. Containing fresh fruit, water bottles, T-shirt and health and fitness related materials, including smoking cessation information, the baskets were distributed to mark Smoking Cessation month, November, and the Great American Smoke Out, which was Thursday.

"We wanted to tie it (the basket distribution) in with the Smoke Out," said Aaron Craig, a health educator and the coordinator of the tobacco cessation program at the HAWC. "We wanted to get out the word about tobacco cessation and healthy living, as well as exercise and fitness."

The message of the dangers of tobacco, fitness and diet are particularly important at this time of year, said Ms. Craig, as the holidays are a challenging time of stress, partying and lots of rich food, not to mention drink.

"This is sort of a primer and a reminder," said Ms. Craig. "We don't want to set people up for failure, so we don't get into cessation and diet program until after the holidays."

That means the next smoking cessation course begins Jan. 6, running for four sessions on Wednesdays. The classes are held at the HAWC between 3 and 4 p.m.

The HAWC has a good success rate at getting people to hang up the smoking habit, in part thanks to effective tools like "Smoke Signals," which helps beat the habit patterns of smoking. And "Ready, Set, Stop."

"If people really are serious about stopping, we can help them succeed," said Ms. Craig.

Once the smoking habit is kicked, it makes diet and fitness programs offered through the HAWC just that more effective, she said, which is the reasoning behind combining the message with the other health and fitness aspects bundled in the Just What the Doctor Ordered baskets.

The four points of the message are:

- Quit tobacco in all its forms, one of the most important health decisions and critical to cancer prevention.

- Eat fruits and vegetables, which helps reduce risk of cancer of the colon esophagus, lungs and stomach.

- Stay Active and maintain a healthy weight. Just 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week is enough to reduce health risks.

- Know your family history and your numbers. You may have inherited genes that predispose you to certain health risks.

To sign up or for more information, call Ms. Craig at 828-0026