Fair prescribes better health for students
by Debbie Blankenship
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

Undergraduate students at UH-Clear Lake contributed to a Health Awareness Fair April 3 in Atrium II of the Bayou Building.

The purpose of the health fair was for students registered in Health 3135 and Fitness and Human Performance to learn health promotion programs. Students picked topics of health that interested them and developed a display and provided handouts.

Students were then required to have an interactive component where they engaged in conversations or a specific task with different people on the chosen topic.

In addition, students were to evaluate two booths of assigned classmates. Health students are graded on this assignment and given an opportunity to promote health topics.

The fair had 40 booths, 40 students and 40 different topics that ranged from alcoholism to ways to get fit.

Each person who visited three booths had an opportunity to enter the raffle. Bruce Palmer, dean of the school of Human Sciences and Humanities, donated popcorn and fruit. Eugene Coleman, professor of Human Sciences and Humanities, and program chair of Fitness and Human Performance, donated a signed Astros baseball and Terry Dupler, associate professor of Fitness and Human Performance, donated a fitness assessment and a body composition assessment.

About 150 people entered the raffle. Margaret Snooks, lecturer in Fitness and Human Performance, organized the fair. This is her fourth health fair.

"I used to have students go find health fairs and evaluate them, but it got harder and harder to find them," Snooks said. "So I thought, we will just do one."

Snooks has taught health promotion programs for 12 years. She also teaches women's health, health psychology, health risk reductions and organizational wellness.

Snooks said health students know the cost, the planning and the time it takes to learn marketing, which is then used to learn evaluation, budgeting and health education.

"It is a very useful activity," Snooks said. "Students like doing fairs because this is their classroom and it is more fun. Students are enthusiastic about promoting health and when they teach other people, they learn too. That is an important part of doing health promotions. It is called a helper principal and you learn a lot about the topic you are interested in and you learn how to convey the information to other people."

Health students participated by overseeing a booth of their choice and by providing helpful information to the public.

Michelle Pompa was in charge of the Stress Management Booth and said the health fair is an interactive way to meet people and give tips on managing stress.

"I picked stress management because it is a part of everybody's lives," Pompa said. "Everybody experiences some stress and I think that everybody can use some management and ideas on dealing with it."

Theresa Simmons, in charge of the Alcoholism/Abuse Booth, said this was a personal issue that hit close to home.

"I picked this topic because my husband died from cirrhosis of the liver from alcohol abuse," Simmons said.

Since April is Alcohol Awareness Month, Simmons said this was a good time to inform the public about the effects of alcoholism and how to catch it early.

Simmons said that it is common for children to begin drinking between the ages of 13 to 16 years old.

"By the time these children reach adulthood, they will be dependent on alcohol," Simmons said. "It just causes so many medical problems."

Darin Ard managed the Obstructed Sleep Apnea Booth and said he has a personal history with it.

"I picked this topic because I know a lot about it," Ard said. "I work in the field of sleep medicine and home care and have a lot of information about sleep apnea."

Obstructed sleep apnea can be construed as a sleep disorder commonly associated with snoring and brief episodes of non-breathing that last for a minimum of 10 seconds.

The oxygen level of the blood tells how much oxygen a person is breathing in.

When the body reaches the well-rested sleep stage and the muscle tissue relaxes that is when the air passage is blocked and breathing stops.

The body knows it has to breathe so it wakes itself up.

This entire step can occur 100 times a night. Because of the constant disruption, a person who thinks they are getting eight hours of sleep a night may actually be getting three or four hours.

Sleep apnea is more common in men ages 35 to 40, but women ages 38 to 55 are also being diagnosed with it.

Obstructed sleep apnea works in layers with other medical problems such as hypertension, heart disease and strokes. More tests are needed to determine sleep apnea and its causes.

"Obstructed sleep apnea has always been around, but now there is more awareness," Ard said. "More people now know the symptoms and that it is treatable."

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