Weight is not a substitute metric for health. Health can be strongly influenced by exercise, down the cellular - and subcellular - level. Since health affects quality of life, improving the overall level of health of Rice students is an important goal. Building a new habit takes 40-120 days, which is ~ a semester. The new habit does not eliminate bad habits, but by layering good habits on top of old ones you can improve behavior. Goal is 30 minutes of exercise per day, per student, on average. The approach will use personal goals, peer influence, and competition together to encourage a sustainable workout habit. Several stages that we need to address: 1) Explain + advertise the OWLympics 2) Create an initial "survey" that includes goals and quantifies initial fitness level 3) Form groups and provide experts to help people along 4) Design a website with a points system to track people's workouts, both individually and as groups. The points system should include multipliers for "low, medium, and high" intensity workouts, and then another multiplier for time. 5) Host a final, end of term "OWLympics" event where people can complete their final evaluation in a fun, celebratory atmosphere. |
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