The White Falcon - 03.01.1997, Blaðsíða 1

Serving the joint service community since 1941
Start year off right with help
from Health Promotions Office
By J03 Travis L. Kelley
For many people, the new year means a
new set of New Year’s resolutions. Some
people want to lose weight. Others want
to stop smoking. Still others want to han-
dle stress better.
Making a resolution is the first step, but
following up on it is the most important
one. The Health Promotions Office at
the Naval Hospital is a good place to
start.
Elizabeth Isaacs, NAS health promo-
tions coordinator, has several ways to help
I|eople attain these goals.
think that stress management and
weight control are important,” said Isaacs.
“During the winter, especially when it’s
dark, windy and cold outside, you begin to
realize you’re pretty far from home.”
She also cited isolation as a reason peo-
ple begin to feel stressed. “It takes its toll
on you. People also want to hibernate
and stay inside. They don’t get out and
exercise or socialize as much as they usu-
ally would. When you’re not as active, but
you continue to eat the same amount of
food, or more, you’re going to gain
weight,” she pointed out.
To combat the weight gain, Isaacs has
some simple advice: exercise and eat
right. To help people learn how to eat
right, the Health Promotions Office has
two nutrition courses beginning this
month.
The Nutrition for the Family course is a
four-week class that gives a general
overview of nutrition. “It shows you how
to prepare healthier meals for your fami-
ly,” she explained. “You learn about child
and adult nutrition and how to make well-
balanced meals for your entire family.”
The course begins Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.
The longer 10-week nutrition course is
more in-depth and is taught by the base’s
community health nurse. “It’s an excel-
lent course for anyone who wants to live a
healthier lifestyle,” Isaacs said. This class
begins Tuesday at 9 a.m. Both nutrition
courses meet once a week and are an
hour long.
Isaacs also recommends the stress
management seminars sponsored by the
FSC. “This is a great way to learn how to
deal with stress in the home and the work-
place,” she asserted. The next stress man-
agement seminar is Jan. 15 at 3:30 p.m. at
the FSC.
A good percentage of military people
smoke or dip tobacco. For people who
want to stop, the health promotions office
has two tobacco cessation courses starting
Monday. “The lunch-time course begins
at noon - bring a bag lunch with you -
and the evening course begins at 6 p.m.,”
Isaacs said. “Each class consists of six ses-
sions spread out over four weeks, with
each session lasting about an hour and a
half.”
So, if your New Year’s resolutions are
to lose weight, stop smoking or learn to
better handle your stress, you have a good
place to start. The Health Promotions
Office offers these and many other ser-
vices to everyone stationed in Iceland.
For more information or to sign up for a
class, call Isaacs at ext. 3114.
Volunteers make Christmas dinner success
Volunteer servers Marilyn and Jacob Kidwell
dish out mixed vegetables with a smile on
Christmas Day at
Tftis week in
NATO Base History
1981... A winter storm
roared through the area, tear-
ing part of the base pool roof
off, ripping siding from base
housing and causing about
$755,000 in damage to the base.
Icelandic Comer
You’re welcome.
Ekkert ad {jakka.
(Eck-kert ath thak-ka)
the USO Christmas
dinner. This is the
first year Christmas
dinner has been free
to all military people
who attended. USO
Director Sue
Slocum estimated
more than 100 peo-
ple had dinner.
“We couldn’t have
done this without
the help of our vol-
unteers and the gen-
erosity of many peo-
ple,” she said.
(Photo by J03 Travis
L. Kelley)