Fort Belvoir Armed Forces Wellness Center

Various methods are used to determine body composition including Bodpod, ultrasound, and bioelectrical impedance. Body composition goes beyond the number seen on a scale and determines if weight comes from fat or fat-free mass. Fat free mass includes everything the body is made of that is not fat, such as muscle and bone. There is a strong correlation between high body fat percentage and increased risk for diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Metabolism is the medical term for the rate at which the body burns calories. Weight management involves a delicate balance between calories burned and calories consumed. Metabolic testing results provide the exact number of calories required for weight loss, gain, or maintenance.

Exercise testing is an assessment of biometrics (height, weight, body mass index, blood pressure, heart rate) and the four components of health related physical fitness:

• Aerobic fitness (VO2 Submax)
• Muscular fitness
• Flexibility

Health Educators use exercise test results as a planning tool for exercise prescription and motivation to assist clients in establishing and meeting reasonable physical activity, fitness, and health goals.

Stress and strong emotions can cause or worsen various health problems such as heart disease, hypertension, headaches, strokes, and depression. AFWC offers Biofeedback and education in stress relief techniques and coping skills to help combat daily stress.

Health Educators within the AFWC partner with clients in an individuals behavior change process. The process involves providing education, supporting the client as they set goals, and access intrinsic motivations to encourage the development of sustainable healthy behaviors and attitudes.

Thisclass provides education for client to understand personal data about RMR,lifestyle, and exercise WRT daily caloric needs. Class covers trends andbarriers to wellness, energy balance and their environment, components ofmetabolism, and lifestyle choice to positively impact personal health andwellness. Class also covers goals, goal setting, and tools to achieve them.

Thisclass covers various topics to include stress, stressors, the stress responseand the impact of stress on overall wellness. We share tools and resources tomonitor stress levels and tools/ techniques to management stress levels. Weprovide participants with an overview of the emWave software used forbiofeedback in our individual stress management training sessions.

The emphasis of the FFH class is on various topics toinclude nutrition misinformation, dietary guidelines, MyPlate, macronutrientsand micronutrients. Additional topics briefly discussed include vitamins andminerals, water intake, calorie dense vs. nutrient dense foods, nutritionlabeling, eating strategies and resources to assist with improving eatinghabits.

TheHSH class covers various topics to include the importance of sleep,insufficient sleep and its impact on wellness, basic sleep hygiene guidelines,environmental and stimulus control to promote falling and staying asleep andtools and resources available. During the class, each client completes thePittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) self-assessment tool. The PSQI isevaluated by the health educator. Results are provided either in class or in afollow up session. The results of the PSQI help to determine the clients currentsleep quality and patterns of sleep.

The MIM class addresses common challenges to preparing fast and healthy meals at home. We discuss how to find healthy foods when eating at restaurants or the DFAC. Examples of healthy/ frozen foods clients can eat when short on time or unable to cook are provided. We encourage clients to use internet resources like Pinterest, YouTube and food applications for simple and easy ideas. Class participants are given a copy of “Cooking guide for Soldiers" & "Healthy Eating Made Easy". Both books provide plenty of useful tips and recipes to help clients quickly prepare healthy meals with minimal effort.

Click here to view the Dashing Through December Wellness Days Calendar.

Click here to view the Healthy Holidays Toolkit.

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https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stres...

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https://www.heartmath.com/

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene

https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/sleep_hygien...