Back to school: MoveU reminds post-secondary students to exercise wherever they are Peer health initiative program promotes exercise for better mood and grades. When Ayana Webb arrived on campus as a wide-eyed first-year student, physical activity was the last thing on her mind. At 19, she was anxious about meeting new friends, her course load in forensic science at the University of Toronto in Mississauga and juggling a part-time job. She was adjusting to life on her own far from her Quebec home. Webb had played rugby and badminton in high school. But she wasn’t a varsity athlete or a gym rat. Besides, how would she find time to exercise? It fell off. I didn’t do it,” says Webb, now 26. “And it didn’t occur to me how much it had meant to me.”
Soon she was stressed and homesick. Depression struck. Back the following year as a residence don, one of her tasks was luring students to recreational volleyball, basketball and mock Olympics against other residences. She soon found herself looking forward to the weekly gatherings. After each game, Webb felt less anxious, more motivated and “better able to balance.” The penny dropped. Physical activity wasn’t simply a chore on the to-do list. It was a habit that boosted her health, spirits and grades. That’s the message new students will be hearing this week at U of T campuses in downtown Toronto, Mississauga and Scarborough and at Sheridan College in Brampton as part of a program called MoveU. It will be delivered by dozens of peers urging them to incorporate exercise into their daily routine — wherever and however it works for them — for the good of their bodies, minds and marks.“The whole thrust of MoveU is to create a culture that says physical activity needs to be a core piece of your school experience because you’ll like it better and it can help you,” says Michelle Brownrigg, director of physical activity and equity in the U of T’s faculty of kinesiology and physical education, who spearheaded the peer-led campaign that launched two years ago. It comes at a key time of life when young people are in transition and need to develop healthy lifelong habits.
The four-year pilot, a partnership between the university and Participaction, and introduced at Sheridan last year, has drawn interest from eight other post-secondary schools including in British Columbia and the U.S. A growing body of research shows that exercise benefits memory, attention and other cognitive skills. It reduces stress and depression and improves sleep, mood and energy. But many college kids don’t feel like finding their way to the phys-ed centre. They may be intimidated by intramural teams or gyms. Or they may be too overwhelmed to find time.“So we’ve adapted to their needs and bring physical activity to their spaces,” says Webb, 26, who led the MoveU outreach crew at U of T’s downtown campus for its first two years.The “mobile MoveU” unit will bring yoga mats, stationary bikes and even instructors to groups of students who request it, for free. At U of T Scarborough, MoveU crews set up stationary bikes, mats or free weights in the main meeting area and invite anyone walking by to give them a try. At exam time, they run free “stress buster” stretching and exercise activities and chair yoga outside study halls.“People don’t find us, we find them,” says Isabel Gana, 23, the MoveU Scarborough student co-ordinator who helps manage a team of 18 volunteers.

“I was one of those kids who didn’t want to go to the gym,” says the fourth-year health and anthropology major. “I saw it as extra time when I should have been reading another chapter. This changed my attitude to physical activity. I use it as a study break. It’s now my way of de-stressing.”

Students attending Orientation at Sheridan last week were invited by peers at the MoveU booth to strap on a pedometer and run for 30 seconds with other newbies to compete for a prize.

The program runs free “Morning Motivator” fitness and yoga classes in residence, Girl Power Hour, a female-only gym orientation session, and regularly set up spots on campus to host games of life-size Jenga, Twister or other shake-your-body activities like skipping or hula hoops.

At Sheridan, the main MoveU message is that physical activity is anything you want it to be, says Karla Windatt, 23, of Beaverton, a student team leader.

“So instead of going on Facebook in your 30-minute break, why not jog on the spot, go for a short walk,” adds the fourth-year student in exercise science and health promotion.

When youth realize they don’t have to go to the gym and can be active in their room or with friends, “it’s amazing how much it clicks.”

U of T student surveys found that what resonates most is the link between physical activity and improved academic performance. Which led to slogans like “Jumpstart your GPA.”

“We’re going after the student who spends a lot of time in the library sitting down and doesn’t really consider the other side of things,” says Webb.

There are signs it is working. Brand recognition of the program is high. Attendance at regular MoveU “skate dates” designed around different themes (skates are provided) have “gone through the roof” and attracted international students, says Brownrigg.

But the big question that will be addressed by the pilot’s research team is whether it “moves the needle” and actually increases physical activity levels.

Research shows exercise drops consistently once kids hit their teens, particularly girls. First-year females are a prime target for MoveU.

By the time they get to college, up to 80 per cent of youth don’t meet recommended guidelines of 150 minutes a week of exercise, according to national surveys.

Growing concern has sparked new initiatives like Exercise is Medicine on Campus, which promotes physical activity and the use of exercise prescription to prevent and treat disease and mental health issues.

MoveU partners phys-ed with student life departments and health services, reflecting the idea that physical activity is a medical, mental health and community issue.

That approach changed Webb’s life. By third year, she joined an intramural volleyball team, followed by lacrosse. Instead of pursuing a career in forensics after graduating, she landed a job with U of T to help get MoveU off the ground.

Now working as a peer co-ordinator at the downtown campus, Webb plays recreational basketball and softball and recently did her first 10K run.

“I recognized how much being physically active gave back to me and I wanted to send that message to students coming in.”
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