Center for Health Enhancement

Background

Chronic health disorders such as asthma, obesity, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, and certain types of cancer including breast, colon and prostate have been linked to unhealthy lifestyle practices.  Obesity has now surpassed cigarette smoking as the major risk of preventable deaths in the US , which have been estimated to be 300,000 annually.  In addition, personal earning power is reduced because of medical costs, cost of caregivers, missed school, disability and premature death.  It has been estimated that the financial impact on the health care system for obesity alone, nationally, approximates $75 billion annually.  In New Hampshire , the annual cost is $302 million dollars¹.  Furthermore, the likelihood that obese employees miss work due to illness is almost two times greater than non-obese co-workers².  Therefore, obesity in America is not only a burden on personal health costs but it also severely affects the economic wellness of corporate America .

    The wisdom in the saying that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” never was more meaningful.  A person’s health is a relative state of mental and physical wellness.  In most cases, the development of chronic health disorders, such as diabetes or heart disease, is a gradual and cumulative process that is accompanied by subtle physiological and physical changes in body composition and metabolism that indicate high risk of disease. However, these risks often go unnoticed because we still “feel okay”.  It is not until we don’t feel well, that we seek medical attention. 

There are research methods of health assessment now available that enable a person to know whether early indicators of health-risk exist.  However, general screening of one’s personal health status is not readily available, unless the person is being seen by a physician for a health complaint or is part of a routine examination.  That is, the accessibility to obtain evaluative information about state of wellness and/or educational information to manage it as a general service, is lacking.

Recently, nutrition and medical laboratory science faculty formed the Center for Health Enhancement (CHE).

 Mission Statement   

     CHE is a faculty-student operated program with a three-fold mission:

    1.  Provide members of the UNH community and the State access

         to health screening and management of disease, using

         state-of-the-art methodologies.

    2.  Serve as a resource of nutrition, health, and fitness information,

         education and support for members of the UNH community and the

         State.

3.                3.     Partner with UNH Institute of Health Policy and function as a

             research arm for the State to assess health status of different

             sub-populations of New Hampshire .

     The methods by which we intend to meet these objectives will be through academic, research and service-related programs in CHE and through collaborations with other academic units on campus with similar health interests, such as the Dept. of Kinesiology.

CHE Currently Provides the Following Services:

Center for Health Enhancement

109 Nesmith Hall

University of New Hampshire

131 Main Street

Durham NH 03824

(603) 862-0248