IU welcomes annual Health Fair

About 1,000 students are expected to attend the 33rd annual IU Campus Health Fair, which will unite several health-related resources into 36 interactive exhibits designed to educate and entertain students, said Health and Wellness Director Anne Reese. The fair will take place from 10 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Alumni Hall of the Indiana Memorial Union.\nShe said she is trying to move away from students thinking of health education as what they learned in junior high health class. \n"I want students to have an experience that's fun and still have a way to learn about health," Reese said. "Every booth has something to do."\nThe activites will range from the lighthearted investigations of personal health such as massages from the Health and Wellness Center and goggles that allow wearers to know what the world looks like when they are drunk from the Alcohol/Drug Information Center, to more serious health issues, such as diabetes screenings from the IU School of Nursing.\nStacey Matavuli, a registered dietitian at Bloomington Hospital, has worked the health fair for two years. This year, she'll educate people about eating disorders, teaching them what the symptoms of eating disorders are, where to get help, how to help a friend who has an eating disorder and what normal eating is. \nHer booth would be especially relevant to college students because "anytime someone enters a transitional period in their life, they are at greater risk for developing (an eating disorder). College students are at greater risk, as this is one of the largest transitions in their lives," she said. \nBeing in close proximity to thousands of people their age and wanting to have control over something, namely food and exercise, are factors leading students to eating disorders, Matavuli said.\nMartin Center, Inc., will also be screening for sickle cell anemia, a genetically inherited trait.\nThe Monroe County Tobacco Prevention Coalition will screen for carbon monoxide, a serious issue with a simple and fun screening, Reese said. \n"You blow into the carbon monoxide tester, and it picks up how much is in your breath," she said. "(Carbon monoxide is) one of the chemicals that comes out of your car exhaust."\nJulie Ferguson, president of the Student Optometry Association, organized a vision screening booth. She said the health fair would let students know the optometry school has services available to the community and would screen students who have not had an eye exam in a few years as well as a local healthcare organization that works with disadvantaged residents and focuses on diseases of the blood, those who may have problems but do not know it. \n"We can catch a lot of diseases through eye exams, like high blood pressure and diabetes," she said, adding that this year's booth would have six or seven different tests to make sure the eyes work together, screen for glaucoma and test visual acuity. \nThe health fair is a free event, and mocktails, snacks and condoms will be provided.\n-- Contact staff writer Janice Neaveill at jneaveil@indiana.edu.