HAWC helps Airmen maintain a healthy life

Published Oct. 17, 2017
By Robb Lingley
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- For Airmen at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, the transition from summer to fall and fall to winter is never easy. Those warm summer nights are gone and the idea of seeing temperatures below your age can be disheartening.

Imagine being healthy and fit, able to easily overcome obstacles and accomplish goals. The Health and Wellness Center at Peterson AFB can help Airmen become their best version of themselves.

The HAWC is there to support and provide Airmen with health enhancing programs to ensure they are physically able to carry out their mission and promote a healthy lifestyle.

“People are trying to find ways to either maintain their weight or stay on healthy habits,” said Tiffany Brunton, 21st Aerospace Medicine Squadron health promotion dietician. “They can always make a one on one appointment with us and we can go through ways to make it easier for them.”

“We have a long term weight loss program starting in a couple of weeks for Airmen who want to have some kind of accountability during the holiday season,” said Brunton.

The HAWC offers fitness assessments to include muscular endurance and muscular strength, body fat composition, flexibility, and aerobics to Airmen. The staff also provides health risk appraisal, nutritional awareness, stress management training, cycle ergometry assessments, disease prevention emphasizing lipoproteins and cardiovascular disease, exercise programming, and weight counseling.

“During the winter we focus more on nutrition and how we can eat foods that are nourishing and warm,” said Melody Vicari-Warner, 21st AMDS installation health promotion dietitian.

“We have a Bod Pod here as well that is highly accurate and can detect even small changes in body fat and lean body mass,” said Brunton. “It takes 10 minutes and can be used by anyone on Peterson AFB.”

The HAWC also offers a Group Lifestyle Balance Program that provides education, encouragement and the tools necessary to help maintain a healthy weight and reach healthy lifestyle goals.

“We’re also holding a healthy cooking class for the holidays on November 17,” said Vicari-Warner. “We will be talking about how to modify recipes to help Airmen become healthier for the holidays.”

The HAWC at Peterson AFB is there to support and provide all military personnel and their families with health enhancing programs ensuring they are physically able to carry out their mission and promote a healthy lifestyle. By providing a holistic health focus throughout the entire Peterson AFB community the HAWC focuses on prevention, treatment, and the education of Airmen, according to the Peak Military Care Network.

For more information contact Tiffany Brunton at 719-556-5787.