University of Guelph-Humber

Kinesiology Students Christine Misketis and Ashley Hutchison

If you turn on the evening news, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter a story about obesity. Obesity rates have climbed so high that it’s often referred to as an epidemic, one that puts millions of Canadians at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and a many other health complications. Such a big and far-reaching problem has complicated causes, but it’s often reduced to telling people to eat less and exercise more. That simple explanation doesn’t cut it, and so thankfully there are students at the University of Guelph-Humber trying to flip the script.

 “We want to create a space where there’s learning and awareness about obesity,” says Christine Misketis, a fourth-year Kinesiology student. “First of all, we need to change how obesity is talked about, because there are a number of dimensions to the problem and they’re often ignored. Combating obesity isn’t as simple as telling people to eat less and move more.” 

Together with fellow Kinesiology student Ashley Hutchison, Christine co-chairs the Canadian Obesity Network (CON) chapter at UofGH. CON gathers together researchers and health professionals who are working to find better ways to talk about and treat obesity and connects them to resources on the subject. Along with several professional chapters throughout Ontario, there are more than 20 chapters led by students at post-secondary institutions. At UofGH, the chapter focuses on public outreach, holding events like awareness days where they use games and trivia questions to teach people about obesity, or lectures from visiting academics that share the latest scientific insights.

Both Christine and Ashley have been involved with CON since their second year at UofGH, and they remain committed to educating people about the subject.

“It’s a prevalent problem our society is facing, and it’s leading to a lot of other diseases, but we’re trying to move away from the idea that it’s someone’s fault. Instead we want to look at what factors in their life may have led to this,” Ashley says. She then draws out how obesity has four dimensions that affect its impact. Someone’s genetics, mental health, physiology and surrounding environment all come into play to affect their health. When each of these factors are out of balance, their cumulative effect can change someone’s weight and health.

“We work with the hand we’re dealt with,” she says. “Lots of dieting and exercise won’t change where you live, or whether there’s healthy and affordable food available.”

Since it’s a problem that affects everyone in society, CON wants to give everyone a chance to participate in the solution. The UofGH chapter is accepting new members, and welcome students from all programs.

“Kinesiology students have knowledge of how the body works, but Media Studies students would be great at helping us spread our message, Business students could use their skills to help us plan events, Psychology students would help us build a better understanding of mental health” Christine says. “This is a problem we can all have a hand in fixing.”

To learn about the CON chapter on campus, or to become a member, contact them by email.

Learn more about Kinesiology at UofGH.