The University of Twente attaches great importance to our staff members being able to perform their work with pleasure, in safety and in good health, in a healthy and safe working environment. This is why we have implemented a number of measures. Our working conditions policy, for instance, lays down regulations for workplace examinations, risk assessments and sickness absence counselling. In addition, we have passed various regulations on the topic of safe work.
With a view on improving our staff members' health and well-being, the UT also offers a variety of activities, including company sports, training courses, health checks, health weeks and a chair massage. We also have made a wealth of information available on living a healthy lifestyle.
The UT takes its health and safety responsibilities seriously. Our hope, and expectation, is that our staff members will act responsibly with respect to working in a safe and healthy manner and making use of all the university has on offer.
Would you like to change your lifestyle? This website provides a wealth of information on healthy lifestyles and what you yourself can do to live a healthy life.
Alcohol
Even with a plethora of alcohol awareness campaigns, still not everyone is aware of how much alcohol they can drink before consuming too much. This site provides a wealth of information on responsible alcohol consumption and helps you determine whether you may have an alcohol problem.
Exercise
It's a well-established fact by now: getting plenty of exercise means you feel more fit and is important for your health and well-being. For the less sporty among us, there is good news: getting your 30 minutes of exercise a day doesn't mean you have to take up sports! This site provides you with more information on how much exercise you need, how to get it reasonably easy, and what facilities are available at the UT to help you get it.
Smoking
The University of Twente is committed to the health and sustainable employability of its students and staff and wants to offer them a healthy learning and working environment. Therefore, the entire campus of the UT, excluding the residential area, is smoke-free.
Making the campus smoke-free supports the goal of the National Prevention Agreement of November 2018 in which the government aims for healthier Netherlands, where children and young adults grow up smoke-free and are no longer tempted to start smoking, with the goal of having a smoke-free generation by 2040. By making the campus smoke-free, UT wants to contribute to a smoke-free generation in 2040.
UT support its employees and students who intend to quit smoking. Therefore, we offer various help- and guidance programmes. For more information visit www.utwente.nl/smokefree
Stress
Everybody suffers from stress once in a while. We have to deal with stress at work, when sitting an exam, in our family life, and in almost all other facets of our life. Stress does not have to be negative. Most people are familiar with the feeling of getting a so-called adrenaline boost, helping you perform better: you always write your best pieces right before the deadline and you always play your best game right before the critical moment of the match.
When you experience too much, too little or unpleasant tension, however, you're dealing with unhealthy stress. Unhealthy stress is the result of a disruption of the balance between work and private life and of tipping the balance of what you can personally deal with. This website provides you with more information on stress: what is stress, and what can you do yourself to prevent unhealthy stress?
Food
Seven servings of fruit and vegetables a day, go easy on the fat and don't overdo it with the sugar: everybody knows how to eat healthily. And most people do think they do so. This just makes it clear how difficult it is to properly assess your own eating habits.
In the last ten years, the number of overweight and obese (severely overweight) people has sharply increased worldwide. In the Netherlands, some 4 in 10 men and 3 to 4 in 10 women, or some 3.5 million adults, are overweight. This means they suffer from an increased risk to develop cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis. But eating healthily is also important to people of normal weight.
But what exactly does constitute 'healthy eating'? Most people think of bland meals when considering healthy foods. A shame, because healthy foods can be very tasty and varied. Have a look at the voedingscentrum (Dutch only) website for tasty and healthy recipes, for instance. Eating healthily doesn't mean you can never gorge yourself on something delightfully unhealthy like a burger or a box of chocolates.
Wondering if you're eating healthily? You can test yourself by taking all sorts of food tests (Dutch only) (e.g. the fat test, the fruits & vegetables test, the snack test).
To find out if you're at a healthy weight, calculate your Quetelet index.(Dutch only).