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Minnesota
Mayo Clinic, U of M Team Up to Promote Wellness Using Lab on Wheels
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What: Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota are taking wellness promotion on the road Jan. 24, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Minnesota Partnership — a state-funded research partnership between the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic — is debuting its health and wellness mobile lab at Caldrea, a Minneapolis-based company that makes earth-friendly, aromatherapeutic housekeeping products. The event is open to the media.
The motor home-sized lab is outfitted with tools to measure calorie expenditure, body mass and fat content indexes and bone density, and to collect survey data. The goal is to bring the lab to people at their workplaces and schools, and to underserved populations, in an attempt to promote healthy lifestyles.
When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Caldrea Headquarters, 420 North 5th Street, Minneapolis, 55401. The Caldrea office is located on the fourth floor of the historic Ford Center building adjacent to Target Field.
Why: The lab's visit to Caldrea is part of a study to determine if healthy movement and standing in work spaces yield healthy outcomes.
The lab will visit Caldrea four times over three months — days one, 30, 60 and 90. Before the first visit, some Caldrea employees who are participating in the study had their workstations converted to WorkFit sit-stand workstations that promote healthy movement and standing. These were designed by Ergotron, a manufacturer of digital display mounting, furniture and mobility products. During each visit, employees will undergo five health tests that include height and weight, heart rate, step station, a treadmill run, and a dexa scan to measure bone density. Researchers will use the data to determine if the new workstations make employees healthier.
What to see, who will be there:
- Caldrea employees doing fitness testing in the workplace and in the mobile lab
- Caldrea employees working in Ergotron-modified workspaces
- Researchers, including Mark Pereira, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota; and James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., from Mayo Clinic
- Representatives from Caldrea and Ergotron
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The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is a collaboration among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the state of Minnesota.
Media Contact: Nick Hanson, 507-284-5005 (days), newsbureau@mayo.edu
