Low-threshold access for students of all disciplines
Integrated into the student health management of the TU Munich, the six week fitness and mental intervention program is aimed at students of all ages and all disciplines. Experts from the respective sports, psychology and counseling services accompany the project and the implementation of the various units. MBB includes mindfulness training as well as training for improved self-awareness through psychoeducation. During each session, students participate in 45-minute mental health and well-being exercises, followed by 45 minutes of physical activity. In addition, individual contact persons are available at all times via the accompanying MBB app. Via the digital application, the developers also collect anonymized data for the scientific evaluation and optimization of the program. Interested students of the TU Munich can register free of charge at this link and receive further information.
Cloudy thoughts and too little movement: Corona exacerbates trend
Lockdowns to combat the Corona pandemic have exacerbated the physically and mentally poor condition of many students. "Our data collection shows that more than half of the students did not meet WHO recommendations for physical activity during the Corona restrictions," says Nils Olson, Research Associate at the Chair of Preventive Pediatrics. Mental distress particularly increased: "In the second lockdown in December 2020, mental health and well-being scores were already in the range requiring clarification for 77% of the students. A year later, that figure was still around two-thirds at 65.4%," Olson adds.
International collaboration: working together for Mind Body Boost
As part of the joint project application to address this worsening problem, eight European universities joined forces in 2021, developed the MBB concept, and began drafting it. Prof. Dr. Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz is leading the Munich part. "As part of the European community, we are proud to help drive this funding project and thus be able to offer our students an additional service as part of student health management," says the Dean of the Department of Sport and Health Sciences. After a joint virtual launch, the programs - initially as a pilot project with accompanying scientific evaluation - have been carried out at the respective locations of the seven partner universities since the end of January. In addition to the TU Munich, Trinity College Dublin, the National University of Ireland in Galway and the University of Limerick are participating in Ireland, as well as Stirling University in Scotland, Vilnius University in Lithuania, the Portuguese Universidade Europeia Lisboa and the non-profit organization "It's great out there" in Belgium.
Register for the Mind Body Boost intervention program
More information about the intervention program
To the website of the Chair of Preventive Pediatrics
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz
Chair of Preventive Pediatrics
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60/62
80992 München
phone: 089 289 24571
e-mail: praeventive-paediatrie(at)tum.de
Dr. Thorsten Schulz
Chair of Preventive Pediatrics
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60/62
80992 München
phone: 089 289 24574
e-mail: thorsten.schulz(at)tum.de
Nils Olson
Chair of Preventive Pediatrics
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60/62
80992 München
phone: 089 289 24578
e-mail: nils.olson(at)tum.de
Text: Mareike Gegner
Photos: MBB/Pixabay