Gen Y Staying Healthy this Holiday Season

November 27, 2013 by Tamara Bell

Dr. Karen Basen-Engquist is a Professor of Behavioral Science in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. As a psychologist, Dr. Basen-Engquist’s primary area of research interest is developing and testing health behavior interventions for cancer survivors to improve their physical function, quality of life, and health outcomes.

It’s hard enough for Gen Y to exercise and eat healthy when juggling the demands of school or work, but add holidays to the mix, and training and healthy eating tend to go out the window. What can Gen Y do to avoid weight gain during the holiday season? Professor Basen-Engquist joins Keeping Up with Gen Y to offer suggestions on how to squeeze in exercise and healthy eating between holiday parties and shopping. She also explains how taking care of yourself in your 20s with a regular exercise routine and healthy diet can radically reduce your chances for certain cancers when you’re older.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: exercise, Generation Y, healthy eating, holidays, Karen Basen-Engquist, Keeping Up with Gen Y, MD Anderson Cancer Center, tamara bell

About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.