My body - physical wellbeing

Taha tinana is your physical wellbeing. It is about how your body feels, moves and develops. Caring for your body not only protects you from illness or injury, it strengthens your mind. Maintaining a good level of physical health boosts your energy level, your mood and concentration skills which are critical to your academic success.

Screening your health

Depending on your age and sex, there are a number of routine health screenings you can do to detect changes in your body. Early detection greatly improves your chances of getting back to normal quickly or managing long-term illnesses. These include:

• Testicular checks
• Breast checks
• Blood pressure screening
• Prostate checks
• Skin checks
• Smear tests
• Sexually Transmitted Infections tests
• Find out more about sexual health screenings

You can do these routine checks yourself by keeping an eye out for any changes in your body, such as your skin, breasts or testicles. If you notice anything, make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.

Register with the AUT Student Medical Centre to know what you should be getting screened for and do these tests on
campus.

You can also visit our teaching clinics, which offer cost-effective health services, provided by AUT health science students with close supervision from qualified health professionals. From oral health to physio or podiatry – they’ve got you covered!

• AUT Integrated Health
• Niho Ora ki Manukau (Oral Health Manukau)

Getting vaccinated

Vaccination makes your body create antibodies for a particular disease, in the same way that it would if you were exposed to a virus. This helps you build immunity against it. Vaccines break the chain of transmission, it is the best way to protect yourself and your whānau from infectious diseases.

You may consider getting the following vaccinations, some of which may be free, through the AUT Student Medical Centre:

• Flu (especially for the winter months!)
• HPV
• Meningococcal vaccine
• COVID-19
• Measles, mumps and rubella

Smoking and vaping

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in New Zealand. Smoking-related illnesses are caused by the toxins produced by burning tobacco.

The tobacco in cigarettes contains nicotine which is a highly addictive drug. It takes seconds for nicotine to reach the brain and minutes for the effects to wear off, leading smokers to increase the amount of tobacco they use because they no longer have the ability get that feeling without it.

The best decision you can make for your health is to never start. If you do, here are the 3 best reasons to stop:

Vaping delivers nicotine by heating liquid instead of burning tobacco. It can help some people manage withdrawal effects but it isn’t for non-smokers. Vaping isn’t harmless, it still contains the same addictive substance as cigarettes and the long-term effects are not yet known. People who would have never smoked end up doing it after starting vaping. What we know is that inhaling anything that isn’t clean air triggers an inflammatory response, because that’s what your body’s natural response does.

Don’t vape if you don’t smoke. Only vape to quit smoking.

Facts of vaping vs smoking

It is easier to quit with the help of a coach, you can get this service for free.

• Online service: Quitline
• In-person service: Ready, Steady, Quit
• Te kaha: Indigenous Youth Hub located in South Auckland: Te Kaha Stop Smoking Services

Healthy eating

The food you put inside your body plays a huge part in your overall health and enhances your academic performance. Having a balanced and nutritional diet early in life prepares you for a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

The simplest way to have a healthy diet is to eat a variety of food every day and limit your consumption of processed food – choosing a fresh apple instead of factory-made apple juice.

The best diet isn’t low-carb, high-protein, fat-free or what someone tells you worked for them, it is the diet you can stick to. Structure is important because it gives your body information about what to expect and allows it to regulate your bodily functions accordingly.

Eating is a social activity that reflects your culture and allows you to spend time with the people you love. Taking the time to share a balanced meal in good company helps create a healthy eating environment and makes it easier for good habits to last.

This comprehensive video explains why healthy eating is complex and isn’t about depriving yourself of the foods you love, but
focusing on healthy outcomes.

What’s the Best Diet? Healthy Eating 101