I suppose a "Buyer Beware" mentality is required for anything called Wellness, it being such a subjective concept in itself. I appreciate you comments but add that our society is exposed to daily media coverage of health that contradicts itself continually. I mean really, is coffee good for you or not?

The really good news is that the session motivated you to write a blog on The Landing .

Well, I see what you are saying, but this is an academic institution, and we, as academics, should look beyond the media for our health information and be slightly more critical than the average Canadian. The point is there are "knowns" in health and wellness research. We know that smoking causes lung cancer. We know that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol while pregnant causes fetal alcohol syndrome. We know that sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children, that artificial sweeteners do not cause cancer and so on.  Wellness is not a watered down concept that means 'anything goes' - unless we allow it to be....it is supposed to reflect that fact the health is more than physical health and well-being.

I guess the real question is what type of health and wellness do you want supported, endorsed and promoted at YOUR academic institution? Do you want it to be evidence based (as much as it can be anyway)? Do you want people coming in to do presentations on various issues on health and wellness to be credible? Should they be able to come in and give a lecture series on a topic, with the goal being to sell their product?

I have no issues with talks on health and wellness that are credible and evidenced based. That is not my concern. I do have a problem with someone coming in to talk on an issue only to profit from it by selling their merchandise. We are not the shopping channel. We are a publicly funded academic institution. And I would argue one that struggles for credibility as a research institution. This certainly does not help.

As a student, I find it rather disturbing. Those kinds of things are sketchy at best. A faculty of health disciplines at their disposal, and that's the best the wellness program could do? Sigh.

Don't mind me. My chakras are probably all in a knot.