Truth be told, we’ve actually had a rather mild winter here in Iowa this year, but within the last week it has started to look a little more familiar. With more snow in the forecast and lower temps ahead, some of you may start to feel the effects of the winter blues, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Here are some ways to keep the dark days of winter from dragging you down:

Let there be light! Getting exposure to sunlight can be a powerful way to boost your mood.

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One day as my focus faded from studying, I thought about how much I had been sitting that day, and how many hours I spend sitting every day. After logging in eight hours of sleep (if I am lucky), I am left with 16 waking-hours. On average, I can tally nine of these hours in a chair, whether sitting in class, studying or eating. Even when you size-up my 30-minute workouts and lighter daily activities, the majority of my days are spent motionless. We all experience this excessive sitting, and I challenge you to think about it as more than a necessary act – or lack thereof. As I’ll share below, excessive sitting is now being considered a major risk factor for the development of chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

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My teenage kids came home from school recently full of joy over something that made my blood boil: On Nov. 14, Congress released the final version of a spending bill that effectively allows pizza to be considered a vegetable in school lunches. The bill would block a rule proposed by the Obama administration that would mean only a half-cup of tomato paste or more could be counted as a vegetable. The rule change would reduce the amount of pizza allowed as part of government-subsidized school meals, because a serving of pizza has less than that. (School meals are required to include a certain minimum of vegetables.)

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That many popular children’s breakfast cereals are high in sugar is not new news. What’s alarming is that over the years food manufacturers have done little to change that and may in fact be packing even more of the sweet stuff into those kid-alluring, colorful boxes.

A study released last week by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that among 84 cereals, at least three that are marketed to children contain more sugar in a one-cup serving than a Hostess Twinkie. An additional 44, the study revealed, serve up more sugar in a cup than three Chips Ahoy! cookies. The three worst offenders: Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, Post Golden Crisp and General Mills Wheaties Fuel. Even more cavity-inducing is my guess that few kids limit themselves to just one cup of cereal per serving.

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As an institution that emphasizes high-quality health care education, health care services, preventive medicine and healthy lifestyles, Des Moines University demonstrates its values with its platinum-ranked wellness program.

Did you know that DMU is the only college or university to achieve Platinum Well Workplace Certification in the United States? That’s a pretty impressive feat.

DMU president Angela Walker believes, “Our wellness program enhances not only quality of life for our employees but also for family members, friends and the patients we serve.”

Our Wellness Center and its staff are just another one of DMU’s impressive attributes.

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I’d like to believe health care professionals are committed to patient satisfaction, but going forward the level of “care quality” will take on greater importance: Starting in October 2012, according to Healthcare.gov, Medicare will reward hospitals “that provide high quality care for their patients through the new Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program…for the first time, hospitals across the country will be paid for inpatient acute care services based on care quality, not just the quantity of services they provide.”

The program will use quality measures relating to reductions in length of patient stays, occurrence of preventable illness or injury in the facility, and errors in hospital care. These issues add to patient suffering and lead to significant unnecessary health care spending.

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