VU-Vital (formerly VU ProFit!) is an exciting initiative that challenges you to improve your physical and mental health by measuring and lowering your biological age. We understand that it is not always easy to adopt and maintain healthy habits, but together we will rise to the challenge in making our campus fit!
We are all aware that exercising more, stressing less, eating healthier and getting enough sleep are essential for a healthy lifestyle. But how old are you biologically? And more importantly, how can we improve our biological age? These questions are at the heart of our project.
We will set up a measurement street in which we implement various measuring instruments to accurately determine your biological age. Measuring is knowing; this data will help us understand where we stand and what we can improve. But it doesn't stop there.
The Dream Team will develop and implement interventions to promote healthy habits and reduce biological age. These could include workshops on stress management and mindfulness, group activities that encourage exercise, nutritional advice and even sleep optimisation. We believe that a combination of scientific knowledge and the power of community will help us bring about real change.
Moreover, by working together, we can share experiences and discover what does and does not work for different people; what works for one person may not work for another. With an open and curious mind, we will find the best possible approaches to improve our physical and mental health.
The Dream Team is not only focused on individual growth. We also want to have a positive impact on the community as a whole. Healthy and happy students and staff will not only perform better; they will also be an inspiration for others to make healthy choices.
Supervisor/ambassador: Hein Daanen
Hein is a human movement scientist and professor in Exercise Physiology at the Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences. His research focuses on human adaptations to heat and cold. Over recent years, he’s been involved in the management of three Dream Teams at TU Delft and VU Amsterdam: the Human Power Team (fastest cyclist), Wasub (fastest underwater “bicycle”) and PULSE Racing (fastest cyclist using muscle electrostimulation in athletes with spinal cord injuries).
Testimonials of other students
“I thought it was a great experience! You learn to work together and give and receive constructive criticism. You’re part of an interesting network and are well supervised by the Demonstrator Lab and professors. The result? Together with Jellinek and 3D, we organised an information session on drugs and substances. We also came up with a plan to make the stairwell in the Main Building more attractive, so that students and employees take the stairs more often. So ProFit!”
Anouk Raanhuis, Second-year Bachelor’s student of Health Sciences – chair of the ProFit! Dream Team 2022-2023.
This team is linked to the Human Health & Life Sciences profile theme.