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College is a time for students to grow up, and for many, a time to grow sideways, since the task of balancing schoolwork and a social life often leaves little time for health and fitness.

This is where the second annual Health Symposium held today at the John Wooden Center and the Bruin plaza comes into play.

With workshops aimed at informing the general public about personal health – including coping with stress, proper nutrition, disease prevention and fitness – organizers hope to help people improve their overall quality of life.

The symposium is organized by undergraduate students who make up the Health, Nutrition, and Fitness Committee of the Student Welfare Commission.

Organizers said one of the goals of the symposium is to educate students, staff, faculty, and community members.

“There’s a lot of information out there that is misleading or incorrect,” said Brooke Mitchell, director of the Health, Nutrition, and Fitness Committee.

Mitchell said she hopes the symposium will show people effective ways to change their lifestyles.

Participants of the symposium include the American Cancer Society and UCLA School of Public Health.

Included this year is a community health section that encourages participants to help improve the health of their communities.

Under this section, the Camp Laurel Foundation will be giving a presentation titled “Living with AIDS/HIV: The Children.” It aims to increase participants’ understanding of the disease and the children infected by it.

Another program hopes to help students include fitness in their daily routines.

“It’s important for college students to establish a healthy lifestyle right now because their life is just going to get busier,” said Elisa Terry, manager of the Fitness, Instruction, and Training program at the John Wooden Center.

One of the ways students can incorporate fitness into their lifestyle is to set realistic goals and develop strategies that will yield maximum benefits in a short amount of time, Terry said.

Another presentation will have sampling of the Ashe Center’s Mind Body Program. This program will help participants reduce stress through methods including yoga, meditation, Tai-Qui, Qi-Gong, and acupuncture. These are all services that are available at the Ashe Center.

The Mind Body Program wants to promote these types of activities rather than masking symptoms by taking aspirin, Terry said.

The Health Symposium will also have information sessions for those pursuing careers in health related fields. This includes a presentation on MCAT testing strategies by a Kaplan representative. Other presentations focus largely on admissions into medical schools.

Last year’s symposium had about 100 attendees. Organizers hope to double that number this year with more participants and activities including an inflatable obstacle course.