I beg you not to focus on one or two issues that may be contributing to our nations fattening. Some people are quick to blame agribusiness or fast food restaurants. Others are certain it’s all about personal responsibility. You could focus on decreasing physical education in schools, increasing screen time or some other individual point.

It’s a complicated issue, folks. The causes aren’t simple & there certainly aren’t one or two solutions. The causes of overweight & obesity (as well as solutions) are different for everyone and region to region. Once again, I am pleading with our 5 healthy towns: don’t get sucked into these national debates. Let’s just look at what’s going on in our own hearts & minds and in our local communities. If we focus on our personal & local needs & solutions we can make a difference because we want to feel better, live better & see our children thrive.

See our recent facebook post for a link to the HBO series.

It’s called Chelsea Soup. A group of caring citizens get together, pay $5 or $10 dollars, bring a dish to pass & listen to presentations from a few local charities.

After the presentations (& no doubt a tasty, healthy meal) they mark their ballots in favor of their favorite charity. The organization with the most votes takes home the cash.

This approach is like the adage of many pieces being required to make a quilt; the body having many parts, each with a special purpose; & of course, the many flavors required to make good soup.

Connecting – it’s all about connecting.

Yet behind this 2 word phrase are real children. And the vast majority of these real children have parents whose heart breaks when they think of the implication of their child’s weight.

It’s easy to say “Well, whose fault is it if not the parents?”

A critic could be say the same thing about those of us whose kids ‘won’t’ do their homework, have temper tantrums in public, ‘refuse’ to wear appropriate clothing or ‘ignore’ the curfew their parents lay down. Very few of us finish our active parenting career without one or more of these issues arising.

If we cut parents some slack & acknowledge parenting is a complicated business, families fighting obesity may get excited about being part of the solution – their own & our community’s.

The walk will begin at 10:00 am from the Dexter District Library, 3255 Alpine Street. The Library is located on Mill Creek. This is an opportunity for anyone in our 5 healthy towns who hasn’t been sure how to support our friends in Dexter. Depending on your route, you could see the newly completed path along the creek. Everyone will get to connect with others and get some exercise.

No registration is required. You have your choice of a 2 or 3 mile walk and dogs are welcome.

Join us on Saturday at 10:00 in Dexter. Bring a friend!

My brother Lee has crossed many finish lines in his high tech, and might I add, very fast, wheel chair, which he has been in for most of his life. Lee, now 22, started racing in middle school in annual events at Hudson Mills Metro Park and loves to take daily walks up and down his street outside of Chelsea. His first experience with Big House Big Heart was when a friend of his asked him to be a guest of honor to ride shotgun in a customized racing chair in 2009. Lee had fun, but being a pushed passenger was not his style. So the next year, he rolled through the finish line on his own.

The reason I am writing this is to stress a couple of important points. First, sign up for these events! They support your health, they are fun, and they build a sense of community that I believe is being lost in the age of Facebook and cell phones. Secondly, encourage everyone to join. Just because Lee is not physically running does not mean he is not experiencing and benefiting from the event. In fact, study after study shows that physical activity, wheelchair bound or not, improves health . Lastly, don’t be afraid to come up and talk to those who simply travel by other means. I promise you as a Doctor of Physical Therapy and as a brother of someone in a wheelchair, the worst that will happen is you will learn something new about someone in your community and, more likely with Lee, you will gain a friend.

Under the umbrella of this program, exciting things have been happening in the K-6 buildings, such as:
~ fruit and veggie try-it’s (introducing new fruits and vegetables) to children
~ fitness stations and Fit Fridays lunch time activities
~ assemblies such as Iron Chef at the 3 – 4 building
~ farm-to-school field trips learning about where food comes from
~ chef Alex presenting at the schools about healthy foods and snacks
~ policy changes encouraging healthy snacks and treats in the schools
~ the installation of Project Fit America equipment at 2 of the buildings
~ the Healthy Me Poster / Poetry competition
~ developing ways to encourage walking and biking to school
the list goes on.

The grant is for 2 years but the sustainability of the program lives on, through overall increased awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles in disease prevention and happier healthier lives, and through changes in the school’s policies and environment.

Aileen Kernohan is the district school nurse for DCS. She has a strong interest in health promotion / illness prevention activities and behavior.

We just attended a webinar about kids walking to school in the winter. The presenter suggested walking to school is less demanding than other things kids do in the winter, like sledding or snowshoeing.

He kept saying “It’s not as tough as you think it is.”

That got me to wondering – do we think it’s hard for kids to walk to school in the winter? If so, what makes it hard? Can we overcome these challenges?

Can we begin to think walking to school is an extension of a good school day?

If you missed it, imagine this: 100 (or so) people come together, vote on one non-profit organization they want to support, that day, and then everyone donates $100.

If you’re the only one to write a check for $100 you wonder how much of a difference you’re making. If 100 people write the same check at the same time you send some do-gooding organization $10,000!

And, it could be 200 people who care & checks for $25. Or 100 people who care & checks for $1000. If you organize it you can make up your own rules. I love innovation!

What a great way to connect with others in a healthy way.

Enter the Clementine. In about 15 seconds this little, portable, dynamo of a fruit is peeled & sections are popping into your mouth.

According to one nutrition fact source, a Clementine has 35 calories (virtually none from fat), 60% of our daily requirement for vitamin C & even a little calcium and iron. It provides fiber, thiamin & potassium.

Now is the time to buy them, too. So buy a box & set them on a refrigerator shelf where everyone can see them. The Clementine will take care of the rest.

He pulled this information together because a few of our board members dream of a time when you can walk or bike between all 5 of our communities. It’s a grand goal and one we anticipate would take decades to complete if we get started now. But guess what. The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation will be here for decades! So if the communities are interested enough to champion these connections, the CWF will help find funding.

Here’s the link to Matt’s map. You’ll have to copy it & paste it in your browser. The whole map won’t be on your screen so scroll around. The existing trails are primarily to the north (yellow lines). Red are proposed trails & green are proposed with funding already identified.

http://explorer.arcgis.com/?open=6434df4801ae4b9ab6b9272c3d80ee56&extent=-9357208.28096267,5204296.8662955,-9341865.56356846,5213218.72860467