• Obesity has been called the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
• More than a third of adults in the U.S. age 20 years and over are obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and all are at increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers.
• The Centers for Disease Control defines obesity as being more than 20 percent above ideal body weight. While adults are more often targeted as those most at risk for health complications from being overweight, the growing number of children and adolescents fitting the criteria for obesity is causing alarm. The increase in obesity among the nation’s youth is reaching epidemic proportions, putting an entire generation at risk for Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
• The causes for obesity involve both eating habits and exercise habits, according to health professionals. On both fronts, the Pottstown School District and the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation are trying to help.
• The school district is offering a free exercise program for youth and adults each Thursday in the high school cafeteria for an hour from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. The program runs until Feb. 23.
• The program is run by Cindy DePaoli and is based on workouts by Team Beach Body, a fitness company founded by Lansdale native Carl Daikeler.
• “It’s designed to be after school, for middle school students, high school students, teachers, anyone in the community who can make it,” DePaoli said.
• District wellness coordinator Bridget McGuigan explained that the exercise program is just one of several programs being funded by a grant from the Health and Wellness Foundation. Other programs later in the year include “Together We Can Walk,” open to any high school student “who wants to enjoy the health benefits of walking” and will take place 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from April 10 through May 24.
• “The Fridge Program” is another which will take place in the middle school family consumer science room on Wednesdays from April 11 through May 2. It is designed as an educational program to make family conversations about food, nutrition and proper food preparation and eating practices fun and easy to adopt.
• In addition to the programs funded by the foundation, the district also runs a “healthy snack” program in the elementary schools from October through April in which students are taught a nutrition lesson and are introduced to healthy fruit and vegetable snacks.
• The programs by themselves will not end obesity in our town or dramatically address the nation’s health risk. But making exercise fun and classes free is a good way to start.
• Both can introduce people to habits that can lead to healthier lifestyles, resulting in reduced health risk and increased benefits to all.

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230 Beech St, Pottstown, PA 19464-0779
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