Lancaster General: Your guide on the path to healthier living

Lancaster General is taking action to reverse a three decade epidemic that has become a major health threat in the United States for both adults and children: obesity and beingoverweight.

We are bringing together weight management and health information, offering easy access for the community, schools and businesses to raise people’s awareness and to motivate them to learn more about healthy living.

“Our main concern is health, not appearance,” says Alice Yoder, RN, BSN, MSN, Director of Community Health at Lancaster General. “Healthy lifestyles are important for everyone, whether they are thin or overweight. Eating healthy, keeping active and managing stress are vital.”

People who are obese are at higher risk for:

• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• arthritis-related disabilities
• increasing number of cancers

“In order to avoid seeing children with a shorter average lifespan than their parents, we need to act now,” says Rosemary Search, RN, BSN, Wellness Educator, who is helping lead this new initiative. “Promoting regular physical activity and healthy eating and creating a setting that supports these behaviors are keys to solving the problem.”

Tools now available include:

• L.E.A.R.N. (Lifestyle Exercise Attitudes Relationships and Nutrition) – adult weight management program
• Focus on Health – free community education programs on a variety of topics that can teach you how to live healthier.
• Lancaster on the Move – guide to free and low-cost places to be physically active, in partnership with the Lancaster County Parks and Recreation Commission.
• A Parent’s Guide to Healthy Eating and Activity – informational brochure that includes details about Body Mass Index (BMI).
• ShapeDown – childhood weight management program.
• Color Me Healthy – a free training program for preschool and daycare workers to help children establish healthy eating and exercise habits. Free monthly newsletters are also part of the program.
• New Beginnings Weight Management Program for Obese Pregnant Women – Research grant that targets obese pregnant women with BMI above 29.

LancasterGeneral.org is another handy resource. Besides learning about upcoming classes and programs, you’ll find tools you can use like:

• BMI calculator
• Healthy recipes
• Fact sheets
• Color Me Healthy newsletters

Lancaster General also works with local corporate community partners to help them develop or build upon a culture that makes wellness fun by offering health fairs, screenings, educational presentations and more. Wellness Center staff also partner with schools to educate parents, nurses and teachers about BMI.

In the future, Lancaster General plans to offer free community programs to help encourage exercise and weight management.

• Generally Speaking: Finding Your Path Toward Healthier Living
• Lancaster General Wellness Center