Health Department to Mail Info Packets

By Susan Wheeldon, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.

Aug. 4–All Pulaski County residents will soon be receiving a valuable package from the Lake Cumberland District Health Department, full of information on nutrition and fitness.

The packages will be arriving in the mail this week, both locally and in all of the nine other counties the health department covers in the Lake Cumberland District.

“We have put together some terrific resources for our communities,” said Shawn Crabtree, executive director of Lake Cumberland District Health Department.

Crabtree said the packet of information contains several nutritious and delicious recipes that are both

healthy and affordable; a DVD demonstrating how to prepare the recipes that are enclosed as well as how to exercise in your home without need of special equipment; and information about health department services.

Amy Tomlinson, public health services coordinator, said she and others from the department formed a committee, actually prepared different meals and then voted upon what they liked best when trying to decide which 12 recipes would go in the packet. Tomlinson said they tried to include recipes for different meals, as well as family-oriented selections that kids would eat.

The DVD features three local families — Stacy Matthews, Domingo and Juanna Porron, and Randy and Kim Gooch — preparing recipes and talking about the challenges and rewards of eating healthy.

“The whole idea is to try to make nutrition and fitness more accessible,” said Crabtree, pointing to national concerns about growing obesity rates.

A letter by Crabtree that is going in all the packets states that 30 percent of Kentucky high school students are overweight or at risk of being overweight and 63 percent of Kentucky adults are overweight or obese.

Crabtree said that many families inaccurately believe that it is cheaper to eat unhealthy food such as junk food or fast food than to make healthy, nutritious choices. He said the information contained in the packet, will illustrate how — with a little bit of time and effort — families can eat meals that are both healthy and affordable.

Another obstacle to good health is a general lack of physical activity He said many people complain about unsafe places to walk or an inability to pay for exercise equipment or gym memberships, and he believes this information will help with that too.

“Many people say they can’t afford to eat healthy foods, buy exercise equipment or gym memberships,” says Crabtree. “We want to help them see they can eat inexpensive foods which are nutritious, and we are offering ideas for more physical activity in the comfort of their own homes.”

Crabtree said they decided to do the mass mailing because it gives them the chance to reach everyone in all the counties.

“We understand if we do other things to out reach (to people in the counties) we are only going to reach a certain percentage of the population,” said Crabtree.

“By doing a mass mailing we have the potential to reach into every home in our district,” he added, “which is close to 100,000 mailboxes.”

The health department did a mass mailing last year about family preparedness in emergencies that also had some information about being healthy inside of the packet.

“Instead of waiting for people to come to us, we’re going to them,” added Crabtree, “It’s a greater commitment on our part for population based health promotion.”

He added that currently, Kentucky has some of the most unhealthy people in the nation and by people changing their nutrition and exercise habits, that could change.

“If people do that we can move from some of the unhealthiest people to the some of the healthiest people in the nation,” said Crabtree.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department encourages everyone to look through the packets and use the information to make changes and improve their health and quality of life.

—–

To see more of the Commonwealth Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.somerset-kentucky.com/.

Copyright (c) 2008, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.