With more than 50 percent of its citizens overweight or obese, the city of St. Louis has set a goal of reducing obesity in the city by 5 percent by 2018. To help meet that goal, the city’s health department has set up an online portal for St. Louisans to get involved.
The online “Jump N2 Shape,” portal gives nutrition and fitness advice and calls for St. Louisans to join the weight loss movement. Once signed up, individuals can log the exercise they complete and the pounds they lose.
The web portal was launched in conjunction with the release of the health department’s plan to meet the city’s goal of reducing obesity. Other steps in the plan include gathering data, creating an obesity prevention campaign, and improving access to health care, healthy food and fitness opportunities.
“We just want to make health the easy choice,” said Carl Filler of the St. Louis City Health Department. “So if you want to eat healthy you have that option, so if you want to exercise you can exercise.”
As the executive assistant to the director of the health department, Filler manages the obesity plan. Today on St. Louis on the Air, Filler explained that the goal of reducing obesity grew out of a desire to reduce the number of deaths caused by chronic diseases. Obesity is a factor in many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
According to the latest available data, 32 percent of city residents are overweight and 30.6 are obese, meaning that almost 63 percent of people who live in the city weigh more than is healthy.
St. Louis on the Air provides discussion about issues and concerns facing the St. Louis area. The show is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and hosted by veteran journalist Don Marsh.
