We want to encourage you to take “small steps” to improve your life through active living and healthy eating. Community members are invited to visit the Carondelet Family YMCA to begin to track their steps from a variety of activities taken either at home, at the YMCA or elsewhere during the week.
At 10 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday mornings, from September 10 - December 16, members of the community are invited to join a one-hour walk through the Carondelet Neighborhood and Carondelet Park.
The program is free for anyone who would like to join us. Our objective is to increase community awareness of the benefit of daily walks and physical activity. We want to encourage folks to have fun, build community spirit, and live healthier lives. While this program is geared for those 65 and older , everyone is encouraged to participate.
This effort builds upon a national partnership between the YMCA and the Activate America Initiative and aims to motivate and mobilize thousands of Americans to take small steps towards a healthier lifestyle. “With 60 million adults—or 30 percent of the U.S. adult population—and nine million children obese or overweight, increasing the level of physical activity for our children and families is important to our community,” says Barr. “Research from organizations such as America On the Move Foundation has shown that small, consistent changes to daily physical activity and eating patterns can add up over time to big rewards. Achieving energy balance is an effective approach to healthy weight management. This can be as simple as adding 2,000 extra steps and eating 100 fewer calories each day, which is enough to help most Americans prevent the current average annual weight gain of 1-2 pounds. Through this effort, we hope to inspire and encourage individuals to see how easy small changes can be.”
With the help of a $2,500 grant from PepsiCo in support of health and wellness programs related to YMCA Activate America, the Carondelet Family YMCA is able to offer this program free of charge to benefit the community.
For additional information about this program, contact Nathan at 314-353-4960 or by emailing nbarr@ymcastlouis.org.
