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When I started on the City Council in 2004, I jokingly suggested to my new
colleague, Councilmember Moore, that he and I should go on a diet together,
a public one that would provide the needed scrutiny to keep us on track.
At the time, Darryl was not interested and I haven’t dropped a
pound since.
Then last May, the Berkeley Health Department presented to the City Council
the 2007 Health Status Report for the City of Berkeley.
Through that report and presentation we learned that:
- Sedentary
lifestyles and poor diet are responsible in part for 15 % of deaths in
the City of Berkeley.
- Between
30% and 60% of Berkeley’s grade school students cannot pass a
standardized aerobic fitness test.
- 13%
of Berkeley’s 7th graders are overweight or obese.
- Rates
of obesity are increasing at a significantly higher rate in low income
and predominately Latino and African American neighborhoods in west
Berkeley.
The report’s
conclusion? Today’s children
are the first generation ever in the US that may live shorter lives than
their parents due to obesity. Children
are contracting illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure that used
to be considered adult diseases. This
“obesity epidemic” threatens to cause a tsunami of chronic illness that
will cause huge increases in disability and in health care costs in years to
come.
So, the public diet concept was resurrected as a light-hearted response to a
very serious problem. Since the
summer, and with the support and inspiration of our own Public Health
Department, it has evolved into a full-fledged community campaign – “Be
Fit Berkeley” – to encourage all our residents to eat health foods and
exercise regularly.
On October
1, 2007, Darryl and I, along with three other Council colleagues, weighed in
at the steps of the Civic Center building.
I won’t speak for my colleagues, but with a beginning weight of 249
(fully dressed) my goal is to lose 30 lbs by May 31.
We invite all of you to join us, by eating fresh fruits and vegetables,
limiting high fat and processed foods, and exercising regularly.
Those who formally sign up and participate will be eligible for
weekly raffles prizes (donate by local businesses), T-shirts and other
incentives. I will also be
hosting events in District 5 to promote the campaign, as will the other
Councilmembers in their districts.
For more information and locations of Be Fit Berkeley sign-in stations, go
to:
Be
Fit Berkeley
Thank you to
our community partners who have unwritten portions of Be Fit Berkeley.
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