|
TODAY'S
ISSUE
New health-fitness
studio seeks to combat child obesity
By
Jamie Turner
Founder and CEO of The Turner Partnership of Atlanta
Special to GwinnettForum.com
DULUTH, FEB. 4, 2005 -- Enhancing Health, a new health and fitness
studio located in Duluth, is launching a Healthy Kids/Healthy Lifestyles
program designed to combat child obesity. It is believed to be one
of the first of its kind in the nation.
The fitness studio has developed a four-week program for children
consisting of fitness, behavior modification and nutrition counseling.
The program will be led by Dr. Jo B. Zurbrugg, a board certified
pediatrician and Steve Collett, an ACSM certified exercise physiologist.
The sessions, geared for 10 to 14 year olds, meet twice a week
and are designed to improve the health and eating habits of children
in that age group. The program will include 30 minutes of exercise
followed by a healthy snack followed by another 30 minutes of nutrition/behavioral
modification.
Collett |
"I struggled with weight issues as a child," said Steve
Collett, co-founder and president of Enhancing Health, "So
this is an issue that's very close to my heart."
According to the American Obesity Association, 30.3 percent of
children ages 6 to 11 are overweight and 15.3 percent are obese.
(Overweight and obesity for children and adolescents are defined
respectively as being above the 85th and 95th percentile of Body
Mass Index, or BMI.) For adolescents ages 12 to 19, 30.4 percent
are overweight and 15.5 percent are obese.
"When more than 45 percent of the children and teenagers ages
6 to 19 are defined as overweight or obese, you've got a serious
issue on your hands," said Dr. Zurbrugg. "We've decided
to do what we can do to help by creating the Healthy Kids/Healthy
Lifestyles program at enhancing health."
Zurbrugg |
Excess weight in childhood and adolescence has been found to predict
weight issues in adults. Overweight children, aged 10 to 14, with
at least one overweight or obese parent (BMI greater than 27.3 for
women and greater than 27.8 for men) were reported to have a 79
percent likelihood of having weight problems as adults.
"As a teen, I learned to modify my exercise and eating habits,"
said Collett. "The result is that I haven't had to struggle
with weight issues as an adult. Dr. Zurbrugg and I would like to
pass our knowledge and expertise along to children in the program
so that they can lead longer, healthier lives."
The trend in obesity among adolescents age 12 to 19 has been increasing
steadily over the past 30 years. In the early 1970s, approximately
6.15 percent of the adolescent population was obese. By the year
2000, that figure had grown to 15.5 percent.
Increase in Obesity Prevalence Among U.S. Adolescents (Ages
12 -19)
Males ...............Females
1999 to 2000
15.5% ...............15.5%
1988 to 1994
11.3% ................9.7%
1971 to 1974
6.1% ..................6.2%
Source: American Obesity Association, CDC, National
Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey. Ogden et. al. JAMA. 2002;288:1728-1732.
Enhancing Health is a different kind of health and fitness studio
designed to provide a complete and total health alternative to the
traditional, national chains. It is the first fitness studio in
northern Atlanta designed to provide a broader range of health and
fitness offerings. These offering include nutrition counseling,
massage therapy, child and adolescent programs, stress management
classes as well as traditional services such as circuit training,
strength and resistance training, Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Bridging
Highway 316 higher priority than bridges over I-85
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
FEB. 4, 2005 -- A citizen's committee suggestion to build three
bridges over Interstate 85 in Gwinnett may be a good idea. Yet we
feel that if the group wants to suggest bridges, there are far more
important places to build major bridges in Gwinnett.
Erect bridges, as they were originally intended, over Highway 316
in Gwinnett. Bridges over Highway 316 will relieve far more local
traffic immediately than the bridges over Interstate 85 would relieve.
(The Gwinnett portion of Highway 316 originally had four bridges
in the design; the economic downturn of 1974-75 caused the Department
of Transportation to eliminate the bridges and make this portion
of the road at surface grade.)
Luckily, Gwinnett County is in a far better financial position to
speedily improve portions of Highway 316 (to state standards) through
SPLOST funds than is the state. The state would welcome Gwinnett
picking up the bridge cost. Such relief would be of immense help
to all motorists along Highway 316, since the Gwinnett portion has
the key bottlenecks where traffic backs up..
Think of all this work in another way: how many lives would be
saved should the Gwinnett bridges be completed sooner through local
funds than could the state? On such a heavily traveled thoroughfare,
safety is not a small topic!
Gwinnett's already a leader for Georgia in many ways. The county
could step forward with financing the bridges, giving Highway 316
immediate relief. This would show yet another leadership role of
the county, and show that Gwinnett is not sitting on its laurels,
but adopting innovative programs to help motorists drive through
the county efficiently, and just as important, safely. Motorists
merely passing through the county would recognize that Gwinnett
knows what it is doing when it comes to highway safety and accommodation.
Gwinnett could take advantage of local SPLOST money to fund bridging
Highway 316 at four Gwinnett locations:
- Collins Hill Road.
- Highway 20.
- Hurricane Shoals Road. and;
- Highway 9 (near Dacula).
The citizens's committee has suggested that SPLOST funds be used
to bridge Intestate 85 connecting these roads:
- The end of Satellite Boulevard with Hillcrest Road.
- Club Drive and West Liddell Road.
- Smithtown Road and Old Peachtree Road.
Granted, the three bridges over Interstate 85 would be a nice cross-county
addition. But comparing the two bridging projects, Gwinnett needs
relief for bridges across Highway 316 now, and for far into the
future. Crossing Interstate 85 with more bridges is not an immediate
need project. Giving motorists relief along Highway 316 would be
a far higher priority and would serve more drivers immediately.
ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Hayes Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep
of Lawrenceville and Gainesville, and just opened this week, a new
Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep location in Baldwin. Terry Hayes is the General
Manager of the new Baldwin dealership. The location is adjacent
to the Hayes Chevrolet dealership on Georgia Highway 365 in Habersham
County. General Manager Mike Hayes of Lawrenceville and General
Manager Tim Hayes of Gainesville invite you into their showrooms
to look over their line-up of automobiles and trucks. Hayes has
been in the automotive business for over 30 years, and is North
Georgia's oldest family-owned auto dealership. The family is the
winner of the 2002 Georgia Family Business of the Year Award.. Check
out their web site at: http://www.hayeschrysler.com.
For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm.
McLEMORE'S
WORLD
2/4: The State of the
House
The latest from cartoonist Bill McLemore:
FEEDBACK
2/4: Feels flap over
Gonzales points back to bad Latino policies
Editor, the Forum:
Alberto Gonzales will most likely become the nation's first Latin
American Attorney General. Most liberals should be pleased with
this new development, but unfortunately most are not, because of
Gonzales' own record as White House Counsel.
It should be no surprise that Gonzales is partial to the use of
torture and other atrocities. For years, all of Latin America which
has been under siege by covert operations, death squads, and many
other human atrocities which were all sponsored and conceived by
the US government --- under both parties. The death squads of El
Salvador were all trained here in Georgia at the "School of
the Americas."
The CIA is also responsible for assassinating the popularly elected
Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. He was replaced by Kissinger's
hand-picked General Pinochet, who has since been convicted of war
crimes.
The list of Latin American nations subjected to U.S. tyranny and
militarism is long and includes most nations in South and Central
America. Given the nature of the violence that most Latin Americans
and Hispanics have been exposed to, almost at the behest of the
US government, it is no surprise to me that Gonzales embraces the
idea of using torture to obtain intelligence from prisoners.
It is something the U.S. government of both Democrats and Republicans
has made a daily occurrence in Latin America over the past 50 years.
So if Gonzales is the new AG will he ignore the rule of law just
as so many people in Latin America experience every day largely
as a result of American policies? All of America will get to see
just a little bit of how we have exported "democracy"
to Latin America for the past 50 years. Torture will have come full
circle.
-- Roger Hagen, Lilburn
CALENDAR
City of Suwanee plans
"Suwanee Soiree" for this Saturday
You're invited to "come play with us" one more time!
The City of Suwanee will close out its Better Parks Campaign with
a celebration for sponsors and participants from 1-4 p.m. Saturday,
February 5, at Town Center Park.
Through the Better Parks Campaign, which included sponsorships
of park elements such as benches and lamp posts as well as a silent
auction event dubbed the "Suwanee Soiree," the City has
raised more than $200,000 for an interactive fountain at Town Center
Park.
As part of the campaign celebration event, a lottery will be held
to determine which bench or lamp post "belongs" to which
sponsor. Through the campaign, 45 benches were sold at $750 each;
15 lamp posts were sold for $1,500 each. Thirteen lamp posts can
still be "adopted." To purchase a lamp, contact Denise
Brinson at the City of Suwanee, 770/945-8996 or denise@suwanee.com
for more information.
In addition, the event will feature inflatable rides and on-stage
entertainment.
The City of Suwanee is poised to begin final design of the fountain.
Construction of the fountain, to be located at the park‚s middle
entrance off Town Center Avenue, is anticipated to begin later this
year.
Duluth merchants to
sponsor benefit for Rainbow House
Join the Duluth Merchants Association on Saturday, March 5, 2005,
for the fourth Annual Spring Benefit and Auction. It's planned to
be fun, and with exceptional items available for bidding. This year's
proceeds will be donated to Rainbow Village Inc., (www.rainbowvillage.org),
a local housing program for homeless families.
The event includes dinner, a live auction, a silent auction, and
live entertainment. To register, go to http://www.duluthmerchants.com/.
The event will be held at the Duluth American Legion Post located
on Georgia Highway 120, one mile east of Buford Highway.
The mission of Rainbow Village is to provide families in domestic
and/or economic crisis a housing environment that helps them rebuild
their lives through a community based transitional housing program
while promoting self-sufficiency.
The night's schedule shows:
5:30 p.m. Cocktails and silent auction begins
7 p.m. Dinner
8:30 p.m. Program, Live a uction and entertainment.
9:30 p.m. Silent auction ends. Entertainment continues.
The cost of the Benefit is $55 per person, or $400 for a table
of eight.
Sponsorships are available at varying levels. For sponsorship benefits
and more information, send an email to mailto: SpringBenefit@DuluthMerchants.com
or contact one of the co-chair persons (Sunny Ramsay, 404-906-4677
or Jim Wilson, 770-813-8947).
Items for the Silent Auction are still being accepted. To donate
an item on behalf of yourself or your company, contact Mark Williams,
770-441-0945 or Allan Roth 770-497-8776.
Sixth Gwinnett Senior
Olympics coming this spring
The sixth annual Gwinnett Senior Olympics will be held form April
14 through May 12, 2005.
Athletes must be 50 years of age, and will compete in five year
age brackets. Entry fee is $10, which includes two meals, a goodie
bag and T-shirt. Deadline for registration is March 1, with entries
received after that date being charged 415. Registration forms may
be obtained at the Gwinnett Senior Center, Bethesda Church Road.
Altogether, 20 different events will take place.
The events are archery, basketball throw, billiards, bocce ball,
bowling, cycling, darts, field games, golf, holeyboard, horseshoes,
putting, running, shuffleboard, swimming, rummikub, table tennis,
tennis and half mile walk.
RECOMMENDED
READ
From Janet
Gibson of Lawrenceville
"I've been on a Steinbeck binge lately and last week finished
The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row and The Moon is Down.
A revisit to Grapes reminded me how much we take our lifestyles
for granted. How dare we complain when compared to those who have
nothing yet persevere. For those who have never read Steinbeck,
I suggest they give it a go."
- An invitation: What Web sites or books have you enjoyed?
Send us your best recent read along with a short paragraph as
to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
2/4: Ben Epps of Athens
was father of aviation in Georgia
The father of the state's aviation, Ben Epps (1888-1937) -inventor,
mechanic, and aviator-was the first Georgian to build and fly an
airplane. Over a 30-year career, Epps was an innovator who instilled
a love of flying in many young Georgians, including his own children.
 In
1907 Epps started an electrical contracting business and the first
automobile repair garage in town, on Washington Street. Inspired
by the success of the Wright brothers in 1903, Epps the inventor
was drawn to the development of motor-driven, heavier-than-air flying
machines. In 1907 the 19-year-old Epps flew his first plane at an
open field in Athens .
Unlike the Wrights' craft, in which the pilot operated the plane
from a prone position on one of the double wings, Epps sat upright
in a buggy seat. His monoplane used bicycle wheels, and a hill served
as a runway, rather than the Wrights' takeoff rail. Epps's first
flight was about 100 yards long, with an altitude of 50 feet. A
replica of one of his later inventions, the Epps 1912 Monoplane,
is on display at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins.
After 1919 his work became less experimental as he used army surplus
planes. Epps Flying Field, located three miles from Athens on land
rented from Clarke County, became Georgia's first civilian airport.
Today it is the site of Athens-Ben Epps Airport.
Meanwhile Epps taught his children and many others to fly. His
eldest son, Ben Epps Jr. (1916-2001), at age 13 was at the time
the youngest pilot ever to solo and attracted so much attention
that President Herbert Hoover invited him to the White House. The
Epps father-and-son team became popular "barnstorming"
stars of stunt flying and air races in Georgia.
Epps died in an airplane crash in a test flight near Athens in
1937. His son Ben Jr. joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, and in World
War II he flew a C-46 over the Himalayan Mountains, providing supplies
to the "Flying Tigers" in China, Burma, and India. In
1994 Ben Epps Jr. was enshrined in the Georgia Museum of Aviation
Hall of Fame, in which his father had been honored as a charter
member. Ben Jr.'s youngest son, Pat, owns Epps Aviation, based at
DeKalb Peachtree Airport in Atlanta.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
One reason God put
us here on this earth
"God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but, to make
us comforters."
-- Dr. Billy Graham, via Cindy Evans, Duluth.
SEND
YOUR FEEDBACK
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
===========================================
MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
© 2005, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum
is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett
County, Ga. USA.
|
