(January 22, 2010) Lewistown, PA - Make a difference in your life. Join the Mifflin County Meltdown.
The Meltdown is a community event designed to raise awareness of the need to take responsibility for one’s health. It is intended to help people become fit, have fun and lose weight if needed.
The Mifflin County Meltdown will begin with a registration night on Tuesday, February 16, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Lewistown High School Auditorium. The six-week event officially begins on February 16 and runs through March 23. A celebration night will follow on April 6, 2010 to wrap up the Meltdown.
Interested participants are asked to form teams of people who are interested in improving their health. The teams can consist of friends, family members, co-workers or members of community organizations. If you do not have a team, the Meltdown organizers will match single participants into teams. Participants must be 18 years or older. Please check with your doctor before taking on any exercise program.
One person from the team must attend the first official session on February 16 to get the team registered. Registered participants are eligible for prizes and can receive, upon request, passes to participating fitness centers/gyms and other health information.
Every Tuesday evening during the six-week event one team member must attend the weekly meeting at Lewistown High School to report the team’s weight loss amount. Each meeting will feature a different speaker talking about health and fitness-related topics. Inspirational success stories and encouragement will also be part of the meetings to help keep participants focused.
There are no organized fitness routines to follow. Team members can workout individually or however they choose, whenever they choose. Exercise can include walking, weight lifting, biking, dancing, whatever interests you.
The event is the idea of Marge Delozier-Noss, of Reedsville. While attending a fitness convention last year, one of the speakers was Carole Carson, author of the book “From Fat to Fit: Turn Yourself Into a Weapon of Mass Reduction.” Carson decided to reinvent herself at age 60 by getting fit. After discussing her success in weekly newspaper articles, she invited others in her Northern California community to join the fun. Inspired by her example, more than 1,000 people teamed up to lose nearly four tons of fat in two months during the Nevada County Meltdown.
Delozier-Noss said she felt the event was a good fit for Mifflin County and assembled a group of community members to organize the county’s own Meltdown. “In order to be well, one must take responsibility for their health,” Delozier-Noss said. “Sixty-five percent of all disease is preventable and we are responsible for that 65 percent. If we raise awareness that each one of us is responsible for our own health and not some health care system, then the Meltdown will be a success.”
The need to improve one’s health and fitness is great in Mifflin County. Statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Health indicate that in Pennsylvania, 37 percent of adults over age 20 are overweight, while 29 percent are obese. This has led to a rise in the diabetes rate as well, especially in rural Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvanians also show a significant lack of physical activity in their daily lives. These statistics show that only 50 percent of adults in the state report engaging in moderate physical activity on a regular basis, while 25 percent report doing no physical activity.
For more information, go online to www.visitingmifflincounty.com or call the Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce at (717) 248-6713.
