Del. YMCA chosen for national program
Activate America to increase country's awareness of health, diet
By ROBIN BROWN
Staff reporter
07/17/2004
The YMCA of Delaware announced that it has been chosen to collaborate on a nationwide effort to fight Americans' declining health, increasing obesity and chronic disease.
The effort, called Activate America, comes on the heels of testimony to Congress by the national YMCA director about the need for healthier communities. The local organization noted statistics from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that:
• 30 percent of Delaware high school students are overweight.
• About 40 percent of them fail to get regular exercise.
• 80 percent of all Delawareans eat too few fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.
• Annual medical costs related to obesity are estimated at $207 million for Delaware alone.
Article: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/07/17delymcachosenfo.html