Wellness - City of Grand Prairie

Employee Health Fair
Tuesday, March 19 • 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Healthy Cooking
Demonstration
Ruthe Jackson Event Center
3113 South Carrier Parkway
*This will not count as a WOW task.
The Methodist Mobile
Mammography Unit will be at the
health fair Tuesday, March 19, 9 a.m.3:30 p.m. To qualify, you must be age 35, with no breast implants, and have
no current breast problems. To schedule an appointment, call Methodist Dallas
Women's Imaging, 214-947-0026. Bring your insurance card, name and mailing
address of your doctor.
Revised Dietary Guidelines Call for More
Exercise, Fewer Calories
Struggling to lose weight? Don't exercise enough? You're not alone.
According to the latest research, almost two out of three Americans are
overweight or obese, and one half don't get enough exercise. And that puts
them at greater risk of chronic disease. In response, the government's Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Committee has revised its recommendations. It now places
more emphasis on strategies to manage weight.
Here is a summary:
Physical activity—there is no doubt that exercise can help control weight
and lower risk of disease. Just be sure to check with your doctor before you start
any exercise program.
Here are the recommendations:
• To reduce your risk for chronic disease: Thirty minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five days of the week. "Moderate" exercise is any physical activity that uses as much energy as walking two miles in a half hour.
• To manage body weight or prevent weight gain: Sixty minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise five days of the week.
• To sustain weight loss: Sixty to 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day.
• All physical activity programs should include: Cardiovascular, strength training and flexibility exercises.
Healthy eating—to prevent weight gain, most adults need to eat less and
exercise more. Reduced portions and balanced, regular meals are essential.
New guidelines focus on:
• Eating a variety of foods
• Lowering total calories from fats and sweets
• Increasing nutrient-rich foods
www.uhctools.com
WOW! Working on Wellness
Tuesday, March 12
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Ruthe Jackson Center
3113 South Carrier Parkway
Please register online through
Lawson—Employee Self Service
Join Weight
Watchers Today!
There’s never
been a better time to
experience the support
and motivation of
Weight Watchers
meetings. Visit www.
weightwatchers.com to sign up today!
City employees who participate in
the Weight Watchers program and are
in attendance at in-person meetings,
have the opportunity to receive a 50
percent reimbursement on monthly
dues!
City Shred Day
City shred day for Grand Prairie
departments only is:
Friday, March 8
Development Center Parking Lot
206 W. Church St.
For info. call 972-237-8061
Wellness
Families Who Eat Together
Serve Up Good Dietary Habits
A new long-term study
says that kids in families who
have at least five meals together
a week tend to practice good
eating habits. University of
Minnesota researchers reported
that adolescents who eat these
so-called 'regular family meals'
had more healthful diets, meaning
they consumed more vegetables,
calcium-rich food, dietary fiber and
essential nutrients.
For the study, the eating habits of 677 youths were assessed through
questionnaires they filled in during their pre- and early teen years and again five
years later. The results were published in the March/April issue of the Journal
of Nutrition Education and Behavior. “Findings strongly suggest that regular
family meals have long-term nutritional benefits,” said researcher and dietitian
Teri L. Burgess-Champoux of the University's School of Public Health. “The
importance of incorporating shared mealtime experiences on a consistent basis
during this key developmental period should be emphasized to parents, healthcare providers and educators.”
In the five years between filling out the questionnaires, the number of
regular family meals the kids ate fell from 60 percent of their meals when they
were age 12 or 13 to about 30 percent when they were 17 or 18. Good dietary
habits were associated with kids having these regular family meals at times
of measurement. Those who ate regular family meals at both points of their
life had a better diet quality, on average, but they did not necessarily consume
recommended levels of healthy dietary staples, such as fruit, vegetables or
whole grains, during the entire five-year span.
www.uhctools.com
Strengthen Your Ticker in 3 Steps
Stand Up, Right Now
When you sit for long stretches, triglycerides
increase, good cholesterol drops, and your body
becomes inflamed, which creates a perfect storm for
a heart attack or stroke.
Don’t Over-Rely on Special Foods
Just because a study finds dark chocolate reduces
blood pressure slightly doesn’t mean it will dramatically decrease your heart disease risk, especially if
you don’t have an otherwise healthy diet.
Ditch Fast Food
It’s packed with unnatural levels of heart-damaging sugar and fat. Your pancreas secretes insulin to help absorb it, which promotes fat storage. As your
fat cells grow, they secrete toxic chemicals that raise heart disease risk. These
foods also trigger dopamine, a brain chemical linked to addictive behavior.
Reader’s Digest
WOW! Working on Wellness
Health Resources at
the Grand Prairie
Libraries
Remember, your Grand Prairie
libraries offer a multitude of resources
for improving your health!
Diet books, exercise DVD’s, and
cookbooks for special diets like diabetes, high cholesterol, or low fat are all
available in a variety of categories to
fit your needs!
The on-line databases give you
access to Salem Health Online, with
access to numerous articles on different health issues. The guide is one of
the highest rated reference resources
and it is available to you for free!
Like to listen while you work out?
Downloadable eAudiobooks and music are available through the library’s
webpage. Audiobooks also come on
CD, or the new “playaway” format,
with no discs to swap out.
Want information on a specific
medical issue? Contact the reference
desk and ask about the Harris Methodist Hospital Planetree program where
you can receive medical information
by e-mail or regular mail.
Library cards are free. All you
need is your driver’s license or state
identification card with your current
address on it. If your current address
isn’t on your ID, bring a piece of mail
with your license showing your name
and the current address. The library is
your resource for reaching your health
goals.
For more information, contact
your nearest Grand Prairie Library.
29%
Long-term green tea drinkers can
cut their risk of colorectal cancer by
that amount. Aim to have the brew
three times a week.
FamilyCircle
Wellness
Watch the WOW Insurance Budget Video
For the past several years, the City of Grand Prairie has hosted an annual
wellness program for employees, retirees, and spouses who participate in the
City’s health plan. The ‘Working on Wellness’ program was originally designed
to encourage participants to lead healthier, active lifestyles. Due to the rise in
health insurance claims over the past two years, we cannot continue to take a
passive approach to improve choices and overall health. We must make changes
to the structure of our WOW program that allows for employees to be accountable for their own health and to improve their health for areas within their control (weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc.).
At this time, the City cannot commit to offering a discount for 2014.
As the budget season progresses, we will review the discount option.
We encourage you to implement changes for improved health, quality of life
and to reduce/improve any health risks. This will allow you to be more prepared
to meet any qualifying criteria developed should a discount become available in
the future.
Please take time to click on the following link www.gptx.org/video/GP_
Budget_Insurance_Info.wmv to watch a brief video explaining this issue and to
understand what you can do to make a difference.
March is National Nutrition Month
View the “Balancing your Diet” video on Raving Fans.
Cereal Killer
Oatmeal, the a.m. superstar, can have more sugar than
the late lamented Twinkie—at least at some popular breakfast
spots. Happily, a number of them also serve it plain if you ask.
Calories
Sugar (g)
Starbucks
Hearty Blueberry Oatmeal with
suggested toppings (1 cup)
260
13
Panera Bread
Hearty Blueberry Oatmeal with
suggested toppings (1 cup)
320
16
Jamba Juice
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (1 1/3 cup)
290
25
Dunkin' Donuts
Brown Sugar-Flavored Oatmeal
with Dried Fruit Topping (3/4 cup)
300
28
McDonald's
Fruit and Maple Oatmeal with
suggested toppings (1 cup)
290
32
WOW! Working on Wellness
Run for Shelter
5K/1 Mile Hop
Saturday, March 30
8 a.m.
First United
Methodist
Church Grand
Prairie
122 N. Center St.
Benefiting the LifeLine Shelter
5K Timed: $20
1 Mile Bunny Hop: $20
Register at: www.active.com
For information visit:
www.facebook.com/Runforshelter5K
March Madness
Charity Run/Walk
Saturday, March 30
1 mile begins at 8:30 a.m.
5K begins at 8:45 a.m.
River Legacy Park (Raccoon Trail)
701 NW Green Oaks Blvd.
Arlington, Texas 76006
Call 760-485-6350
To register online: www.sixr.org
Farmers Market
Opens
Grand Prairie's
popular Farmers
Market is open
for the season in
Market Square,
120 W. Main St.,
from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
on Saturdays.
Products
include locally
grown produce, plants, tamales,
breads, dips, eggs, honey, cookies and
more. Here's what's coming in March:
March 2 BBQ and Blues
March 9 Dubiski Chef Demo
March 16 Yoga Class
March 23 Rain Barrel Class
March 30 Downtown Egg Hunt
Employee of the
Quiz
Month
Chris Ginapp
Chris Ginapp, Supervisor for
Charley Taylor Recreation Center,
has been named Employee of the
Month for March. He is responsible
for managing, supervising, promoting, planning and programming a
variety of programs and activities
for the recreation center. Ginapp has
spent his career working in a variety
of jobs for the Parks Department, and
always keeps the kids and customers
at the forefront providing World Class
Service.
Ginapp started out as a part-timer
at the Parks Department, changed his
major and completed a degree in Parks
and Recreation. During his time at
Charley Taylor, he has organized a
Thanksgiving dinner for 200 kids at
Charley Taylor using donations and
each year he gets donations for a backto-school supply drive for kids at the
center. This December when the father
of two of the center’s patrons was
killed in an auto accident, Chris was
there for the mother and children and
started raising funds to help the family.
He got them signed up for Santa Cop,
and $1,300 was raised through donations for the family.
“Chris’s love and compassion for
his customers and the kids at Charley Taylor are on display in all of his
actions,” said Danny Boykin, Parks
and Recreation Superintendent. “He
is always working with the youth and
steering them in the right direction.”
Message from the Manager
Great things are happening in Grand Prairie as we move into March. This
year we are looking forward to more improvements in the city, including designing a new Fire Station #1 to be built on the north side of Main Street, building a
new clinic at the Prairie Paws Animal Shelter to provide medical care for shelter
animals, building a new Dalworth Recreation Center, debuting the new Waggin’
Wagon mobile animal adoption trailer and building a new cremation garden at
Grand Prairie Memorial Gardens. We’ll also welcome the new Dallas County
Courthouse downtown, build a new camp store at Loyd Park and continue renovating downtown facades on Main Street.
Road improvements will again take center stage in Grand Prairie in 2013
as the State Highway 161 frontage roads open at Main Street and the railroad
tracks. Lake Ridge widening from the lake to Great Southwest Parkway will
be completed in 2013 and the Lake Ridge connection from I-20 to State Highway 161 will be completed this year. The city will start construction on Freetown Road from Corn Valley Road to SW 3rd Street and begin design on Camp
Wisdom Road from west of Carrier Parkway to FM 1382. The Palace Parkway
connection from Palace Parkway and Belt Line to Interstate 30 will loop around
vacant property on the northeast corner of I-30 and link into a new frontage
road.
On another note, our city election is on Saturday, May 11 this year. Voters
will decide our new mayor, and vote for candidates in Districts 1, 2, 4 and 6 as
well as whether or not to extend the 1/4 sales tax for street purposes. Please
remember that you are encouraged to vote if you are a Grand Prairie resident,
but you are not allowed to use your office, position or uniform to campaign for
or endorse a candidate. Use discretion in voicing opinions on a candidate and
on putting campaign signs in your yard to avoid an appearance of misusing your
position.
Thank you for providing world-class service for our citizens. You are creating Raving Fans every day.
Tom Hart
City Manager
30-Second Performance Enhancer
Next time you’re facing a stressful situation that requires physical accuracy
(such as walking on a treacherous path), squeeze your left hand into a fist. This
simple trick helped athletes keep their cool during a game’s high pressure moments in a recent study. Choking under pressure seems to be caused by brain
activity in the nondominant hemisphere, and distracting that side of the brain (by
Wellness
clenching
your left hand if you’re right handed) can stop the overthinking that
leads to error. Reader’s Digest
Brawn & Brain
High-intensity exercise boosts your smarts as it melts excess pounds. After
four months of strength training plus interval cardio (30 minutes of alternating
30 to 45 seconds of hard-as-they-could cycling with equal periods of rest), heavy
women and men at the Montreal Heart Institute dropped pounds, trimmed their
waists, and had fewer heart disease risk factors. They also felt mentally sharper,
with scores up as much as 25 percent on cognititve tests. Good Housekeeping
WOW! Working on Wellness