West Georgia residents have an exclusive opportunity to learn how good health and positive habits can literally add years to their lives.
Get Healthy, Live Well—an effort to improve the health and wellness of residents in Carroll, Haralson and Heard counties—is hosting Steven Aldana, Ph.D., a national expert on health and wellness.
Dr. Aldana will present a free public discussion, “10-20 Years of Extra Life – The Choice Is Yours,” on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m. in Cashen Hall inside the Humanities Building at the University of West Georgia.
Dr. Aldana is a former professor of lifestyle medicine at Brigham Young University and is currently the CEO and founder of WellSteps, a turnkey wellness program designed to help employees adopt and maintain healthy behaviors for life. He has published more than 60 scientific articles on the prevention, arrest and reversal of America’s most common chronic diseases, and is the author of seven books discussing how healthy lifestyle habits can prevent cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and many other chronic diseases.
Obesity rates are higher now than at any other time in human history. Unhealthy behaviors lead to elevated health risks—tobacco use, poor diet and a lack of physical activity are responsible for most chronic diseases and premature death. For many Americans, adopting and maintaining healthy behaviors is a daunting task. The amount of scientific evidence that supports the need for healthy behaviors is overwhelming, yet many people struggle to change their habits.
According to Dr. Aldana, worksites, communities, schools and churches are helping individuals change the status quo by adopting healthy behaviors. In as little as six weeks, individuals who adopt healthy behaviors can significantly improve an array of health risks.
Dr. Aldana’s presentation will present proven, effective steps to dramatically improve one's health and minimize risks for chronic disease. Attendees will learn how to: extend the length of life by 10 to 20 high-quality years; understand chronic diseases; gain the knowledge, motivation, and skills needed to change behaviors; and see how the only long-term solution to excessive body weight is lifestyle change.
Get Healthy, Live Well’s Business and Industry Task Force is helping to sponsor Dr. Aldana’s visit. He also will provide a presentation to area businesses during the by-invitation-only Business and Industry Summit—an event for business owners cosponsored by Get Healthy, Live Well and the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce’s Industrial Leadership Council—at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton.
Those presentations will cover how health promotion in the workplace can not only have a positive effect on employees’ waistlines, but also a positive impact on an organization’s bottom line as healthcare costs for employers are now higher than ever. During this in-depth session for business leaders, Dr. Aldana will explain how new research proves why companies and public sector organizations should adopt worksite wellness programs to help their employees lead healthy lifestyles and how they can achieve and demonstrate a genuine return-on-investment (ROI).
Led by Tanner Health System and funded by a community transformation grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Get Healthy, Live Well is creating integrated programs and policies in west Georgia to decrease health disparities, reduce obesity rates, minimize tobacco use, increase physical activity and improve nutrition.
Get Healthy, Live Well is a community network, built through collaboration and partnership, working to educate, promote and develop sustained conditions for healthier lifestyles where people live, learn, work and play in west Georgia.
To learn more about Steven Aldana's speaking schedule, visit www.GetHealthyLiveWell.org, find the fan page Facebook at www.facebook.com/GetHealthyLiveWell, or contact the Get Healthy, Live Well office at Tanner Health System by calling 770.836.9282.
For more information on Dr. Aldana, visit www.stevealdana.com.