Preventing Obesity Starts with Small Steps
Springtime is near, and with it comes great opportunities to jump into healthy living routines. Shape Your Future, a program of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), is encouraging Oklahomans to observe National Nutrition Month and World Obesity Day on March 4 by springing into action to become healthier together.
Oklahoma ranks 4th in the nation for adult obesity. Obesity is associated with leading causes of preventable death such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and 13 types of cancer. Shape Your Future empowers Oklahomans to fight obesity and overcome the barriers that hold them back from healthier living. The website ShapeYourFutureOK.com offers free resources, recipes, workouts and more to spur healthy changes in your life.
“Changing your lifestyle can seem like an overwhelming and daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be. It is important to focus on small, easy-to-achieve changes,” said Julie Bisbee, Executive Director of TSET. “Small changes add up and can make a huge difference.”
Setting the tone for a healthier future can be as easy as choosing healthier foods, drinking more water or role modeling an active lifestyle for your kids. By taking the quick and easy SYF Health Quiz, Oklahomans can identify the next steps in their health journeys. Two great ways to start living healthier are to fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables and for adults to get 30 minutes of physical activity each day, and for children to get 60 minutes.
Children who have obesity are more likely to become adults with obesity, so teaching youth how to make healthy choices early on can set them on a path to a longer, healthier life.
TSET recently launched a teen-focused, nutrition education campaign called Swap Up. As part of the TSET Healthy Youth Initiative, Swap Up helps youth connect what they eat with how they feel and gives them realistic and comparable ideas to swap sugary or high-calorie snacks for healthier options. Youth can interact with the campaign at SwapUpOK.com.
Oklahomans can find many more healthy resources, such as information on drinking more water, family-friendly ways to stay active, tips for eating cheaper and healthier veggies and much more at ShapeYourFutureOK.com.