THE CHATHAMS – Call it a healthy partnership.
Chatham Township officials have agreed to go in with Chatham Borough and conduct this year’s Mayor’s Wellness Campaign sponsored by the New Jersey League of Municipalities.
Borough Mayor Nelson Vaughan initiated the Mayor’s Healthy Lifestyle Challenge earlier this month. The Challenge encourages residents to practice better lifestyles.
Township Mayor Nicole and the Township Committee formalized their participation during their regular committee meeting on Thursday, July 22 and encourage all township residents to join them.
“Our township could use a program like this,” Hagner said.
They also selected Committeeman William O’Connor, who is a personal trainer, to serve as the township’s liaison on the borough’s committee, jokingly dubbing him “The Health Czar.”
“It’s a good opportunity for us,” he said. “Three hundreds towns in the state are involved. We’ve been idle on this point,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor had also been present at the borough’s morning meeting on Thursday. At the time, he called the challenge’s standard “pretty easy.”
During this year’s challenge, residents are being asked to become aware of such vital statistics as blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol levels and other indicators. The three challengers who prove the most positive changes will receive a one-month free subscription to a local gym.
In a previous statement, Vaughan said knowing the numbers was vital to preventing disease.
“Obesity rates, particularly among our children, and the resulting incidences of diabetes, heart disease and hypertension are rising at alarming rates for all New Jerseyans, but this trend could be reversed with changes to diet and exercise regimens,” he said.
Here’s how this year’s Healthy Lifestyle Challenge works:
After filling out a pledge card, which can be obtained either at the borough’s Farmer’s Market on Saturday’s or the borough’s website,www.chathamborough.org/mayor_wellness.php, residents then start exercising and getting their numbers read. They keep up the regimen through Oct. 30, when they hand in their final “report cards” hopefully showing improvements.
Read full story in the Chatham Courier
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