SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, January 07, 2005
CONTACT: Wade Huntington (605) 347-6485

Sturgis site of state forum on nutrition and physical activity

PIERRE, S.D. – The Department of Health wants to hear from residents of Sturgis and the surrounding area about physical activity and healthy eating concerns and needs in their communities.

Sturgis is one of five locations chosen for a regional forum to gather information about physical activity and healthy eating at the community level. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. January 20 in the Meade Room of the Sturgis Community Center. The forum is open to adults, youth, seniors, and anyone with an interest in increasing physical activity and healthy eating in their community.

Forums will also be held in Martin, Mitchell, Pierre and Aberdeen. Information gathered at the forums will be used to develop a statewide plan to prevent obesity and other chronic diseases in South Dakota. Sixty percent of South Dakota’s adults are overweight or obese, according to the department’s latest Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, and 33 percent of its school students are overweight or at risk for overweight.

Physical inactivity and unhealthy eating significantly increase the risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke, which are the three leading causes of death in South Dakota, accounting for nearly 60 percent of deaths in the state.