'Walk from Obesity' is Saturday

GAINESVILLE - We are told over and over walking is a good way to lose weight - so, to emphasize that, a "Walk from Obesity" will be held in Gainesville Saturday. It will be a first in this area and the only such event in Georgia this year.

It's part of the national effort to increase awareness of the life-threatening disease and to raise money for research, prevention and advanced treatments.

Studies show morbid obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death and is at epidemic levels among the U.S. population. More than 63 million people in this country are obese and an estimated 12 million of them are morbidly obese, putting them at increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. About 300,000 people die each year from an obesity-related health condition.

Participants in the Georgia "Walk from Obesity" will join thousands of other walkers around the country participating in local events to bring attention and additional research funding to the disease of obesity. Working in conjunction with the ASBS (American Society for Bariatric Surgery) Foundation - a non-profit organization dedicated to research, prevention, and treatment of obesity - ObesitySolutions and Northeast Georgia Medical Center are staging the Gainesville event.

Volunteers, sponsors and participants are being sought for the walk, which is scheduled to begin at 9:00 Saturday in the traffic court parking lot on Washington Street (across from Bank America), covering a route around the campus of Brenau University and the surrounding neighborhood.

A 2.3-mile route has been laid out, but there will be an optional one-mile route available. The entry fee is $25.

Anyone interested in registering, sponsoring or volunteering for the event should contact ObesitySolutions at 770.534.0110 or visit the website at www.walkfromobesity.com.