St. Mary's Parish Nurse Ministry Program
Ruth E. Williams, RN, MEPD, MSN

Dear Viewers, Peace to all in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. "See I give you every seed bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed bearing fruit on it to be your food.......I give all the green plants for food"(1 Gen:30). March is recognized as the month for Lent, Spring and National Nutrition Month. It is the month also to begin the Lenten journey. Hopefully, the Lenten journey will be peaceful in Christ.

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This month let us focus on eating healthy and being of a healthy weight. America is experiencing a problem of overweight and obesity in adults, children and adolescents. First, definitions of overweight and obesity need to be examined. Overweight is defined by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) as having a body mass index (BMI) for adults of ages 20-74 as a BMI of 25.0-29.9. Obesity is defined as having a BMI greater than or equal to 30. In the United States 61% of adults are overweight or obese. This fact can lead to many consequences of health such as heart disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, breathing problems and depression. Having a BMI that is high doesn't mean that this is the only indicator of a health consequence. There are other risks such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol that need to be considered also. The percentage of children and adolescents as defined as overweight has more than doubled since the early 1970's. This means about 13% of this age group are now seriously overweight. Some of the healthy things that Americans can do is exercise daily, eat healthier foods (Follow the Food Guide Pyramid). One of the most healthy things to do is walk. To determine your BMI go to (www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/bmi_tbl.htm). Lent means spring and new growth. On this Lenten journey let us consider on Ash Wednesday and be disciplined to experience this new healthy growth in body, mind and spirit in using time for fasting, alms giving, prayer, and penance. May Christ be of help to you. Romans 14:23 "place your eating and drinking in the context of our faith".

Ruth E. Williams, RN, MEPD, MSN 789 N. Central Richland Center, WI 53581 608-647-3280 e-mail: rew@mwt.net

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