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Event
Promotes Importance of Exercise and Getting Routine Checkups
African American Male Wellness Walk Was Held Saturday, Aug.
17
Toledo’s seventh annual African American Male Wellness Walk
– which offered approximately 15 free health screenings for
men and women along with fun for all ages – was held
Saturday, August 18 starting at 8 a.m. at Warren AME Church.
The 5K walk/run started at 10 a.m. Registration for the
walk/run was free.
Toledo Fire & Rescue Chief Brian Byrd established the Toledo
walk to promote the importance of exercise and getting
routine checkups to prevent illnesses. African American men,
who typically do not seek healthcare for themselves, are
encouraged to visit a doctor annually and to "know their
numbers" – results for body mass index (BMI), blood
pressure, cholesterol, prostate cancer and other health
screenings done for free at the annual event.
“Healthy men make healthy families, and healthy families
make a healthy community,” said Byrd, a Toledo native who
was sworn in as Fire Chief a year ago.
About 600 screenings are performed by paramedics and other
local health professionals every year.
The annual Toledo event is part of the National African
American Male Wellness Initiative, which was founded in 2004
by John Gregory in Columbus. Gregory attended the Toledo
walk this year.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for
African-American men in Lucas County. Among major risk
factors for heart disease, 57 percent of male
African-American Lucas County residents were overweight or
obese, 37 percent had high blood pressure, 25 percent had
diabetes. 21 percent had high blood cholesterol and 17
percent smoked, according to Healthy Lucas County’s
2016/2017 Lucas County Community Health Assessment.
While the Toledo event’s primary focus remains encouraging
African American men to prevent illnesses, people from all
races, ethnicities and genders were welcomed to get free
screenings – and have fun while being physically active,
Byrd said.
“It’s not just for black men. It’s for everybody,” Byrd
said. “We all need to take care of our health and support
everyone in the community.”
Healthcare organizations were invited to set up
informational displays at the event for free.
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