One of the best ways to change your community's waistline is through their employers.  Employers want to increase productivity, absenteeism and their bottom line.  Increasing health care costs are costing companies money as well as the employees to due to lifestyle diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, etc.  You can approach these companies and provide wellness services to them with online training and meal planning as well as personal training services, bmi and body fat testing.  Its up to you to put together a professional presentation and the courage to approach the company with a well thought out proposal.

See this article below I found to encourage you to get out there and do it!

Most mornings at about 6 a.m. Simon Hemus can be found in the gym with his personal trainer at Tupperware Brands headquarters, where he is president and chief operating officer.

But it's not just a perk of the executive suite. The company subsidizes the cost of trainers for all of its employees in Orlando and recently upgraded its gym, which offers aerobics, weights and spinning.

"We also run a 5k on campus once a month if it's cool enough," said Hemus, 60, who has improved his personal best time to a very respectable 28:40.

Tupperware's attitude about fitness and health was held up as an example last week by Florida Hospital, which kicked off a new campaign called "Healthy 100" designed to push more employers to encourage healthy behavior and, even more ambitious, increase the number of local people living past 100.

And the hospital run by Adventist Health System is starting with itself.

"We're a health-care organization, and we ought to be about not only treating illness, but about prevention," said Sheryl Dodds, the hospital's chief people officer. "We feel we need to lead with our employees through our pilot programs."

The promotion also goes to the hospital's long-term business model. In the future, executives hope to capitalize on wellness and prevention programs as much as caring for the sick and injured.

Tupperware hires its personal trainers from the hospital. Darden Restaurants, which recently moved into a new headquarters building that features a large gym, also offers its employees an on-site clinic staffed by employees contracted from the hospital.

The kick-off last week featured a lunch for 200 local movers and shakers, including Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton, Orlando Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins and Tavistock Group Senior Managing Director Rasesh Thakkar.

The group listened to Dan Buettner, who wrote The Blue Zones about geographic anomalies across the globe where the number of people living past 100 exceeds the average. And posters for the campaign feature Florida Hospital President Lars Houmann, an avid runner, on a morning sprint.

Found this article and had to share it.  Its truly saddening and our Country is still going/growing in the wrong direction.  As fitness professionals there is such a large market (no pun intended) to serve and improve quality of life.  Make it your mission to reach your community today and be an ambassador for change and wellness.  Have the courage to speak up, reach out, and train your community.  Wouldn't it be amazing if one trainer in each city around the United States could make it their life mission to adjust the BMI of their community to normal and healthy?  It could be done! Dream Big live healthy!

Here is the article:

St. Charles, IL -

Susan Eichensehr can’t believe what some people eat, not only during the holidays, but year-round.

“I just freak out on nutrition,” Eichensehr said. “I freak out on what people put in their mouths for the holidays. I really don’t think people (are aware) of the effect what they put in their mouth has on their body.”

Eichensehr, general manager and personal trainer at Tri-City Fitness in St. Charles, started a program at her gym called “Downsize.” The program has run four times, and in its most recent session, eight people lost more than 10 pounds and four lost 15 to 20 pounds.

“We don’t count calories. It’s all about education and awareness,” Eichensehr said. “And the cool thing is they keep it off.”

Statistics released by America’s Health Rankings in November said the prevalence of obesity in Illinois is expected to increase from the current level of 31.5 percent obese to 43.5 percent in 2018.

AHR estimates $3.6 million is spent annually because of obesity in Illinois. With the projected jump in obesity, the cost is expected to increase to $14.8 million in 2010, or about $1,538 per adult in Illinois.

According to numbers on AHR’s Web site, Illinois has about 294 yearly deaths related to cardiovascular disease per 100,000 people.

The Kane County Health Department said one out of every six children in the county, and 19.2 percent of the entire population are obese. Paul Kuehnert, executive director for the health department, said in less affluent parts of the county, the obesity rate goes as high as one in three.

“Kane County is similar to the rest of the state and the rest of the country,” Kuehnert said. “We (have to look at) what the barriers are to ... healthy living.”

Kuehnert said the department has tried to focus energy on improving children’s health with the “Fit For Kids” initiative, which supports a culture of wellness for children. Kuehnert said one idea is to have more safe bicycle and walking routes to school for children, instead of busses.

“If we focus on children, everyone can really get behind that,” Kuehnert said.

Leslie Reed, who worked out with Downsize, said she lost 40 pounds since she started learning more about nutrition and better ways to work out.

“I think people need the information,” Reed said. “I think people think that even if they are working out, they think ‘Oh, I can just work out and eat what I want to eat and lose weight’

“That happened to me. When I started working out, well, I gained 10 pounds. I think that would be the one thing that would help people. I think they’re misled.”

Tom Peterson, head personal trainer at St. Charles’ Norris Recreation Center, said he isn’t sure whether the problem is more about motivation to work out or education.

“I think that’s the problem,” Peterson said. “Nobody has figured it out.”

Peterson said one big problem he sees is office workers who stay stationary for most of the day thinking a 30-minute workout is enough.

“You still need more than that,” Peterson said. “Not only do you have to do your 30 minutes of exercise, but you have to be somewhat physically active during the work day. ... You get an hour (for lunch). You can’t get in a half-hour, 45-minute workout at lunch at the same time, it just doesn’t work. Without a social change, I don’t see it (changing).”

Eichensehr said that no matter what the solution is, the numbers are telling and the problem must be fixed.

“This is public knowledge now, it’s not a secret,” Eichensehr said. “(The numbers) really show us why its important to (increase) our awareness.”