Houston Healthcare Hosts Annual Family Fair

Join Houston Healthcare for Family Fair 2009 on Saturday, August 1^st from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Galleria Mall in Centerville. More than 50 nonprofit organizations will be represented offering health screenings, freebies and tips on keeping families healthy along with information on chronic illnesses as well as the positive and negative effects associated with stress, tobacco products, exercise, and proper nutrition.

"Family Fair is truly an event for the entire family," says Brett Moore, MSS, ATC, CSCS, Community Benefit Coordinator with Houston Healthcare's Community Education and Services. "Our goal is to promote health and wellness information, along with other tips for maintaining a healthy family as well as ideas on successful parenting to families and individuals while they are in the mall shopping during tax-free weekend."

According to Moore, the focus of any health fair is education and awareness. "We strive to educate the community on what is good health and how to maintain good health," he explains. "For example, we offer health screenings for those who want to know how they compare to the recommended guidelines for chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Armed with this information, we hope they will be motivated to make the necessary lifestyle changes to improve their health and the overall health of their family."

This year's Family Fair will focus on chronic illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. According to the Surgeon General, chronic illnesses are among the most prevalent, costly and preventable of all health problems, with more than 1.7 million people-or seven in 10 Americans-dying each year from a chronic illness.

"To a large degree, the major chronic disease killers are an extension of what people do, or not do, as they go about their daily lives," continues Moore. "Health damaging behaviors such as tobacco use, lack of exercise, and poor nutrition, are major contributors to heart disease and cancer-our nation's leading killers."

For more information about this year's Family Fair or to reserve a booth for non-profit groups or organizations, call (478) 923-9771.