Program aims to help Princeton live well

A follow-up to Lighten Up Princeton takes on a new name

By: Marjorie Censer
   The follow-up to Lighten Up Princeton has a new name: Princeton Living Well.
   Viocare Technologies — which is spearheading the program — hosted a kickoff event in September to get local businesses, health-care professional and community groups involved in its planning. Attendees were asked to submit potential names for the program.
   On Tuesday, Viocare President Rick Weiss announced the program’s name and rewarded Elizabeth Casparian — director of educational services at HiTOPS and the attendee who came up with the winning name — with a $50 gift certificate to Blue Point Grill.
   Mr. Weiss said Viocare is in the yearlong design and development phase of the program, which is set to begin in 2006. The project is the result of a two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health for Viocare, intended to help the company improve the health of the Princeton community.
   Viocare is a technology company that seeks to connect health-care providers with the communities they serve.
   Ms. Casparian said she came up with the name by thinking about what she likes about living and working in Princeton. She focused on the duality of the word "well" — thinking not only about living well, but also about physical wellness.
   She also said she wanted to move away from a singular focus on weight loss.
   "It’s about healthful living, not just about weight loss," Ms. Casparian said.
   Mr. Weiss said he chose the name because of its indication of the importance of community — it suggests social capital. He also said he wanted a program name that emphasizes being healthy now, not just looking toward the future.
   "We’re living well, and we’re going to demonstrate it," Mr. Weiss said the name shows.
   Mr. Weiss said his staff is in the midst of organizing the feedback offered by community members at the September meeting. Eighteen people — local business owners, health-care professionals and community group representatives — have formed a community health consortium devoted to improving the wellness of local residents. Mr. Weiss said he is now seeking four residents to sit on the committee, and he expects the group to have its first meeting in December or January.
   When the program kicks off, 50 specifically recruited residents — 25 of whom are overweight and 25 of whom are normal weight — will formally be evaluated to determine its success. However, Mr. Weiss has said he would like to involve as many residents as possible.
   The most interesting aspect of the program being prepared, Mr. Weiss said, is a reward system. He would like to see a unified system in which residents carry a card that is credited when they do something healthy — such as walk a given distance or purchase a pair of running shoes locally — and can be redeemed at area businesses — perhaps for healthy meals at participating restaurants or free passes at local fitness centers.
   Blue Point Grill Executive Chef Brian Dougherty presented the gift certificate to Ms. Casparian and said his restaurant would remain involved in the program. He said the restaurant sees many repeat customers — often two to three times a week.
   "We really want to see them for a long time," he said.
   The grant team includes representatives from two medical centers, Dr. Robert Jeffrey at the University of Minnesota and Dr. David Katz at the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.