By American Heart Association and RWJ Hamilton
RWJ Hamilton Hospital and the American Heart Association to “Step Out’ for National Start! Walking Day
Public encouraged to bring sneakers for April 7th walk to get heart healthy.
Hamilton, NJ (April 1, 2010) –The American Heart Association, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton (RWJ Hamilton) and Mayor John F. Bencivengo invite the public to take a walk in celebration of National Start! Walking Day.
WHAT American Heart Association National Start! Walking Day
WHO American Heart Association, RWJ Hamilton and Hamilton Township
WHEN Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 1 p.m.
WHERE Starts at RWJ Hamilton, Hospital Main Entrance, One Hamilton Health Place, continues through Veteran’s Park, Hamilton Township
WHY Promote cardiovascular health by walking, which has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity because it can be done almost anywhere, including the workplace.
National Start! Walking day is part of the American Heart Association’s Start! movement, which is a national initiative that encourages all Americans and their employers to incorporate physical activity every day in order to help lower risk for developing cardiovascular disease. The Start! movement champions walking because it has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity and can be done almost anywhere—including workplaces. Workplaces have proven to be important environments to foster a culture for exercise as Americans now work 164 more hours per year than 20 years ago, and jobs have become increasingly sedentary.
RWJ Hamilton President & CEO Skip Cimino and Hamilton Mayor John F. Bencivengo, along with the American Heart Association, will host a short program that includes a motivational kick-off by Cimino and stretching led by an exercise physiologist. Celebrating April 7th as National Start! Walking Day, the parties will designate a National Start! Walking Path that the community can walk free of charge from the hospital campus into Veterans Park. Attendees will take a brisk walk around the new Start! Walking Path with hospital employees, the mayor and other community members.
“RWJ Hamilton wanted to be a part of this invigorating Start! initiative because much more needs to be done to promote healthy lifestyles. We see this every day with people coming to us with cardiovascular problems that can be prevented,” said Skip Cimino, President & CEO. “So it’s exciting to see our employees and the community come together and rally for National Start! Walking Day. We hope that all of Hamilton Township becomes inspired to walk with us on April 7 to renew our commitment to healthy living.”
In January 2010, the American Heart Association defined the seven key factors to ideal cardiovascular health. Physical activity is one of those factors, but only 15 percent of American adults achieve the association’s recommended levels of moderate aerobic exercise (150 or more minutes per week)The Start! initiative encourages all Americans to get started on a regular walking program as a way to achieve their physical activity goals and to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 30 percent.
“The National Start! Walking Path is a wonderful resource for the Hamilton community,” noted Joe Camaratta, member of the American Heart Association Central/Southern New Jersey Regional Board of Directors. “We hope that everyone comes out to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton campus and Veterans Park on April 1st as we take a walk to improve our heart health.”
About the American Heart Association Start! Movement:
Start! makes sticking to a walking plan easier than ever with FREE tools at startwalkingnow.org, including:
Three customized walking programs (beginner, intermediate and advanced);
Online tracking tools to document calories consumed, steps taken and routes walked;
Sole-mates social networking capabilities to find and support like-minded walkers;
A grocery list builder and heart-healthy recipesseasonal walking guides with tips to maintain a routine regardless of weather;
Start! walking videos, produced in collaboration with ExerciseTV, making an at-home workout easier with tips and motivation;
Start! social media daily walking guide with daily walking guides, inspirational messages, heart-health tip of the day, video content from Exercise TV, community chat capability and a private journal; and
Start! is sponsored nationally by SUBWAY® Restaurants. For more information on the Start! movement, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit startwalkingnow.org.
