First Posted: 3/27/2015
Activate Allen County began as a movement to increase the awareness surrounding health and wellness in our community. This was due, in large part, to the fact that our county was ranked on the very tail end of our state in terms of health factors, including health behaviors. Health behaviors include obesity, smoking, physical activity, teen births, etc.
Recently, the county health rankings for this year were released once again, and we have some positive news for the resident of Allen County. In the 2012 county health rankings, Allen County was ranked 83 out of 88 in the area of health behaviors. Now, in 2015, Allen County is ranked as 74 in this same area. We are excited to see positive movement in our ranking and all the excitement surrounding health and wellness in our community. We have many community members and groups working hard to address our many health concerns and make a difference as well as grant funding geared specifically to combat our poor health related rankings. These programs will continue and our goal is to continue to see our rankings within the state climb.
Now that the seasons are changing and winter is hopefully behind us, it is time to get outside and enjoy all that our county has to offer in terms of physical activity. It is time for you to do your part to move our numbers in a positive direction and affect your overall health and wellness in a positive way.
April is a great month for health in Allen County and Northwest Ohio. Flowers aren’t the only things springing up this time of the year. There are a slew of activities, resources and events to help get people moving and healthier everywhere in the area.
For those walkers and/or runners, April is when the race season hits the ground running. Whether you are looking for information on the Good Friday 5K, Walk to the Cross 1-5K, the Spring Fling or any other race in our area or Ohio, a great resource to planning your race schedule is http://www.ohioroadraces.net/. Most of the races in Ohio can be found all on this site.
April’s warmer weather also marks the opening (not that they close) of our region’s parks. Take advantage of the Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Parks or one of the city/village parks to explore nature, play disc golf, join a hiking program, go geocaching, or just a casual walk. If you haven’t been to your local park, you will be pleasantly surprised to see what is happening!
Finally, it is time to dust off and tune up your bikes. Additional trails, signed routes and paths throughout Lima and Allen County make this a perfect time to get pedaling. It is time to get outside, rediscover Allen County and to improve your health.
If you know of any other upcoming events that improve the health of our community, please call Activate Allen County at 419-221-5035 so we can assist with promotion.
