The Women's Health Project Holds an Event Focusing on Nutrition and Exercise

ALBANY, NY (12/02/2009)(readMedia)-- The Women's Health Project, a collaborative project between the University at Albany and Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, will be holding its second community event on December 5th at Bliss Towers from 2-4p.m. The event will focus on nutrition and exercise, featuring information about how nutrition and exercise fit into our lives and why they are important, especially for women. The event will also feature a presentation by Karen Mort of the EatSmart NY program at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Hudson. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the resources offered by Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood and the Columbia County Community Healthcare Consortium, and receive free health screenings through the Columbia County Department of Health.

"We look forward to building on our first event and bringing together more women in the community with health and human service organizations in Hudson," said Annis Golden, the Women's Health Project Director. "We decided to focus on nutrition and exercise because of its crucial relationship to women's health issues. Most women know that being overweight increases your risk for diabetes and high blood pressure, but not as many know that it increases your risk for breast cancer."

This collaborative project is made possible thanks to a grant from the National Center of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. The purpose of the initiative, which is being conducted through the University's Center for Elimination of Minority Health Disparities, is to identify effective strategies for overcoming barriers to seeking reproductive healthcare encountered by underserved women in the Hudson area.

The research team from the University is led by Professors Annis Golden and Anita Pomerantz of the Communication Department. The field office for the Women's Health Project that is being set up at Bliss Towers is staffed by community outreach associate Jeanette Johnson. Johnson is also working with UHPP patient services and education staff, and an advisory board consisting of representatives from eight other leading community organizations. Working together, this group will continue to plan a series of community events over the next three years that will include educational presentations, tabling by organizational representatives, healthy refreshments, opportunities to schedule appointments, and travel vouchers to attend those appointments.

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Members of the Community Advisory Board for the Women's Health Project include: Columbia County Community Healthcare Consortium, Columbia County Department of Health, Columbia Memorial Hospital, Columbia Opportunities, Hudson Housing Authority, Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties, Operation Unite Education and Cultural Arts Center, Overcomers Ministries International, and Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood.

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood (UHPP) is a community-based non-profit organization providing advocacy, education and medical services for reproductive health care since 1934. In 2008, over 11,000 patients made 22,257 visits to UHPP health centers located in Albany, Hudson and Troy. UHPP health educators present over 500 education programs reaching over 6,000 youth and young adults each year. UHPP services are delivered with special concern for the underserved.