Friends of JCDS :: Healthy Lifestyle Project Helps Developmentally Disabled Work Toward Improved Health

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Staying Healthy

Friends of JCDS Promotes More Healthful Living

We all need a little motivation when it comes to making lifestyle improvements, and people with developmental disabilities are no exception. In fact, this group is even more at risk than the general population to suffer health-related consequences of making poor lifestyle choices – such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Grants from Friends funds a Healthy Lifestyles project to help individuals set and meet goals that lead to improved overall health. Resources received from Friends are used to underwrite expenses for pedometers and a variety of other incentives to encourage participants along the way. Clients have also benefited from the services of a licensed dietitian whose advice and sample menus help improve nutrition by making better food options available at home and at work.

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Thanks to the Healthy Lifestyle project, Ron is getting help with setting and meeting goals that lead to improved overall health. Ron has lost over 60 pounds since the start of his plan, and has nearly achieved his ideal weight. “The program really made me want to work toward accomplishing my goals,” he says. “It helps me stay motivated and ‘on track’. "