With the mercury reaching as high as 70 degrees lately, it’s time to park the car and walk or ride your way around town.
It’s no secret our auto-centered lifestyle is making us and our children sick — and fat. Keeping up the pressure to walk more, eat healthier and ride a bicycle is a worthwhile cause — and now you can’t use the weather as an excuse.
According to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 30 percent of the state’s population is considered obese.
Many children simply mirror the poor choices of their parents by exercising too little, eating unhealthy “super-sized” fast-food meals and routinely riding in the car rather than walking.
The grim reality is that obese children are at an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke and even cancer. But there are easy steps — no pun intended — to avoid an unhealthy lifestyle.
Redmond is loaded with great parks and trails — a perfect place to get the blood pumping. The city is home to 23 developed parks consisting of more than 1,000 acres and 17 miles of developed trails. In addition, the city has eight undeveloped parks consisting of almost 300 acres and nine miles of undeveloped trails.
While Redmond does have an extensive park system, it’s up to residents to make healthier choices. Leading by example may be the best way to avert the health crisis looming for younger generations.
I am practicing what I preach, taking daily walks during my lunch break. It’s great exercise and a nice way to explore ever-changing Redmond.
Spring has sprung, so get outside and enjoy.
COME VISIT US
Speaking of walking or riding a bike, take the time to come down and check out our new digs. That’s right, the Redmond Reporter moved from its old east Redmond location to downtown, across the street from the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center. Our new address is 8105 166th St. NE, Suite 102.
STOP CAR PROWLERS
It’s the most frequent crime in Redmond and also one of the most preventable.
I cringe every time I read about a car prowl of an unlocked vehicle in the police report. There were several of those unlocked car prowls incidents in this week’s and last week’s police reports.
Use this easy, three-pronged approach to prevent car prowls: lock your doors, hide valuable items and invest in a car alarm.
Three easy steps. If every Redmond resident did that, I bet car prowls would go down.
The good news is reported car prowls to Redmond Police went down 18 percent from 2008 to 2009 (672 reports in 2008 decreased to 550 in 2009).
The bad news is car prowls continue to plague this great city.
Do your part: lock the doors, hide your valuables and invest in an alarm.
