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Information on healthy families available For more information about maintaining a healthy family, visit the Wellness Wednesday booth from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Children’s Hospital lobby. Come learn more about the Heart Health Program, speak with registered dietitian, Janet Carter, and pick up helpful tips to help keep you and your family healthy. Enter your name in a drawing for pedometers and T-shirts. by Janet Carter Registered dietitian Are you or your child struggling with extra pounds? Being healthy and managing body weight are two very popular topics. Not only are these important to you as an individual, but also your family or anyone else you care about. Eating right and exercising are the cornerstones to healthy living and disease prevention.   At MUSC, two programs are helping to promote healthy habits in employees and in the children of the Lowcountry. These programs are Health 1st—MUSC’s Employee Wellness Program, and Heart Health—the Pediatric Weight Management Program of Children’s Hospital and the Preventive Cardiology Service of the Children’s Heart Center.   Both of these programs educate participants on the benefits of living healthy, and provide tips and tools for doing so. If losing weight is not your (or your child’s) goal, these programs can also be helpful if you want to learn how to eat healthy, exercise properly, manage stress, quit smoking, sleep better, and much more.   Obesity in children has become a serious problem. Some of the health issues that can arise from being overweight as a child used to only be prevalent in adults. A few of these issues are asthma, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, orthopaedic complications (pain and limited range of motion in joints), and psychosocial effects (discrimination, teasing, etc.). Here are some tips to help you and your family to be healthy: Choose a variety of healthy foods If you need a snack, choose something healthy q  Always eat a healthy breakfast Be watchful of the types of fats you consume Stay away from sodas, juices, and sports drinks Be physically active every day If you’re managing your body weight, be aware of calorie intake and portion sizes Make mealtime family time Never use food as a reward for yourself or your child If you have or know of a child who is struggling with extra weight, the Heart Health Program is just the thing. In this program, the child and his or her parents or caregivers receive: one-on-one nutrition and lifestyle counseling with a registered dietitian periodic medical check-ups by a pediatric cardiologist group education and activity sessions other tools and tips to help foster a healthy lifestyle throughout the household.   For more information, call 792-4717. Weekly tips from the Healthy S.C. Challenge Healthy S.C. Challenge is a results-oriented initiative created by Gov. Mark Sanford and first lady Jenny Sanford to motivate people to start making choices that can improve health and well-being. Visit http://www.healthysc.gov. Physical activity Physical  inactivity costs South Carolina an estimated $4,653,065,914 in medical care, worker's compensation and lost productivity each year—averaging about $1,466 per person. Editor's note: The preceding column was brought to you on behalf of Health 1st. Striving to bring various topics and representing numerous employee wellness organizations and committees on campus, this weekly column seeks to provide MUSC, MUHA and UMA employees with current and helpful information concerning all aspects of health. Friday, Sept. 7, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.