Healthy New Year, Worthington! Health & Fitness Expo 2014

  Healthy New Year, Worthington! Health & Fitness Expo   The Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce and The Shops at Worthington Place have invited the public to have a “Healthy New Year, Worthington!” at a Health & Fitness Expo that will ring in the new year on a healthy note for the entire community. The event is planned for Thursday, Jan. 9, from noon to 6 p.m. at The Shops at Worthington Place, 7227 N. High St.   OhioHealth is the presenting event sponsor, along with the Chamber and host sponsor The Shops at Worthington Place. Corporate sponsors include OSU Wexner Medical Center, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and The Rite Bite’s Rite for You Corporate Wellness Program. The Expo will include: health and fitness exhibits and giveaways from approximately 50 exhibitors, including many Chamber-member businesses in the health care field. health screenings from health care providers, including hospitals, wellness companies, physicians, chiropractors, dentists, eye care and hearing professionals, and others.       premium women's health screenings available from OhioHealth in a mobile mammography near the south mall entrance. Please note that these screenings, including mammograms recommended for women aged 40 and above, and bone density screenings to determine risk of osteoporosis, require a pre-arranged appointment made through OhioHealth's general scheduling phone line, (614) 566-1111 . The bone density test also requires a doctor's orders.    exhibits sharing resources from public-sector health, safety and fitness resources, including Worthington Community Center and Parks and Recreation department, Worthington Libraries, and the Healthy Worthington Resource Center & Food Pantry demonstrations featuring information on healthy cooking and other topics  door prize drawings for Expo participants who visit a required amount of health exhibits and mall merchants  networking opportunities for business professionals an opportunity to sign up for the 10-week Community Weight Loss Challenge , detailed below, and to participate in group “mall walking” for 10 weeks.  About the Community Weight Loss Challenge A 10-week health challenge for individuals and companies, promoting weight loss and overall fitness, will be launched at the event. Individuals who choose to participate in the Community Weight Loss challenge will be invited to sign up at the Health & Fitness Expo on Jan. 9, or online through the Chamber's website, between Jan. 6 and Jan. 13.  (Watch the Chamber's website after Jan. 6 for the sign-up link.)  The challenge will begin on Monday, Jan. 13. Participants will choose one of four nonprofit "teams" to join for the challenge. The teams are: the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce Healthy Worthington Resource Center & Food Pantry Leadership Worthington Worthington Educational Foundation A fee of $5 will be collected at sign-up time (later to be donated to the nonprofit whose team has the highest average weight loss among all team participants). Upon sign-up, each participant will be directed to a confidential, HIPAA-compliant corporate wellness website where he or she will: self-report weight and activity levels on a weekly basis by entering them into the  appropriate area on the website; all information is confidential and not accessible to the Chamber, mall, or any sponsor or organizer of the event  receive nutrition and fitness tips   access numerous supportive resources for maintaining a healthy lifestyle be encouraged to return to The Shops at Worthington Place to "mall walk" once weekly for 10 weeks have weight loss percentage "credited" to the preferred nonprofit team At the conclusion of the Community Weight Loss Challenge on March 24, the average percent of weight loss on each "team" will be calculated. The $5 fees collected at the beginning of the challenge will be donated to the nonprofit with the highest average. One individual who diligently sticks with the program also will win a valuable prize following the challenge. The names of all participants who desire to be part of a drawing, and who complete their self-reporting each week for 10 weeks (regardless of their weight loss results) will be entered into a random drawing.   Results of the challenge and drawing will be announced one week after its conclusion.    For more information about the Health Expo and weight loss challenge, contact the Chamber at (614) 888-3040.  Visitor information: There is no charge for the public to attend. Lunchtime and late afternoon-to-evening hours will be popular times for business people to attend and find related programming and networking opportunities. Exhibitor information: Health care organizations: Please contact the Chamber office at 888-3040 to learn about exhibit space availability, or click REGISTER NOW to reserve a space online.