Healthy living is about to get a kick-start in Oro Valley.
A wellness event on Saturday is part of an initiative dubbed the "Healthiest Town in America."
Oro Valley residents Bob and Debbie Oro have been working with a Northwest Side committee to organize what Bob Oro called a national movement toward overall health.
"It's just grown and grown and grown," he said of local efforts.
As someone who loves his town, Oro said, he doesn't mind having done a lot of the footwork early on because so many in the community now are working collectively on the initiative.
"I think we should be the healthiest town in America," Oro said. "I think we have the beauty of this place, the climate that we have here, the kind of people that we have here, this should be something that we should look forward to and help."
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The four-hour event Saturday at the Oro Valley Marketplace, on the southwest corner of North Oracle and West Tangerine roads, is the official kick-off.
The family-oriented event will include vendors from the health sector, free health screenings and a jumping castle for children. The first 200 to sign up for a 5K walk/run will receive free pedometers.
Oro, who like his wife is a dentist, said the initiative encourages people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. It also aims to bring attention "to the epidemic that is diabetes and obesity, especially in our young people," he said.
Through the initiative, other events will be planned around the Northwest Side, he said.
Various community leaders have agreed to serve as role models for area residents and wear a pedometer, track daily activities and agree to not gain weight for a year, Oro said.
Oro Valley Mayor Paul Loomis will make some remarks and issue a proclamation at the event.
The town's Parks and Recreation Department will provide information about its various programs and activities, said director Ainsley Legner.
Nurses from Northwest Medical Center Oro Valley will provide free health screenings, said Kristina Gobel, hospital marketing manager.
The hospital also will offer information on programs such as Commit to be Fit, a free monthly lecture that focuses on keeping people healthy.
Her hope is that people will take the information and use it to help them achieve a healthier lifestyle, Gobel said.
Go online to www.healthiesttowninamerica.com for more information on the initiative and its participants.
If You Go
What: "Healthiest Town in America" initiative kickoff.
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Oro Valley Marketplace (near the Olive Garden restaurant), on the southwest corner of North Oracle and West Tangerine roads in Oro Valley.
For more information: Go online to www.healthiesttowninamerica.com
