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Welcome!

The Georgia Center for the Prevention of Obesity and Related Disorders (GCORD), a joint project of the University of Georgia and the Medical college of Georgia, in collaboration with the Washington Wilkes Community, welcomes you to the Wilkes Wild About Wellness website.

In 2002, GCORD conducted a community-based health assessment in Washington-Wilkes. The health assessments revealed that 81% of the Washington-Wilkes participants met the criteria for overweight and or obesity (Body Mass Index of 25 or higher), compared with the national rate of 64%. Focus groups and key-informant interviews raveled the majority of participants expressed concern over the high incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the community. Most were also concerned with the increasing incidence of obesity among children and adults and attributed this trend to consumption of fast food and inactivity. The data suggested also that the majority of the community participants frequently consume high fat foods but reported a willingness to change their eating habits.

Health assessments were also completed at the local public schools in Washington. These assessments revealed that 19% of the subjects were at risk of becoming overweight and 27.7% were overweight. A large percentage of participants had undesirable health conditions and risks for cardiovascular disease. Participants also had an undesirable pattern of physical activity, i.e., lack of daily physical activity and spending a lot of time watching TV.

Upon completion of these health assessments, a Community Leader Task Force (CLTF) was assembled to help determine the most appropriate programs for implementation. The CLTF meets on a quarterly basis and includes community representatives from the following local organizations: Family Connection, Department of Family and Children Services, Wills Memorial Hospital, Wilkes County Health Department, Chamber of Commerce, Mayor's Office, First Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church, Wilkes County School District, Parks and Recreation, Fievet's Pharmacy, and Cooperative Extension. The CLTF named the program Wilkes Wild about Wellness.

Wilkes Wild about Wellness was implemented in January, 2003 and includes the following nutrition and physical activity initiatives:

  • Nutrition/health lifestyle classes at a variety of locations in the community,
  • Working with the local grocery stores to offer health promotion activities such as healthy cooking demonstrations,
  • Working with local restaurants of offer healthier options,
  • Community walking clubs,
  • Self-directed walking programs,
  • Promotion of physical activity in local schools,
  • Quarterly newsletters mailed or emailed to interested community members,
  • A health section for the local newspaper that includes healthy recipes, articles on nutrition and physical activity, and current community activites,
  • Health messages for church ministers,
  • Creation of word-of-mouth health messages,
  • Establishment of safe, lighted walking areas and biking trails.