For 21-year-old Shanel Dewalt cooking goes beyond cutting vegetables and mixing ingredients. This is how her mind finds peace and how she is reminded of her purpose. As the oldest of five siblings being raised in a single-parent household, the Detroit native realized she had to grow up at a very young age. When her […]
A wobbly butt and a sweaty belly are among Maria’s biggest nightmares and a major impediment to the 15 year-old’s ability to maintain the minimum 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although a recent trip and fall incident made her even more self-conscious […]
Eula Johnson kept her nose so deep in her journals she didn’t know how splendidly the Detroit riverfront had transformed until she adopted a six-week-old German shepherd that likes to take walks. “Cassius loves to walk with other dogs, feel the air on his coat and sniff all the smells,” says Johnson, a lawyer at […]
Ask any parent about their child’s weight and you are likely to get a strong ” oh no, mine is fine” response. Although more than 40 percent of patients that sit in pediatrician offices today are clearly overweight, many don’t know it and if they do they have a passive attitude. It’s an easy mistake […]
The signs couldn’t be ignored. In addition to being smokers, Stephanie Brown’s parents had been struggling with diabetes and high blood pressure. When her mother suffered a heart attack, the message for Brown and her young daughter Kaija was even clearer. “I said, ‘We better do something to prevent that from happening to us,’” Brown […]
An optimist and advocate, J.J. Tighe offers compelling reasons why we should care passionately about community health. “Improving our health is paramount for us as individuals and as a State,” says Tighe, president and CEO of the Michigan Fitness Foundation (MFF). “Personal choice and responsibility when it comes to healthy choices is critical, so education […]
Danialle Karmanos had goose bumps. She was watching Detroit elementary school kids work it out on yoga mats practicing alongside each other. “There was energy happening and swirling in the room,” she says. “It was giving children who often live in extremely stressful situations inner peace.” That’s the goal of Karmanos’ Work It Out yoga […]