Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the Madison Department of Public Health will lead downtown workers on a 10-minute walk around the Capitol Square Thursday at noon.

The lunchtime walk is one of many events sponsored by Fit City Madison, an effort to raise awareness about the importance of physical activity in the daily lives of Madisonians.

According to mayoral spokesperson George Twigg, Cieslewicz believes this is an important event for citizens to participate in.

“A healthy population is not only good for individuals, but is also good for the city because health-care costs go down and reduce the burden [for taxpayers],” Twigg said.

Some sponsors of the event include UW Health, Meriter and Copp’s Foods. The sponsors will provide healthy snacks, water, blood-pressure checks and health information at the event.

Participants will also receive a free pedometer donated by the Wisconsin Sports Development Association.

The goal of Fit City Madison is to combat obesity and poor nutrition and increase physical activity. Fit City Madison encourages adults to exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes per day; however, the 30 minutes can be broken up into moderate 10-minute activities three times a day.

“Its sort of common sense, but people should exercise more and eat less,” Twigg said. “You don’t have to be a health fanatic to do that — [it’s] simple things like walks during lunch.”

According to Alison Gustason, a fellow for the Madison Department of Public Health, college students should be conscience of fitness, too. Gustason added students should exercise 60 minutes every day and lift weights several times per week.

“The general recommendation for college students [is] to fight the freshman 15,” Gustason said. “Functional fitness, such as walking or riding your bike to class, will help maintain your weight.”

As people age, they lose lean body mass, according to Gustason. College students must exercise more to maintain their lean body mass and keep their metabolism rate high.

University of Wisconsin junior Meghan Hurley said she tries to exercise regularly. However, Hurley said a busy schedule often prevents exercise.

“I know I don’t exercise as much as I should,” Hurley said. “But I don’t think it’s realistic for college students to exercise 60 minutes every single day, unless you count walking to class.”

In addition to physical activity, Fit City Madison recommends eating three fewer bites of food per day. These three bites equal 100 calories and can help reduce or maintain weight, according to a release.

Following Fit City Madison’s guidelines, including partaking in physical activity and eating less, will help lower the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, a release said.

Thursday’s walk around the Capitol is one of many events organized for the program.

Events range from biking around Lake Monona to cooking demonstrations.

Fit City Madison posts future events and health and fitness tips at its website, www.fitcitymadison.com.