[media-credit name=’AJ MACLEAN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Mayor Dave Cieslewicz hosted a Fit City Madison Summit to celebrate the program’s first year and recognize the combined efforts that have contributed to the program’s success Monday morning.

Fit City Madison was started last year by Cieslewicz in an effort to promote awareness about the growing problem of obesity and sedentary lifestyles in the United States. Cieslewicz said he felt it was necessary to encourage a healthy lifestyle in a proactive manner, though he did not expect the program to be such a success.

“I thought it would be short term but we got a tremendous response,” Cieslewicz said. “It really struck a nerve in the community because I think people understand how serious an issue this is.”

Cieslewicz said he feels he has certainly made steps in the right direction since he became mayor.

“I got interested in this shortly after I took office after reading a series on obesity in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,” Cieslewicz said. “I thought as a mayor I could raise awareness.”

Motivational speaker Ronnie Carda, a faculty member of the University of Wisconsin kinesiology department, presented various facts and statistics that have propelled the Fit City Madison program.

According to Carda, 64 percent of adults are overweight and 50 million Americans will go on a weight loss diet this year with a mere five percent success rate. The Surgeon General released a warning stating that obesity may soon be the number one cause of death in the United States, yet Carda said telling people about these facts is not enough to change anyone’s lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle needs to be marketed like any other product, she added.

“We need to go beyond ‘eat right’ and ‘exercise is good for you’,” Carda said. “You really need to sell it. You need people to know that good health has benefits they can profit from just like any other product.”

Cieslewicz said the program’s success has been in part because of the enthusiastic participation by various groups throughout the city. Fit City Madison includes over 30 organizations, including the Fun Run Summer Series, Mad City Walkers and the Community Center Physical Activity Project. Numerous citizens are also involved in the project.

With the help of these groups, the city was able to accomplish many of their goals including bike path connections, smoke-free bans and a public swimming pool, all of which encourage a healthy lifestyle. Other successful activities include the Fit Kids Challenge, lunchtime walks around the Capitol Square with Cieslewicz, healthy cooking demonstrations at community centers and community hikes and bonfires at Olin-Turville and Owen Parks.

Carda said healthy living can improve people’s quality of life on many levels, for example through fighting the obesity epidemic, disease prevention, stopping chemical dependency and improving mental health. Carda said 30 minutes of exercise is effective in reducing stress and anxiety for four or more hours and reduces symptoms of depression.

Anyone interested in learning more about Fit City Madison can visit www.cityofmadison.com/mayor/getFit/index.html.