FORT LEE, Va. (Aug. 28, 2014) -- What does cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease have in common? According to the World Health Organization, they're the preventable problems children of the 21st century will face.
Take away tobacco, inactivity, unhealthy food and alcoholism and there's little to fuel the most common causes of disability and death.
Fort Lee will join the Surgeon General in her National Prevention Strategy initiative aimed at promoting the most effective and achievable means for improving health and well-being with the grand opening of a new Army Wellness Center on Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. Motivated by the motto "prevention is the best cure," the center's goal is to educate the community to take on and value a holistic approach to health and wellness.
"The mission of the center is to promote, enhance and sustain healthy lifestyles and the health and well-being of our Soldiers, family members and retirees, as well as our Department of the Army Civilians," said Col. Thomas S. Bundt, commander, Kenner Army Health Clinic. "The heavy lifting involved with the planning, designing, funding and execution for this enterprise is three years ahead of schedule. That is a true rarity, but due to the efforts of the dedicated KAHC staff, the outstanding support from the current garrison leadership and the leveraging of a proven track record, Fort Lee earned the AWC ahead of several other competitive sites.
"Take advantage of this opportunity to enhance your personal health and those of your family by utilizing the services of the center," he continued.
"The Fort Lee Army Wellness Center is an excellent resource for Soldiers who might be struggling to maintain a certain fitness level," said Cory Erhard, project lead, Fort Lee AWC. "Our goal is to serve as a resource for the entire Fort Lee community to help make long term improvements to their lifestyle behaviors to build resiliency and encourage optimal performance."
The center offers free services such as comprehensive health assessments, physical fitness testing and exercise prescriptions, individualized calorie recommendations, stress management techniques (including biofeedback games and a massage chair), general wellness education classes and education and support for tobacco-free living. These services would cost an estimated $3,000 in the private sector, but are free to active duty warriors and family members (18 and older), retirees and spouses, and DOD civilian employees.
"In America, the swelling numbers of 'obese' adults is placing a greater burden on our understaffed, overworked health care system according to health officials," Bundt added. "Two-in-three American adults are overweight or obese. Unfortunately, the military population mirrors the general population in terms of weight gain."
Physical health is one aspect of the larger issue. According to the Public Health Command, individuals needs to be satisfied in seven key areas -- physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, occupational and intellectual. The center will use a variety of clinically and scientifically based machines to accurately define measurements like body fat percentage and the daily caloric needs for each individual client. Scientific accuracy is important since people tend to under report their caloric intake and overestimate their physical activity.
"People don't realize when they eat out, that meal might contain 1,800 calories," Erhard said. "Now from an energy balance standpoint, if you only need 1,900 calories per day, you've just spent (your daily allotment).
"The center is like a garage where you would bring your body for preventive maintenance. When people come in, we take the (test results), we lay it out objectively with the data, identify goals, and determine how individuals need to calibrate it," Erhard continued. "Creating individualized exercise plans and nutrition recommendations will allow people to target their problem areas and set solid, personal milestones. This creates a happier client."
The center is located at 9205 Mahone Ave. For details, call (804) 734-9925.
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