Practicing what she preaches
Health and fitness czar vows to change the city's image
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| At a press conference, Mrs. Foster helps Mayor Street (in background) launch the "Fun, Fit, and Free 2000² campaign. |
When Philadelphia was named the fattest city in America in the January, 2000, issue of Men's Fitness magazine, the mayor, John Street, set out to change the image of the city. He made health and fitness a major item on which his administration would focus.
Who better to coordinate the health promotion activities for the city then Gwendolyn Winston Foster, MPH, a 1977 graduate of the School of Public Health? She has worked for more than two decades as an advocate for the principles of good diet, exercise, and lifestyle change as health and temperance director for Allegheny East Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Pine Forge, Pennsylvania, a job she is transitioning from as she trains her replacement.
At a press conference announcing her appointment as the city's first health and fitness czar, Mrs. Foster affirmed her goal to make Philadelphia the healthiest city in the nation and urged Men's Fitness magazine to follow the city's progress.
A certified health education specialist, Mrs. Foster developed the "Fitness for Life" conditioning camp that attracts persons from the inner cities with chronic degenerative diseases and helps them change destructive lifestyle patterns. She seeks to provide an alternative to expensive health spas that only attract the affluent.
Mrs. Foster and Mayor Street, also a Seventh-day Adventist, strongly believe that a healthy body is a necessary first step to a healthy mind. The mayor has appeared on "Oprah" to talk about his health and fitness goals for the city.
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| The "Fun, Fit, and Free 2000² web site provides up-to-date health information, fitness tips, and success stories. |
"We are encouraging simple, healthful lifestyle and eating habits," states Mrs. Foster, "such as drinking more water, consuming less salt, eating more fruits and vegetables, and regular exercise."
The goal is to encourage an overall mental, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. She believes that fitness is more than having a toned body and low cholesterol--it is about balance, control, focus, and discipline.
To help promote the new health initiative, "Fun, Fit, and Free 2000," Mrs. Foster has called on Philadelphia's clergy, health professionals, hospitals, professional athletes, public schools, restaurants, and vendors to become effective change agents in assisting people to alter destructive lifestyle patterns.
"We need to increase health awareness in all segments of society," she points out.
"There are days when I would rather stay in bed," she admits, "but I know that an hour's exercise is better for me than more sleep."
Passion about her mission and eagerness to help others are the qualities that Mrs. Foster brings to this job.
She says the fact that she doesn't look like Barbie or bounce around like an aerobics instructor makes her a better role model. "I can meet people where they are," she adds.
Along with her new position, Mrs. Foster continues to serve as a member of the LLU Board of Trustees, as coordinator for the largest study of African-American health issues, a licensed facilitator for Steven Covey's Foundation's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People," and as host of the radio show "Fitness for Life" on WHAT radio in Philadelphia.
Mrs. Foster and her husband, Allen, are making plans to move from their home in Williamstown, New Jersey, to Center City, Philadelphia. "I'm going to park the car and walk to work," she says. "I want to be like the Pied Piper."
A web site promoting Philadelphia's "Fun, Fit, and Free 2000,² can be found at <http://www.phila.gov/fitandfun.
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