Diabetes awareness topic of monthly chamber luncheon

    Fort Lupton Chamber of Commerce members enjoyed a treat Dec. 14, when the Fort Lupton Public and School Library hosted the monthly chamber luncheon.
    A favorite among attendees, the library was particularly decked out in holiday cheer, with tables festively laid and a variety of desserts homemade by the library staff.
    Reporting for the city, Fort Lupton City Administrator Claud Hanes confirmed the go ahead for a pair of new businesses, O’Reilly Auto Parts, 100 South Harrison Ave., and Pure Energy Services, 1277 Factory Drive. He also mentioned that the 2012 city budget was approved and signed in the last council session.

Photo by Gene Sears

Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment Wellness Coordinator Kelly Imus promotes healthy eating to an audience facing the holiday feasting season, during the December Fort Lupton Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

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    Chamber President Paul Harter opened the guest section of the meeting, talking about workplace wellness, more and more seen by employers as a way to reduce costs and boost productivity while pumping up worker satisfaction and happiness.
Harter’s opening was the perfect segue for Weld County Department of Health and Environment’s Kelly Imus, a wellness coordinator brought in as guest speaker.
    Imus showed slides illustrating how portion sizes have grown in the last several decades, in some case by six times their original size, feeding the obesity epidemic. One in three children born today face odds of developing diabetes at some point during their lifetime, potentially making them the first generation with a lower life expectancy than their parents.
    Another problem facing diners is the amount of sugar in processed food, adding some 30 extra teaspoons of sugar to our daily diet. In 1980 per capita consumption of sugar was 123 pounds of sugar annually. By 1999, that figure was 158 pounds. To combat negative eating habits, Weld County is putting programs in play to educate various community factions in the art of healthy consumption.
    “We are working with your schools to offer a culinary boot camp to teach the cooks how to cook from scratch again and incorporate more fruits and vegetables into the meals they are providing at the schools,” Imus said. “We’re also going to be working within restaurants in your community to identify healthier options on their menu, and to label them so people know when they are looking at a menu, so they don’t have to do the research before they walk into a restaurant.”
    The effort doesn’t stop there, with the county offering home and office support for healthy lifestyle choices.
    “We are offering cooking classes in Fort Lupton to teach people how to cook with more fruits and vegetables,” Imus said. “Lastly, we are going to work with worksites to help them set up programming.”

Contact Staff Writer Gene Sears at gsears@metrowestnewspapers.com