New Year, New You: How Healthy Savannah helps people make meaningful lifestyle changes

Posted by author January 23, 2025 Fitness

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It’s never too late to start to change your life. That’s why, every year, as the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, people across the country resolve to a “new year, new me.” Sixty percent of Americans intend to focus on health, fitness and exercise in 2025, as found in a nationwide survey of 159 million adults by the Health & Fitness Association.

If you’re one of the 96 million adults looking to prioritize those things this year, the new director of Healthy Savannah Armand Turner wants to help Savannahians do just that this year―and beyond.

Healthy Savannah, formed in 2007, leads and supports a culture of health in the area by creating an environment that makes a healthy choice, the easy choice.

Turner has been with Healthy Savannah since 2019, serving as the organization’s first Physical Activity Program Manager and most recently as the first deputy director of Healthy Savannah. He takes over the helm from Paula Kreissler, who is retiring after serving the organization for the past 17 years.

New year, new you

Turner said that when people think about getting into shape, the gym is the first thing they think of. Being physically active is important, but those looking to get fit don’t have to buy a gym membership, he said—we’re lucky enough to be living in Savannah.

“Even on the coldest day, it’s usually better than a lot of America,” Turner said. “So, we really do have to take advantage of that. I always say, it’s the small things like parking in the back of a grocery store parking lot and taking the extra time to walk, or walking with groups in your community.”

Healthy Savannah hosts a walking group every Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., featuring locations throughout Chatham County. He said they want to plant the seed in peoples’ minds that there are places accessible to them where they can walk. The organization’s website features an interactive map that lists every single location of the health walks, alongside other details, such as if it is ADA accessible, if there are sidewalks, parking lots and more.

“We also have to remember that it starts in the kitchen, with what we eat and what we put into our bodies,” Turner said. “We believe that there’s a ton of options that we have access to that are a lot healthier than what we usually eat. We just have to change the way we look at those foods and these products. There are healthy versions of those that we can be digesting instead.”

Like many other cities across America, especially in the South, Savannahians are faced with obstacles like high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease and so forth. Turner said that a lot of that goes back to what food we eat, and what we have access to, and those problems are even more potent in African American populations.

“These are issues that boil down to not just us not wanting to eat healthy or us not wanting to be physically active; it’s an equity issue,” Turner said. “Are communities built for us to walk and bike and be physically active, or have access to healthy fresh produce and fruit? In many such cases, it’s not.”

Healthy Savannah is continuously focusing on policy, systems, and environmental change to ease access. A big deal for the organization has been the involvement in the Tide to Town 30-mile walking trail to connect communities that lack sidewalks and have been underserved. The Savannah-Chatham Food Policy Council, part of Healthy Savannah, is working on identifying policies to ensure communities across the county have equitable access to affordable, nutritious, locally and sustainably grown food, starting the year with a focus on community gardens.

“Some organizations may look at addressing physical activity as working out, going to the gym, or addressing nutrition issues as providing free food,” Turner said. “Those things are needed, but what can we do on the other end of that to address some of the long-term issues that are facing the community? It’s really about looking at the long-term solutions to the health issues that we’re seeing.”

Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for the Savannah Morning News, covering the municipalities, and community and cultural programs. You can reach her at DAmbus@gannett.com