A new physical fitness campaign to fight obesity is under way in Albany County.  

According to the New York State Department of Health, more than 30% of adults in Albany County have obesity, one point above the state average, with rates notably higher among Black residents at 36.8%.

State Assemblymember Pat Fahy, a Democrat from the 109^th district, is alarmed by the statistics.

 “Looking at the next generation, looking at the charts on where we’re heading with youth is actually a little scary, and the research is profound, profound in terms of the problem we are facing, and profound in terms of when you do have good fitness. It does, it solves a multitude of problems, not only the serious health consequences, but also mental health,” said Fahy.

Synergy 1 Fitness Club Owner Tinel McDermott has developed a new campaign to help locals adopt healthier diets and get fit. “A huge initiative. It’s going to be a fall back to fitness program in which the individual who sees the most results in over 30 days wins $1,000. That goes towards either their fitness or whatever it is they want to do. I mean, my goal in this is not to make money. My goal is to make sure that people understand that there is a call to action and we need change.”

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy says the new campaign aims to put residents on a diet, and he’s calling on minority communities to get involved.

 “Because not just the obesity, diabetes is huge in that community,” McCoy said. “People losing a foot, a hand, it starts with a foot, then or toe, then a foot, then a leg, you know, and you slowly just start losing stuff on your bodies, because the way we eat over years and before you know it, you’re like, how did this happen?”

Obesity is linked to increased risk for elevated cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Tony Gaddy is Co-Founder and President/CEO of the Upstate New York Black Chamber of Commerce says healthy businesses can foster healthier communities.

“It takes people to run that business, and if the people who run the business aren’t healthy, if their customers and clients aren’t healthy, then there’s no way our community can be healthy. So it’s important for us to be a part of opportunities like this, to celebrate black owned businesses, to engage in issues around the community such as health and wellness, and everybody has kind of shared some of their own personal journey around that,” Gaddy said. 

Two years ago McCoy began his own personal journey battling health issues he says stemmed from being overweight.

 “How’d I get this big? How did I, you know, how this all come apart? You know, I went to my doctor. I might talk, man, I’m on like, 20 medications. I feel like an 80-year-old man. And he goes, ‘Well, Dan, some people inherit wealth and some people inherit good genes. You got neither.’”

McCoy says conscientious diet and exercise helped him regain his health.

 “You go up 5 pounds, you go up 10 pounds, you’re up 30 pounds, you’re up 50. You stop moving as much. You’re not moving around. It gets us over time. Time’s a tricky thing, and you have to pay attention to that, and you have to do the right thing, to work out. And, you know, the data analytics and all this, showcases why we need places like this, why we need challenges like this, why we have to take a challenge in the county and say we need to go on a diet together,” said McCoy.

The Trust for America’s Health recently released a new report on American obesity rates, finding four in 10 American adults are obese, and 23 states have adult obesity rates at or above 35 percent. Ten years ago, no state was at that level. The numbers are also rising among children and often marginalized groups. The Trust’s president, Dr. Nadine Gracia spoke with WAMC.

“In order to really address those disparities, we need to also focus
specifically on those types of socioeconomic and structural barriers
that exist in communities to be able to assure that everyone has the
opportunity to have a healthy life and access healthy affordable foods and engage in physical activity,” Gracia said. 

McCoy hinted he’ll have a lot more to say about fitness after he presents the Albany County budget, due to be released around October 10th.