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In New Ads, Wilmington Doctors Urge Residents: Eat Your Vegetables!
Delaware Residents Are Invited to Kickstart Their Health at Free Plant-Based Nutrition Event on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
WILMINGTON—Nearly 90 percent of Wilmington, Del., residents fall short of consuming the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. That’s why local health experts are urging residents to up their veggie intake with a plant-based diet in ads featured in every bus in the city’s fleet this month.
Poor diet is now the nation’s leading cause of death, with studies finding that inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption contributes to more than 100,000 deaths per year. In Wilmington, more than 65 percent of people are overweight or obese, while nearly 15 percent of residents have been diagnosed with diabetes.
To encourage Wilmingtonians to eat their fruits and vegetables, the doctors are teaming up with the nonprofit Physicians Committee for a free plant-based health event. The Kickstart Your Health: Wilmington event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 21 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington. The event will include free health screenings, nutrition education presentations, cooking tips, and healthy food samples.
“Our goal is to give Delawareans the tools they need to follow a healthy lifestyle to prevent and reverse the underlying cause of many of our most costly diseases: poor nutrition,” says Wilmington physician David Donohue, MD. “As doctors, we want everyone to experience the benefits of treating their bodies like the billion-dollar machines that they are.”
More than 200 Wilmington residents will attend the event to hear about how a plant-based diet has been proven to help prevent, manage, and sometimes even reverse heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases—which now account for 7 in 10 deaths in the United States.
Kickstart Your Health: Wilmington will feature presentations on:
- Diabetes and Obesity with Neal Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
- Cancer Prevention with Jayshree Tailor, MD
- Heart Health with David Donohue, MD
- Meal Planning with Karen Smith, RD, CDE
- Nutrition Myths with Maggie Neola, RD
“More and more people are interested in harnessing the power of nutrition for good health. Kickstart Your Health: Wilmington is the perfect place to do that,” says Dr. Barnard. “We’re bringing together local doctors, dietitians, success stories, and other experts who will give Wilmington residents the tips and resources they need to support a healthy lifestyle.”
Throughout September and October in New Castle County, multiple Delaware organizations will also host events promoting a change to a healthy plant-based lifestyle. These events include:
- Progressive Health’s free 15-day Health Challenge Delaware, kicking off Oct. 5
- Free weekly Food for Life cooking and nutrition education classes, hosted by the Physicians Committee
- Wilmington’s Vegan Restaurant Week, kicking off Oct. 5
To sign up for Kickstart Your Health: Wilmington, please visit PCRM.org/Wilmington.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in education and research.
