TSU Leader Launches “Walk with the President” to Promote Healthy Living on Campus

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover is launching “Walk with the President,” starting Monday morning, March 2 in an effort to promote healthy habits and fitness on campus. The walk will take place each Monday around the track at Hale Stadium, beginning at 6 a.m.

She is calling on faculty, staff and students to join her in this initiative.

“This effort is geared toward us encouraging each other to live much healthier lives,” Dr. Glover said. “Earlier this year we started this effort in our campus cafeteria and dining services by offering more green and vegetable choices. ‘Walk with the President’ is just a continuation of that effort.”

The Director of the Wellness Center at TSU, Gerald Davis II, called “Walk with the President” a great idea that will give students, faculty and staff “another avenue” to engage in cardiovascular activities.

“This will help them to relieve stress and weight loss in maintaining good health,” he said.

Solving the issue of obesity and unhealthy dieting is a national challenge, and TSU, as an educational institution, has a major role is battling this epidemic, the president noted.

“The lack of regular forms of exercise is a major risk factor in developing illnesses and other forms of disease,” she said.

Studies support the President’s assertion. A recent National Institutes of Health study gives an overwhelming evidence that proves the notion that reductions in daily physical activity are primary causes of chronic diseases.

In Tennessee, the situation is even dire. The state now has the fourth highest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America, published in 2013. Tennessee’s adult obesity rate is 33.7 percent, up from 25.6 percent in 2004 and from 11.1 percent in 1990.

“We know ‘Walk with the President’ will not solve all of our problems, but it is a beginning and I am asking all of our faculty, staff, students and anyone else who is interested to join us in this worthy cause for healthy living,” Dr. Glover said.