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DR. OZ

FROM

THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW

KICKED OFF

HEALTHCORPS' WALK FOR FITNESS

TO FIGHT CHILD OBESITY


Dr. Mehmet Oz led his HealthCorps staff near the start of their Walk for Fitness on Saturday, September 8, to highlight the cardiac surgeon and best-selling author's strong recommendation that every American walk at least a half hour or 10,000 steps a day.

Equipped with pedometers to monitor progress, a team of twenty health coordinators, students from HealthCorps-affiliated schools, and friends walked the length of Broadway from 225th Street to Battery Park, to bring awareness to New York City communities that young students should develop healthy fitness habits that will endure through life.

- Timeline -


Click on photographs to see a larger version.
Coordinator Dorothy Shum leads two Lower East Side Preparatory High School students across the Broadway Bridge into Manhattan as the walk began at 225th Street.

Approximate Time: 9:00AM
Approximate Distance: 0
Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks with HealthCorps Volunteer Karen Kim

Approximate Time: 10:00AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Mehmet Oz speaks with Coordinators Samata Kamireddy, Natalie Levine, Jessica Leinwand, Tamara Bockow, Lauren Abramowitz, and Rebecca Rinehart.

Approximate Time: 10:00AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Dr. Oz rallied HealthCorps coordinators from the steps of the Milstein Building at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where the prominent surgeon works and first conceived HealthCorps. "I was seeing too many younger patients in need of surgery for blocked arteries," said Dr. Oz. "Through HealthCorps, we reach students at an early age with healthier lifestyle options."

Approximate Time: 10:00AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
HealthCorps coordinators concur that the program is motivating students. According to Jennifer Paulino, a second year health coordinator at High School for Health Careers and Sciences in Manhattan, "My students are definitely reading food labels. Last year about forty students consistently attended HealthCorps seminars during lunch periods. This year I'll be going into classrooms to teach the curriculum."

Approximate Time: 10:00AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Danny Cruz returned to Fordham High School for the Arts in the Bronx, where he will conduct HealthCorps seminars during physical education classes. The aspiring surgeon and hospital administrator reported, "Last year students had a lot of fun observing real body organs during biology sessions. Now they even watch what I eat and give me a hard time if I slip up."

Approximate Time: 10:15AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Comprised of thirty-six health coordinators and growing, HealthCorps educates high school students on maintaining a healthy lifestyle through in/after school seminars on diet, nutrition and exercise. HealthCorps empowers young Americans to become educated consumers and to develop positive behavioral shifts that can be measured by changes in rates of obesity and physical fitness and that enhance self esteem and mental resilience.

Approximate Time: 10:15AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Dr. Oz confers with Coordinator Tamara Bockow

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Dr. Oz speaks with HealthCorps Coordinator Judith Shatzky.

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Dr. Oz speaks with Lower East Side Prepatory High School students participating in the HealthCorps walk for fitness.

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Dr. Mehmet Oz, joined by HealthCorps Executive Director Michelle Bouchard, leads the walk for fitness after a rally at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
HealthCorps Director of Administration Stephen M. Evans III participates in the walk in a photograph by Dr. Oz.

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
"By walking, we're showing that something you do every day is beneficial. You don't have to be an athlete. Healthy choices start with little changes," said Rob Roberts, HealthCorps' director of education.

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Coordinators, including Judith Shatzky, Ashley Congjuico, and Rebecca Rinehart, walk for fitness.

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Dr. Oz photographs Judith Shatzky, Samata Kamireddy, Jennifer Paulino, Lea Bornstein, and other Coordinators.

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Coordinators, including Ben Spoer and Rebecca Rinehart, walk past Dr. Oz.

Approximate Time: 10:30AM
Approximate Distance: 8,624 steps
Lea Bornstein and Rob Roberts lead the walk past Columbia University.

Approximate Time: 11:40AM
Approximate Distance: 16,280 steps
Xiomara Otero, Samata Kamireddy, Shanequa Highsmith, and Hillary Spencer walk past Lincoln Center

Approximate Time: 12:30PM
Approximate Distance: 23,877 steps
HealthCorps Executive Director Michelle Bouchard pushes her daughter Liberty as Coordinators pass the Ed Sullivan Theatre.

Approximate Time: 1:25PM
Approximate Distance: 27,000 steps
Coordinators Judith Shatzky, Lauren Abramowitz, and Kathleen Lopez-Kim lead the walk past ABC television's Good Morning America studios in Times Square.

Approximate Time: 1:45PM
Approximate Distance: 27,632 steps
With gratitude for $1.9 million in city funding this year, the walk for fitness stopped for a picture at New York City Hall.

Approximate Time: 4:00PM
Approximate Distance: 37,048 steps
The walk for fitness crosses Wall St.

Approximate Time: 4:10PM
Approximate Distance: 38,026 steps
HealthCorps Coordinators, staff, and students, pose at Bowling Green.

Approximate Time: 4:20PM
Approximate Distance: 39,004 steps
HealthCorps Coordinators, staff, and students celebrate their arrival at Battery Park.

Approximate Time: 4:30PM
Approximate Distance: 39,453 steps
Lauren Abramowitz displays her pedometer and an impressive 40,279 steps down Broadway.

Approximate Time: 4:30PM
Exact Distance: 40,279 steps

Founded by cardiac surgeon and author Dr. Mehmet Oz, HealthCorps educates high school students on maintaining a healthy lifestyle through in/after school seminars on diet, nutrition and exercise. HealthCorps empowers young Americans to become educated consumers and to develop positive behavioral shifts that can be measured by changes in rates of obesity and physical fitness and that enhance self esteem and mental resilience.