May 6, 2005

Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, Michigan Surgeon General, encourages families and mothers to honor themselves this holiday by leading healthy lifestyles.

“Mother’s Day is an excellent opportunity for the entire family to express their love and appreciation for one another in a way that’s good for everyone,” Wisdom said. “Treat Mom to a healthy breakfast, an afternoon walk, or a big thank you and hug for all the multiple ways she demonstrates her love and care.”

The Michigan Steps Up Healthy Living Program is a great start because it has one simple three-part message: Move More, Eat Better, and Don’t Smoke.

“As a mother and a child I feel that ensuring the health and safety of our loved ones is the greatest gift of all,” Wisdom said. “This Mother’s Day, give Mom the gift of health and make a change for the future.”

The Michigan Steps Up website contains all of the tools needed to start improving personal health, including: personal planning tips that help individuals set and track goals, free healthy recipes and snack ideas, ideas for making healthy choices when eating out, daily health tips and links to hundreds of health-related resources.

Mothers who give up smoking set the gold standard for positive behavior, and improve the likelihood that their children will grow-up to be tobacco-free, thus leading longer and healthier lives. F

or help in quitting smoking call the Michigan Department of Community Health’s Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-480-7848 to register for a free quit kit.

Additional information on healthy lifestyles can be found at the Michigan Steps Up website at www.michiganstepsup.org or www.michigan.gov/mdch.