Health & Fitness Expo Educates Community

Silver Spring residents had the opportunity get a better handle on their health through more than 20 vendors, organizations, associations and activities at the 7th Annual Health & Fitness Expo held at City Place Mall.

Event organizer Yusef R. Battle, who is also the founder of The Fit Solution, was pleased with the Expo "It went very, very well. We definitely had more people than last year, and I heard nothing but good feedback. We were able to give attendees immediate feedback about their health, which I think is a great thing."

Booths lined the second floor of the mall offering expo attendees the chance to have everything from head to toe screened. The Prevention of Blindness Society was on hand to check for glaucoma through a peripheral vision exam. "These screenings can help prevent blindness. We're happy to reach out to the community, especially those without health insurance, to help them get free screenings," said worker Cara Archer. Silver Spring resident Floretta Brown who received a glaucoma screening remarked "I always like to go to this event. Even though I go to the doctor, I still like to get these screenings in between."

The Dental Galleria of Beautiful Smiles covered the spectrum of people, offering children tooth holders to safely keep lost teeth for the tooth fairy to information and product samples for seniors who suffer from dry mouth.

Lillian Wade of the The Black Nurses Association of Greater Washington DC, who were on hand to check blood pressure, said "We've been coming to this event for three or four years, and have done more than 70 screening in just a few hours!"

Other vendors included Moss Chiropractic Clinic (free spinal alignment check), Funfit (teaching kids the importance of exercise), Juice Plus (free samples) YMCA, Holy Cross Hospital, the American Dental Association, Professional Sports Care & Rehab and many others.

In front of the food court on the bottom floor of the Mall, an entertainment stage featured artists such as Faith Mona and Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music who got the crowd up and moving, as well as the introduction of The Fit Solution's The Fitness Challenge which offered interested attendees a "ten month road map to improved health," said Battle. "I think people were really impressed by our ability to give them feedback right then and there. I hope they come back next year to share their results with everyone," he continued.