Men's Health Fair a success

Winning numbers featured at KRHC men’s health fair

Figuring out your resting and active heart rate, learning how many daily servings of fruits and vegetables to eat and knowing your ideal cholesterol level were just a few of the winning numbers discussed at the Kossuth Regional Health Center men’s health fair on January 27.

The free health event at the KC Hall in Algona drew a crowd of 40 men from the area to hear featured speakers Jake Jacobusse, physical therapist at KRHC, Nancy Clark of ISU Extension and Dr. Burt Bottjen, family physician at KRHC. 

In his session, Dr. Bottjen offered many practical tips for healthy living related to numbers, such as getting eight hours of sleep, limiting alcoholic beverages to one or two drinks per day, and exercising for 30 minutes every day.  He urged the men in attendance to make good choices, especially in regards to healthy eating.

“I challenge you to eat seven different colors of food a day,” Bottjen said.  “That doesn’t count the bad food.  You can’t count M&Ms and you can’t count Starbursts.  Try to get at least seven different colors on your plate each day.  You’ll find that most of those colors are fruits and vegetables.”

In addition to the sessions, health fair attendees had the opportunity to visit with several vendors including KRHC’s Diabetic Educator, The Daily Bread Bakery, Hutzells, Jenson Chiropractic Center, Geving Chiropractic, Fresh Connections Co-op and Kossuth County Extension.  Alison Hill from the Daily Bread Bakery unveiled her new “His Bread” that features whole grains and pumpkin seeds for prostate health.

Kossuth Regional Health Center Community Health nurses provided free blood pressure checks, plus height, weight and Body Mass Index to all in attendance.  Seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines were also available.

Several door prizes were handed out throughout the evening including 20 free glucose/lipid wellness screenings from KRHC’s Walk In Wellness Lab, prizes from the table vendors and a grand prize from the Wild Rose Casino and Resort for a one night hotel stay and dinner gift certificate.