BY JOHN HOPKINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Nearly 3,300 black Ohioans go to their graves each year due to heart disease -- by far the leading cause of death for blacks.
Heart disease kills more people -- blacks and whites -- in Ohio and throughout the country than anything else, according to the American Heart Association.
These are some reasons why members from at least 50 Greater Cincinnati churches are expected to take part in a "Heart Beat" fitness walk Sunday after morning services.
The event -- perhaps the first large-scale, church-based walk of its kind here -- will add new meaning to the hymn "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In." Heart Beat, a project that promotes nutrition and exercise, targets black churches.
"Heart Beat is designed to encourage church members to be proactive about their physical well-being," said Candace Alexander, programs and advocacy director of the Cincinnati chapter of the American Heart Association.
The 3.1-mile fitness walk will start at 4 p.m. in Eden Park. Participants will receive low-fat cooking tips, walking and exercise tips and a variety of health information.
Afterward, a concert will feature Miss Ohio, Cheya Watkins, and the Medasi African Dance Theatre. The event weaves African drums and dance with spirituals and gospel music.
The Cincinnati Health Department will offer free blood-pressure checks during the concert.
Heart Beat is a partnership of two groups: the American Heart Association's Search Your Heart program and the Nutrition Council's Building A Healthy Temple program. Dan Pinger Public Relations funded the event.
Becoming a priority
The church-based walking program is a trend in the black community toward making health care a priority.
Lena Johnson, a member of Peace Baptist Church in Avondale, lost her husband to a heart condition last year. His health problems forced the family to change its eating habits.
Ms. Johnson will participate in Sunday's fitness walk. She often walks for exercise with a small church group.
"The church hasn't always been involved in fitness," the Roselawn woman said. "I guess we've been doing it for three years. It was a way to teach black folks to change their eating habits.
"It has really made a lot of people aware of what they're eating. And it wasn't hard because there are a lot of people at church changing their eating habits, getting rid of all that fat and grease in their diets."
In churches throughout the community, campaigns are being launched to improve the health of blacks.
- West End: St. Joseph Church on Ezzard Charles Drive has a free exercise program twice a week in its basement.
- Avondale: Peace Baptist Church on Rockdale Avenue has a small walking group and plans to restart an exercise class once a week. Southern Baptist Church on Reading Road experimented with a low-fat potluck. New Friendship Baptist Church on Reading Road plans to place health-aware information in the church bulletin once a month.
- Corryville: The First Church of God on Fosdick Street plans to use a bulletin board to increase awareness about diet and exercise.
- Walnut Hills: Christ Emmanuel offers classes and information on nutrition and other health awareness issues.
- Downtown: Union Baptist Church on Seventh Street has a Health and Wellness Ministry that gives nutritional and fitness information.
"It's going to be very small things like that . . . but let's keep being persistent," said Lauren Niemes, executive director of the Nutrition Council.
Fifty-five percent of all diagnosed cases of cardiovascular disease are related to lifestyle choices. According to the American Heart Association's 1998 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update, cardiovascular disease is responsible for 32.4 percent of all deaths among black men and 41.6 percent among black women.
The NAACP placed critical health issues such as heart disease on the top of its national agenda this year.
Many conventional methods of getting the health-care message out to the black community have not worked well. Part of the problem has been lifestyles over many decades.
"I think part of it is that traditional foods and diets are high in fat," said Ms. Niemes. "It's very hard to re-train taste buds. And part of it is an awareness type of thing, where there's a feeling that their health is really out of their control."
