[music playing]
[Maggie Thompson] San Antonio has looked at the health
statistics of the city, and we have an enormous
diabetes and obseity rate.
About 65 percent of our population is considered either
overweight or obese.
[Louis Lopez] The growing obesity rate is not just in the
underserved areas, it's throughout all of San Antonio.
[Kathy Shields] Our diabetes and obesity rates are very high.
With diabetes, we have rates that are twice
the national average.
[Julian Castro] There's no issue that's more important than
the communities health.
Folks who are obese, they're more likely to have diabetes,
hypertension, stroke, or other afflictions.
We have folks in our schools who are not learning to their
capacity, because they're undernourished,
or not nourished properly.
[Kathy Shields] This community needs easy access
to healthy choices.
We work on changing the environment so that people do
have physical access to healthier opportunities.
[Julian Castro] Whatever we can do as a community to establish
good eating habits and good fitness habits when folks are
very young, and avoid diabetes, avoid obsiety, all the better.
[Louis Lopez] There's always a concern with the underserved
areas throughout our community.
We wanted this to be something that was open
to all of our communities.
[Julia Dana] The exciting thing is we can really make
a difference is the community.
We just recently implemented a bike share program
in San Antonio.
It's called San Antonio B-cycle.
It's designed for you to go pick up a bike, check it out.
Take it to wherever your destination is, and then dock it
at the destination.
It's both healthy for people, and it's healthy
for our environment too.
[Julian Castro] We've partnered with the restaurant association,
and many different restaurants in town on what's called the por
vida [phonetic sp], or for life campaign, make it easier for
folks to choose to eat in a healthy way.
[Kathy Shields] We work with restaurants and registered
dietitians, and we help them identify healthy menu items.
We just started with one or two interested restaurants,
and we grew from there.
[Tom Allen] As a company, I believe we have a responsibility
not only in the San Antonio market, but in all markets to
give the healthier choice options to all people, and
specifically the young children.
[Maggie Thompson] We're working with the parks department to put
in outdoor fitness equipment, and we have these free fitness
in the parks classes.
[Louis Lopez] At every location that we have, you're going to
find a free exercise class once a week.
[Sandy Jenkins] They partnered with the CDC in order to install
fitness stations in 14 parks in San Antonio.
[Maggie Thompson] We found out that if you make one little step
at a time, that adds up.
[Sandy Jenkins] Just run out and play, go kick a ball,
throw some Frisbee.
[Teri O'Bryant] Kids don't even know they are exercising.
You're out there just having fun, and exercising all
parts of their bodies.
Kids go home and tell their parent there's something
happening at school, and it's a lot of fun.
Would you please come?
They come.
[Maggie Thompson] The community is really really embraced our
fitness in the park opportunity.
[Sandy Jenkins] We hear from mothers, we hear from grandpas,
we hear from children, we hear from every part of the community
saying how much they love these fitness stations.
[Julia Dana] The response to bikeshare in San Antonio
has been phenomenal.
It's exceeded our expectations.
[Louis Lopez] I get to wake up every morning and say this is
going to be fun.
I get to go home everyday, and feel proud of what
I was able to do.
[Julian Castro] It's not just about creating the
infrastructure in place, it's about people actually making
those healthy choices.
