Hundreds visit Des Plaines health fair

The second event in the "Des Plaines Pounds Down" program drew lines of people to form Saturday, even before the doors opened.

Nearly 50 residents waited outside the Prairie Lakes Community Center in Des Plaines to take advantage of the free screenings offered at the Family Health Fair, before hundreds came through during the three-hour event.

"It's not so much about losing weight as it is about wellness and healthy living," said Des Plaines 5th Ward Alderman Carla Brookman, who launched the first event during the summer, with four successive walks around Lake Opeka led by a personal trainer.

This time, city and park district officials partnered with local medical officials to offer a mix of screenings and services.

Most people started with a bone density screening provided by the Holy Family Medical Center, before finding out about their cholesterol and blood glucose levels with a quick finger prick, as well as their body mass index, all performed by officials from Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

"It's been a couple of years since I've had my bone density and cholesterol checked," said Elaine Kalcsics of Des Plaines, as she waited in line. "It's free, so I thought, 'Why not?'"

Alberta Casey of Des Plaines agreed, though she sought out the hearing and vision tests first, provided by the Des Plaines Health and Human Services department.

"You don't normally go out of your way to have your hearing tested," Casey said. "Since it's here, I figured I'd take advantage of it."

Once patrons made it through the screenings, they stopped by the test kitchen, to hear from nutritionists how to use more fruit and vegetables in their cooking, and to sample some of their healthy recipes.

They watched as Lutheran General nutritionist Sarah Swiderski used garbanzo beans to make hummus, and then sampled some using the vegetable jickama as dippers. Later, residents watched culinary coach Anita Brown make pan-grilled vegetables over brown rice, before sampling fruit smoothies as dessert.

So far, Des Plaines officials say 300 residents are card carrying members of the Pounds Down program, where they track their own weight, blood pressure and cholesterol at regular screenings, but they'd like to sign up more.

"This whole program promotes healthy living for the entire family, which in turn promotes a healthy outlook on life, said Shelli Sarg, of the Des Plaines Park District.