Coalition kicks off anti-obesity effort in DuPage

An audible gasp went through the crowd when Jerry Hayes held up a now-famous pair of his old pants.

Hayes, a Wheaton resident, brought out the pants to show how much weight he's lost since appearing with his wife, Estella, on NBC's "The Biggest Loser" last year.

The pants were a size 62. Hayes now wears a size 36.

"I see these pants and I think: 'What the heck was I doing?'" Hayes said. "I was heading for death or disability really quick."

The Hayeses appeared Saturday at the Whole Foods store in Wheaton to promote FORWARD, a new initiative designed to stop obesity throughout DuPage County. The kickoff event at Whole Foods included healthy eating tips, karate demonstrations and a boot camp run by the Wheaton Park District.

FORWARD, which stands for Fighting Obesity Reaching health Weight Among Residents of DuPage, is being led by a coalition of schools, governments, health care providers, social-service groups and private businesses.

Together, these groups will try to raise awareness about obesity in DuPage, promote healthy lifestyle choices and lobby for policy changes that give everyone in the county, including lower-income residents, access to nutritious food and options for physical activity.

"Our goal is to help this become the healthiest county in the nation," said Ann Marchetti, director of FORWARD.

Marchetti said the obesity problem in DuPage roughly matches what's happening nationwide, where 33 percent of children and 65 percent of adults are considered either overweight or obese.

Before 2009, Jerry and Estella Hayes were among those obese adults. Jerry weighed 369 pounds when he started on "The Biggest Loser," a reality show in which overweight contestant compete to see who can shed the most pounds. Estella weighed 242 pounds at the start of the show.

The couple, both in their early 60s, lost a combined total of 260 pounds; Jerry won $100,000 for his weight-loss achievement.

"If we can do it, anyone can," Estella Hayes said.

In addition to the Hayeses, FORWARD is recruiting 15 to 20 young people from DuPage to spread the word about healthy living as "student health champions."

Anthony Rocco, a 17-year-old student at Wheaton North High School, is one of the first to be chosen.

"People my age are aware of the (obesity) problem, even though it doesn't comes up much in casual conversation," said Rocco, who plays football and runs track at Wheaton North. "I enjoy being active, and I thought this would be a good way for me to talk to others about that."

To learn more about FORWARD, go to forwarddupage.org. The Web site includes an application for any young person interested in becoming a student health champion.