Local Fair Demonstrates Fitness as a Family Affair

As a mother, Orland Park resident Jamie Walsh is always looking for new ways to keep her family fit and healthy.

She naturally came to the Sportsplex Saturday morning.

The 10th annual “Fit for Life Family Health Fair”, sponsored by the Village of Orland Park, turned the Sportsplex—the village headquarters for health and fitness, into an interactive arena featuring many of the local area’s businesses and organizations working towards the same goal: keeping residents fit and healthy.

“I really wanted to come out and see what was new in our community in terms of health and healthcare,” Walsh said.

Over 150 attendees visited various booths to get glucose level screenings, weight loss information, spinal alignment tests and many other often-neglected checks.

Dr. Katie King, D.C., of Great Lakes Health and Wellness in Palos Heights, gave spinal screenings and stressed the importance of balancing the body’s energy using chiropractic and acupuncture techniques.

“Everyday chemical, emotional, and physical stresses have an effect on our nervous system and energy flow,” King said. “Our treatments can help people deal with these stresses properly and help their bodies cope with stress in a better way.”

Those with achy feet shuffled their way for a free foot structure scan and pressure point analysis courtesy of New Balance.

“Foot health is so important,” said Ryan McDonald, from the Orland Park store. “It affects your legs, your back—it really starts from the feet up. A proper shoe with the correct fit and support will benefit everyone in the long run.”

In addition to the scanning machine, New Balance showcased a variety of athletic footwear designed for all foot types—from high archers to super pronators.

Fun ways to attract children towards total health included jumping time on the Dino Jump inflatable, healthy snack samples from Wild Garden, musical entertainment from the House of Music, and a visit from Sparky, the Orland Fire Protection District mascot.

A new element to this year’s health fair was  iTECH Fitness’ XR-Board, a snowboarding video game which takes controllers out of kids’ hands, and places them under their feet.

“Your movements and cardiovascular activity control the characters on the screen,” said Tony Singh, an iTECH Fitness representative. “This format gets kids away from the traditional video game setting and become more active.”

Deborah Geghen, Orland Park Fitness Manager and one of the health fair organizers, was pleased with the success of the fair.

“We wanted to educate the entire family about the importance of complete health—from body to mind to fitness,” she said. “This is also a great opportunity to show children the benefits of staying healthy.”

The message certainly hit home for 10-year-old Alli Walsh.

“I’ve learned that when you eat healthy, you can do more things and it’s fun to be active.”