Churches get fired up for fitness

CLEVELAND (AP) — For Deborah Taylor, keeping her body fit and eating well is a way of honoring her Lord.

So when the financial assistant for University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center heard of the hospital’s Body & Soul program for black churches to help their congregations get healthier, she took action.

Soon, Faith Temple Church of God, in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood, launched a healthful- eating initiative and began hosting weekly workout sessions.

“You have so many people in the church who are walking around with diabetes and high blood pressure — many are obese,” Taylor said.

Across Cleveland, more than 60 black churches have started the program in an effort to combat the higher risk of developing cancer that black people have.

The program, promoted by University Hospitals and supported with $200 grants to individual churches from the American Cancer Society, is based on research findings that eating healthfully and other wellness initiatives drive down the risk of cancer, says Allison Payten, cancer-program coordinator for Ireland Cancer Center’s community outreach department.

National Cancer Institute-funded research, which followed 15 churches nationwide, found more than a decade ago that church members significantly increased their fruit and vegetable consumption through congregational and pastoral support. A cornerstone of the national program is to encourage people to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

High fruit and vegetable consumption decreases the risk for cancer and a host of other ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke — all of which the black population is at higher risk of experiencing, according to the study.

In Cleveland, the program is changing lives. LaVita Hatten lost 70 pounds when her church, Freedom Christian Assembly, began a “Biggest Loser” contest. She still makes frequent stops at McDonald’s but orders the grilled chicken sandwich and a salad instead of a hamburger and fries.

Pastor Milton Bradford at Good Hope Baptist Church lost 20 pounds — even though he says he occasionally sneaks fried chicken for lunch.

And Sylvia Benford rarely misses her weekly aerobics class organized by Faith Temple Church of God. Now, she doesn’t get winded walking up stairs.

Their stories are just a sampling of changes happening across the city, Payten said. “Each church is unique.”

The program “empowers members to take charge of their health,” she said.

Good Hope Baptist Church, on Central Avenue in Cleveland, began the Body & Soul program in July. Church members hosted a kickoff where they learned about exercise and how to prepare healthful foods.

Previously, church gatherings meant everyone bringing their specialties, such as fried chicken, potato salad, greens and ham hocks and macaroni and cheese.

“We always had salad, but most of our meals would be heavy,” said Bertha Fuqua, church member and Bible study host.

Fuqua, who had attended one of UH’s Body & Soul training sessions and organized the church Body & Soul kickoff, enlisted folks to bring lower-fat alternatives to social gatherings. A personal favorite, she said, is beans flavored with onions and peppers instead of fatback.

“The number of people at our church with diabetes and the number of people who are cancer survivors and the number of children at our church who are overweight, I came out [of the training session] totally convinced and wanted to move forward,” Fuqua said.

Good Hope’s Pastor Bradford — the one who lost 20 pounds — began including advice and encouragement in his weekly sermons, giving the congregation witty one-liners to live by such as, “We’re not digging our graves with our teeth.”

“We’ve got to avoid that,” Bradford said. “It doesn’t matter how much you are in your faith if you can’t breathe.”

The church’s weekly bulletin includes a health tip or a low-fat recipe. Last summer, members brought in extra vegetables from their gardens to share, and now the church is planning its own “Biggest Loser” contest.

Bradford said he sees a change in the congregation. Members talk about what they’re eating, and some have even mentioned they have bought juicers.

At Freedom Christian Assembly in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood, registered nurse and church health ambassador Simone Ray recalls frequently talking to people about their health before starting the Body & Soul program.

“They would want prayer, but prayer would not work,” she said. “You have to do something physical to get something.”

The program, which started at Freedom Christian in 2007, includes getting together for weekly walks and promoting healthful eating. When the church held its “Biggest Loser” contest, more than 20 people signed up, and the winner, Hatten, won $500.

To win, Hatten not only changed what she ordered at McDonald’s but began going to the gym twice a day and talking to fitness trainers. She cut back on carbonated drinks and reduced portion sizes, too.

Soon, the 318-pound Hatten was pinning up her clothes to keep them on. She could see her ankles for the first time in years.

Now, at 247 pounds, Hatten rarely misses a workout and says she’s still losing weight.

Working with the church, Hatten said, has made a difference.

“It sparked a fire in me,” she said.