by Mark Turner , Morgan Hill Mayor

Mahatma Gandhi once said , “ It is health that is real wealth , not pieces of gold and silver .” Living longer , healthier , and more active lives is the goal of most everyone . It ’ s also the goal of the Healthy Morgan Hill initiative that I introduced at my State of the City address back in March of this year . — Mark Turner , Morgan Hill Mayor

• Hypertension

• Obesity

• Arthritis

• Mental Illness

• Diabetes

• Cardiovascular Disease

The journey toward the Healthy Morgan Hill initiative began shortly after I was elected in 2022 when I met with Nick Gaich , the President / CEO of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce . Nick introduced me to a program called Blue Zones . After doing some initial research , I believed we could implement a similar strategy in Morgan Hill that would provide a healthier way of life for our residents .

Across the United States , 6 in 10 adults report having one of the chronic diseases I just mentioned . 4 in 10 adults report having two or more .

Heart disease is the number 1 cause of death for men and women in the United States and residents in Santa Clara County are more vulnerable than 35 % of the counties in the U . S . for diabetes . On top of this , the obesity prevalence in the U . S . is at approximately 41 %. Obesity related conditions include :

• Heart disease

• Stroke

• Type II Diabetes

• And certain types of cancer

These are among the leading causes of preventable , premature deaths .

Over the last 12-15 months , I ’ ve had the good fortune of working with several additional community members , including Carolyn Wallace , and Dr . Ken Vereshagin , to develop this initiative . Since then , others have joined our team .

24 FALL 2024 gmhTODAY Magazine : Go . Make history ... gmhtoday . com