Published: November 29, 2007 11:40 pm      

Cheri Daniels gives health pep talk

First lady in Kokomo for women’s business luncheon

Indiana first lady Cheri Daniels has taken her Heart to Heart program through college campuses across the state in recent years, urging women to talk to each other about the particular health risks women face, and Thursday, that message came to Kokomo.

Stress, Daniels said, comes in many unexpected forms, and coping with that stress can be the key to living a healthy, long life.

“I don’t know, maybe your husband will go into politics,” she said, drawing a laugh from more than 100 women at the Indiana Small Business Development Center Women’s Luncheon.

“Or maybe he’ll give you a dog as a present — that can increase your stress risk,” she added, referring of course to a special present from Gov. Mitch Daniels. “I can’t tell you how many pairs of shoes I have that are no longer a pair.”

Heart disease, Cheri Daniels said, is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in Indiana, and getting more women to “lead by example” is the key focus of her message.

“Give yourself the gift of life, and help me go out into the state and make it a heart-healthy state,” she said.

Exercise, smoking cessation, eating in moderation and understanding the special signals of heart problems women experience are all part of Daniels’ message.

But so is the simple idea that often women simply spend more time taking care of others than they do themselves.

“You take your child every year for a physical, but do you go every year to get a physical?” she said. “We need to know about our health.”

“As women, we’re a very unique group. First of all, we’re highly intelligent,” she quipped.

“But we wear so many hats. We’re always trying to take care of others before we take care of ourselves, because we’re nurturing by nature.”

Much of her focus has centered on younger women, she said, because making lifestyle changes is much easier when you’re in your twenties.

But every woman, she added, needs to know “the numbers” — particularly their total cholesterol, HDL (“good”) cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol numbers, as well as their blood pressure. All of those numbers, she said, need to be checked annually.

And directly speaking to the baby boomers in the group, Daniels said it’s no surprise “everyone’s searching for the fountain of youth.”

“Exercise is the fountain of youth,” she said. “If you want to stay younger, you need to have movement in your life — even 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon.”

“And ask people to spread the word. Take a pledge to have a heart-to-heart talk about health with someone you love.”

Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com