The YMCA of Selma-Dallas County, paired with UAB Selma Family Medicine, recently announced that it is launching a new health and wellness initiative in January that is really going to make a big impact on our community.

Dallas County is plagued by diabetes, obesity and other health concerns, but the YMCA’s new program — inventively named Y Not — should put a dent into those statistics.

YMCA CEO Ann Murray said physicians around town have jumped on board and gotten excited about the program. Now it’s time for those in Dallas County to get excited. As the YMCA put it — Y Not?

The statistics are mind blowing.

Sixty-nine percent of Alabama’s population is overweight and 32 percent of the population is considered obese. At the rate it is progressing, one in three Americans will have diabetes in the next 20 years.

The problems the YMCA’s program will attempt to battle are issues that are continually getting worse all over America.

It’s not just here in Selma that people are battling obesity, diabetes or hypertension or the problems associated with them, but at least in Dallas County we now have a program willing to help those in that battle.

Those in the program will meet once a week with lifestyle coaches for 12 weeks to learn about nutrition, managing their weight and starting an exercise plan.

The University of Pittsburgh Diabetes Prevention Support Center developed the program originally, which found that losing 10-15 pounds and becoming moderately active for 150 minutes per week cut the risk of Type 2 Diabetes by over 50 percent.

We applaud those at the YMCA and UAB Selma Family Medicine for recognizing the need for a program like this in our community and rising to the occassion.

The program is free with a YMCA membership and some reduced rate assistance is available. We encourage anyone experiencing these health issues to call the YMCA at 874-9622 for more information about the program.