Press Release

Contact: Susan Preston
(973) 972-7265
prestosj@umdnj.edu

UMDNJ and Kean University Sponsor Heart Healthy Event on Feb. 12

(2/7/06)—The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and Kean University will celebrate the Winter Olympics and February as Heart Health Month with an afternoon of sports competition for youngsters and healthy heart lectures for adults on Sunday, Feb. 12, from 1 to 4 p.m., in the Harwood Arena on Kean’s campus in Union.

Youngsters will have an opportunity to compete in a home run derby, basketball drills, relay races, martial arts and games. All participants must register. To register click here.

While the children play, adults will have the opportunity to listen to a series of lectures by five UMDNJ faculty members. Kicking off the lecture will be Jeffrey Levine, M.D., a family medicine physician at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who will offer weight-loss advice based on his personal experience as a contestant on last fall's edition of NBC-TV's The Biggest Loser.

Also from UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Andrea Berez, R.D., M.S., a pediatric nutritionist, will discuss key nutrients for heart health, and Gianine Rosenblum, PhD., a psychologist, will talk about teen and pre-teen concerns about body image. From UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Norman Lasser, M.D., a cardiologist, will discuss cholesterol, and Marc Klapholz, M.D., a cardiologist a, will discuss obesity and the heart.

This event is one of several components of a partnership between the two institutions to raise awareness of obesity as a serious public health issue in children, adults and senior citizens.