Shaping Up: Program helps residents be more healthy

HARLINGEN — In a region where one in three people are obese, Maria Ledezma says the city’s free health program has helped her lose weight and ease arthritis pain.

In the area, 31 percent of residents over 18 suffer diabetes — and half of them go untreated.

Now in its sixth year, the program Tu Salud Si Cuenta, or Your Health Matters, has helped hundreds of area residents such as Ledezma better their medical conditions to lead healthier lives.

“My goal is to adopt a new lifestyle and that’s something I work on every day,” said Ledezma, 68, who lost about 25 pounds in about six months.

For six years, the University of Texas Health Science Center has helped residents in Harlingen and seven area cities hold health classes to help residents lose weight and lower their blood pressure.

“Our region has a burden of disease much higher than other areas of this nation and state,” Dr. Belinda Reininger, who helps oversee the program, told city commissioners as she released information on the program’s results last week.

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