Gateway Community College is hosting April 17 a free Pathway to Healthier Living Fair, which will focus on the  importance of healthy living. Now in its third year, the fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in room N100 and on Gateway's Fairway.
 
According to the fair's co-chairs, Kimberly Sorrentino, Elaine Lickteig, Dean Tinari, Veronica Cardinale, and Susan DeBarge, events that highlight the importance of healthy living are critically important. Recent U.S. Department of Health & Human Services statistics show that every day less than 5 percent of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity and only one in three children are physically active. Even more discouraging, recent reports project that by 2030, approximately 115 million adults, or half of all adults, in the United States will be obese.

“Attendees will learn quick and easy tips for better social, physical, financial, intellectual, and environmental health and wellness,” the co-chairs said. "This interdisciplinary health fair is a way for our students to showcase their knowledge and skills and promote better wellness in the community.”
 
For the fair, GCC students in the Allied Health, Nursing, and Culinary Programs are working on projects related to five subgroups: environmental health, physical wellness, social/emotional health, financial wellness and intellectual, school, and career wellness. GCC student clubs (Student Nurses’ Association, Nutrition Club, Radiology Club, and Exercise Science Club), GCC centers (Wellness Center and Gender Equity Center), and outside community agencies (Rite Aid, Turnbridge, Webster Bank, American Heart Association) are also participating in the health fair.
 
The event includes taste testings, health screenings, giveaways, prize drawings (for which only GCC students are eligible) and more. Community members, faculty, staff, and students are all welcome to attend.