A health fair to fight obesity is happening today from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Jackson Medical Mall. Sponsored by Community Outreach for Health Awareness, participants will have access to free blood pressure, blood glucose, blood cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) screenings, along with nutritional and fitness demonstrations. Black Entertainment Television (BET) will be filming at the fair for an upcoming documentary on obesity in Mississippi.

"Diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and heart disease are all risk factors for obesity" Dr. Samuel Okoye, president of COHA said in a release "Obesity is a life-threatening, yet curable disease. You need to know your numbers, eat right and exercise."

Mississippi consistently ranks the highest in the nation for obesity, with nearly one-third of all adults in the state obese. Childhood obesity, along with an increase of type II diabetes (once called adult-onset diabetes) in young people, is also rising, with rates tripling since 1980. Today, more than 44 percent of the states young people between ages 10 and 17 are obese.

For additional information, contact Robyn Breland at COHA. Call 601- 376-2413 or 601-376-2397 or email at [e-mail missing].