The Utah Department of Health has launched a "Check Your Health" program as part of an ongoing effort to prevent and control rising obesity rates. Check Your Health offers two multimedia programs designed to teach users to exercise and adopt healthier eating habits, a news release from the agency stated.

    Check Your Health partners ‒ UDOH, Intermountain Healthcare and 2News Fresh Air ‒   are combining popular "Workout on the Web" programs, healthy cooking ideas and the Internet to give Utahns tools to help them change their habits and get healthier.

    "These tools are so easy to use," said Jane Sims, project coordinator for Check Your Health. "They're designed for all skill levels and can be the perfect weapon for anyone who has ever thought about making a change in their eating habits or getting fit."

    The program focuses on two main components, being active and healthy eating.

    To help Utahns improve their activity levels, Check Your Health offers "Workouts on the Web," a series of  four-minute segments hosted by Brett Melff, physical activity specialist and ACSM-certified personal trainer from UDOH's Healthy Utah program. Melff will show viewers how to build strength and flexibility by using tried-and-true methods of body-weight resistance, exercise balls and bands, and traditional hand weights.

    "Getting moving is much more than just knowing what to do ‒ it's seeing it, trying it, and feeling success," said Melff. "Once you do that, it's so much easier to keep going and get feeling better."

    All of the workouts are available to watch online or via "podcast,"  allowing viewers to do  the exercises at home and get relevant tips and instructions to take to the gym. The programs are found on KUTV's website at www.kutv.com. Viewers who want a printout of the exercises, with pictures to show correct form and instructions from the trainer, can link to www.checkyourhealth.org to download and print a PDF document.

    To further support "Workouts on the Web," KUTV is featuring "Fitness Buddies" on its "Fresh Start to Fitness" program. Every Thursday beginning Jan. 17, a fitness coach from Intermountain Healthcare will train two "fitness buddies" during a segment on 2News This Morning. These segments will follow a format similar to Workouts on the Web and will be designed for almost all fitness levels.

    The second component of the campaign centers on good nutrition. Each Thursday on 2News at Noon, Chef Bryan Woolley features light, family-friendly recipes on his Fresh From the Kitchen cooking segments. Supporting this effort are several dietitians from  UDOH and Intermountain Healthcare.

    "Many Utahns are afraid to try something different in the kitchen," said Sims. "Chef  Bryan's recipes are all about helping people learn how to cook flavorful, family-friendly  meals with a healthy approach," she said.

    Each cooking segment, complete with healthy cooking tips from Chef Bryan, is available  to watch at www.kutv.com. Printer-friendly recipes with nutrition information and  shopping lists are available at www.checkyourhealth.org.

    Obesity is a growing epidemic facing millions of Americans. In Utah, more than half of  adults are overweight, with one in five being obese. One in four Utah children are at an unhealthy  weight.