Dupage Policy Journal

The Mayor of West Chicago, Ruben Pineda, recently launched an initiative to promote health and sustainability in the community.

Pineda has urged the community to join Team Pineda, which is a group that takes walks during the weekends through the fall season. Each Saturday and Sunday the group takes three-mile walks while weather permits. The group is not solely focused on the pounds lost by participants and it does not record this. Pineda states that the primary goal of the group is to promote overall fitness.

“Our goal is to make West Chicago a healthier community, and we all know the role that regular exercise plays in overall health,” Pineda said. “Walking is an activity most everyone can do and which often triggers some pretty amazing benefits including lowering stress levels and increasing cardiovascular health, just to name a few.”

The National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention reports that a walk of approximately 30-minutes is sufficient to be able to reduce the risks of heart disease by approximately 40 percent.

Pineda has also been invited to speak at a symposium that will feature a national forum of mayors that are taking part of the Move with the Mayor Challenge program. Cities represented at this symposium includes Green Bay, Wisconsin, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Columbia, South Carolina, and Lorain, Ohio.