A free introductory session for the 2012 “Choose 8 to Lose Weight” program will be offered at Jasper and Dale locations on Thursday, February 16. The Jasper location will be at Memorial Southside Office, 1100 W. 12th Avenue, at 5:00 p.m. ET. The Dale location will be at Lincoln Heritage Public Library, 105 Wallace Street, at 6:00 p.m. CT. This introductory session will explain in detail the “Choose 8” program and commitment requirements for successful participation in the program.

“Choose 8 to Lose Weight” is an 8-month community wellness program offered by Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center that is designed to assist individuals in losing weight and becoming more fit through monthly nutrition and support groups, bi-monthly weigh-ins, an 8-week fitness program, and two 8-week eating and exercise tracking programs. At the conclusion of the program, the individual with the greatest percentage of weight loss will receive a bonus prize.

According to the National Stroke Association, approximately 795,000 Americans will experience a stroke this year. Strokes are the third-leading cause of death among Americans and the leading cause of serious, long-term adult disability.

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center offers stroke screenings as a service to heighten awareness of carotid artery disease and to help prevent its potentially devastating effects through lifestyle changes, medication, or in severe cases, carotid endarterectomy (surgical removal of plaque). The screenings are offered on a weekly basis at Memorial Hospital Cardiovascular Services at 440 Scott Rolen Drive, Jasper.

Almost 87 percent of strokes (or brain attacks) result when arteries are blocked by blood clots or by the gradual build-up of plaque and other fatty deposits. Frequently, the origin is plaque build-up in the carotid arteries of the neck.