What This Law Means

This law means New Yorkers cannot face discrimination because of their weight. For example, an employer cannot refuse to hire someone because they are overweight, and a landlord cannot refuse to rent someone an apartment because they have obesity. This law also means that New Yorkers cannot be denied access to public places, such as restaurants, stores, and parks, because of their weight. These efforts follow an increase in obesity over the past few decades. In the whole of New York state, adults who are overweight or have obesity increased from 42% in 1997 to 63.6% in 2021. More people are facing unjust discrimination and exclusion due to their appearance, further perpetuating social injustice and the public health crisis.

The Impact of Weight Discrimination

Weight discrimination harms people’s lives, including their physical and mental health, their employment opportunities, and their housing options. It also extends beyond issues of weight; weight bias is intertwined with racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination. Many victims of weight discrimination are women; a 10% increase in a woman’s body mass decreased her income by 6%. Women of color—who already earn less than their white and male peers—struggle even more when weight is brought into the picture. People with different body types have historically been denied access to job opportunities and equal wages, and there are no legal protections that can counter these situations. This law provides a legal recourse for people with obesity who have faced unfair discrimination. This helps address other social justice issues linked to weight, cultivating a more tolerant and accepting society overall.

The Shift in Weight Culture

The passing of this law comes at a time when discussions around weight and obesity have shifted. For years, obesity was seen as the fault of the person and their lifestyle choices, rather than a complex condition that can be caused by various factors beyond a person’s control. Unlike skin color, weight was viewed as something under a person’s control, which is why there was a lack of protection against bias and prejudice.

Today, the discourse surrounding obesity is becoming more nuanced. Obesity management methods have shifted from encouraging weight loss or providing tips and tricks for quick results. Now, people can join a healthy weight loss program and receive tailored guidance with science-backed methods that focus on simple nutrition, factors over fads, building and maintaining healthy habits, and doctor-led access to prescription medication. Managing obesity without focusing on numbers and calories helps make weight loss sustainable and realistic, and it considers more complex factors of weight, such as biology, sleep, stress, and more. Social aspects of weight are also being brought to light. Issues like food insecurity that plague low-income neigborhoods in New York lack sources of accessible products of protein, whole grains, produce, and dairy. These areas are mainly populated with marginalized communities, further exacerbating inequalities.

Weight discrimination impacts various social and health aspects in New York City. This new law barring this prejudice can make a positive change in the way people with overweight or obesity are treated regarding housing, work, public spaces, and society overall.

The post New York City Passes Ban On Weight Discrimination – What Does That Mean? appeared first on NY UNDRESSED.

“We are so excited to be able to gather again in person for this event that raises mental health awareness and critical funds for depression research,” said HDRF Founder and Chair Audrey Gruss, a Southampton resident.  “Humans are wired to need warm social interaction.  The isolation of the pandemic has taken a large toll on the nation’s mental health.”

Gruss noted surveys showing that over one third of Americans are struggling with depression and anxiety in the wake of the pandemic.  She said: “As a society we are just beginning to identify the impact of the past 16 months.  Understanding and developing treatments for these mental disorders is therefore critically important, and that is what this Race makes possible.”

Gruss is a Co-Grand Marshal of the Race along with East Hampton resident Arthur Dunnam.  They will lead participants on a beautiful 5K (3.1 mile) loop around Lake Agawam in Southampton Village.  The Race is open to all ages and speeds and walkers are welcome.  The event has grown quickly over the years, with 750 participants in 2019.  This year, organizers expect hundreds of participants, up to a maximum allowance of 500, per New York State guidelines.  The Race of Hope has raised over $1 million for research since its inception in 2016.

It is important to note that the Race this year will still offer a virtual component for the thousands of racers who have embraced the cause and want to participate but live far away.  They will still have the option to sign up and complete the distance in their own hometowns.  These racers will also have a chance to share their stories and cheer each other through a special interactive live program broadcast by HDRF over social media on the morning of the actual Race. 

In-Person Registration Information:  

·       Go online to www.raceofhopeseries.com and register for a fee of $35 July 12 (the price increases to $40 after this date).

·       Each participant will receive an ultra-lightweight vest, hat, race shirt, mask and finisher medal.  (While supplies last.  Gear is distributed on a first come first served basis)

·       Meeting Point: The Cultural Center, 25 Pond Lane, Southampton, NY

·       Date: Sunday, August 8^, 2021

·       Time: Check-in begins at 7:15am and the Race of Hope begins at 8:30am SHARP.

Virtual Registration Information:

·       Go online to www.raceofhopeseries.com and pre register for a fee of $35 July 12 (the price increases to $40 after this date).

●      Participants choose their own trail and receive special Race gear in the mail (while supplies last).  They can walk or run the distance on their own time and in their own hometowns.

●      The special live broadcast made especially for their virtual racers will begin on Sunday, August 8, 2021 at 8 AM.   The broadcast will be hosted by HDRF’s Race Director and Executive Director.  They will welcome viewers, show messages of hope from participants across the country, and then blow the starting gun at 8:30 am ET.   Any racers who want to complete their courses at the exact same time as the actual race in Southampton can do so with the live broadcast!

5K Race of Hope Committee

Lisa M. Aery,  Kelly Ashton & Carlo B Sant Albano, William Secord & Bruce Bierman, Jill Blanchard, Serena Bowman, Janna Bullock, Lili Cavendish, Julie & Mike Connors, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Roy Cohen & Arthur Dunnam, Lisa & Sandy Ehrenkranz, Bambi & Roger Felberbaum, Ambassador David and Jennifer Fischer, Frances Fisher, Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Ford, Mary Ann Fribourg, Judith S. Giuliani, Barbara & Alan Glatt, Mrs. Darcy Gould, Jamee & Peter Gregory, Mrs. John (Susan) Gutfreund, Mayme & Montague Hackett Jr., Candy  Hamm, Mai Hallingby Harrison, Kim Heirston, Tania & Brian Higgins, Elizabeth & Edgar Howard, Mario Nievera & Travis Howe, Nicki Harris & J. Ira, Benigna Kirsten, Kontes Family, Judy & Leonard Lauder, Karin Luter, Mr. & Mrs. Richard Mack, Ann & Cameron MacRae, Isabella & J. Paul Meyer, Susan & Joe Meyer, Muffy & Donald Miller, Mary P. Moran, Lucia N. Musso, Anne S. Nordeman, Jane & Richard Novick, Francesca Stanfill Nye, Pamela Pantzer, Jenny & John Paulson, Robin Pickett, Kathy Prounis, Michael Donnell & Thomas C.  Quick, Hilary Geary Ross, Frances G. Scaife, Scott Snyder, Ginny & David Sydorick, Susan Warner, Lynne Wheat, Victoria Wyman, Clelia & Tom Zacharias, Richard Ziegelasch, Silvia Zoullas

5K Race of Hope Sponsors

Impala Asset Management, Jacob Antilety Landscaping, Livingston Builders, Sant Ambroeus, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, Wirebox

What is HDRF, and a quick overview of their work/achievements in the past decade:

•              HDRF is the leading non-profit dedicated solely to advanced depression research.

•              Audrey Gruss founded the organization in 2006 in memory of her mother, Hope, who struggled with depression.

•              The mission of HDRF is to fund cutting-edge neuroscience research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of depression and other related mood disorders.

•              In 2010, HDRF launched its Depression Task Force – a collaboration of nine leading scientists, at the frontiers of brain science, from different research institutions across the U.S. and Canada. To accelerate breakthrough research, they share ongoing results, in real-time, at the HDRF Data Center.

•              HDRF has invested over $35 million in advanced depression research to date.

About Depression

•              In the United States, depression affects over 20-million adults each year – that is one in 10 adults.

•              Depression is the leading cause of suicide. In the United States, one person dies by suicide every 11 minutes – over 47,000 people per year.

•              Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

•              Depression costs society $210 billion annually – 60% of which represents reduced efficiency at work and costs related to suicide.

The Crisis in Research and Treatment

•              50% of those diagnosed with depression do not fully respond to existing treatments. 

•              In 35 years since the introduction of Prozac and other SSRI anti-depressants, there has been almost no change in the treatment of depression.

•              Although depression is one of the most serious and prevalent conditions in the US, it is ranked 77th (out of 250) in the amount of federal funding it receives.

•              Most of the major pharmaceutical companies have discontinued brain research.

What Makes HDRF Different

•              The Depression Task Force represents the most innovative approach to neuroscience research today.

•              The Task Force has created an unprecedented research plan with each member executing a piece of the plan in their own laboratories.  By avoiding well-worn paths of research, the team is shaking up the field for answers that will finally lead to new treatments for depression.  

•              They share results in real-time at a centralized data bank. This allows them to leverage data to accelerate research. This is unheard of in the entire scientific research field which is normally competitive and not collaborative. 

The post Hope For Depression’s Race of Hope Returns To Southampton – In Person & Virtual 08/08 appeared first on NY UNDRESSED.

The high-energy crowd, which included CBS’s Blue Bloods star Lorraine Bracco, The Watermill Center’s Robert Wilson, and Jenny and John Paulson, set out at 9am to complete a tree-lined 5K course around Lake Agawam. The USA Track and Field-sanctioned event raised more than $250,000 for advanced depression research.

Speaking from the steps of the Southampton Cultural Center just before the starting gun, HDRF Founder and Chair Audrey Gruss said, “Depression is the number-one reason in the world for disability, and the leading cause of suicide. We want people to know there is help, and we need more research if we are going to turn the tide on depression and suicide in this country, so thank you all for coming out to support the cause today.”

Southampton Village Mayor Michael Irving helped kick-off the event and cut the ribbon at the starting line. “The Walk of Hope has gathered the entire community to raise awareness about depression,” he said, adding, “I am so proud to see such an enormous turn-out and outpouring of support from our Village!”

Hope was in abundant supply as everybody sported caps in HDRF’s signature sunshine yellow, along with t-shirts with a custom design by Robert Wilson. The competitive runners – 89 in all – burst through the starting line, followed by families and fun runners. Following the race, Audrey Gruss and her team presented medals for best times in various age categories. Travis Taylor won the best time in the Adult Male category, and Tara Farrell won best time in the Adult Female category. Mark Jacobello, age 13, won for best youth male, and Caroline Clagne, age 13, won for best youth female.

Gruss then presented awards to the top individual fundraisers Scott Snyder and Kim Heirston, and an award for Top Fundraising Team to Arthur Dunnam and Roy Cohen, who named their team after their dog Oskar, who was in attendance.

 This year, the Walk of Hope + 5K Run was heralded by the Week of Hope, a village-wide effort in Southampton to raise mental health awareness that started on July 26^th, 2018. More than 90 stores in Southampton “turned yellow” by placing two-foot wide yellow statement balloons by their front door to symbolize hope and their commitment to changing the staggering statistics around depression.

The initiative came in the wake of the suicides of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade, as well as local Sag Harbor resident and publicist Jeanine Pepler.  Each shocking loss is a reminder that the suicide rate is rising in the U.S. and that depression is a national health epidemic. Every 12 minutes a person dies by suicide in the United States; depression is the leading cause.

Additional participants included: Southampton Hospital’s Steve Bernstein, Somers Farkas, Jamee and Peter Gregory, Martin Gruss, Campion Platt and his children,Clelia and Tom Zacharias, Marigay McKee and Bill Ford, Erika Bloom, Samantha Gregory and Roberto Benabib with their daughter, Carolina Gregory-Benabib,Dr. Patrick Stubgen and Dana Hammond Stubgen, Janna Bullock, Jessica and Josh Gruss, Karen LeFrak, Caroline Bierbaum LeFrak and Jamie LeFrak and their children.

The Walk of Hope was supported by its Committee members: Lisa Aery, Nona Murphy Collin, Arthur Dunnam, Christine Mack, Jay McInerney, Anne and Jacques Nordeman, and Alicia Owen.

The Walk of Hope + 5K Run starts the lead-in to the 11^th Annual Luncheon Seminar which will be held on November 6^th, 2018.  The event will focus on “Brain Health and Wellness – the Science of Self Care,” and will honor public figures speaking out about depression and salute the research progress of HDRF’s acclaimed team of world-renowned neuroscientists.

Audrey Gruss founded HDRF in April 2006 in memory of her mother Hope, who struggled with clinical depression. Today, HDRF is the leading nonprofit organization focused solely on depression research and public education.  The World Health Organization has declared depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, but despite its prevalence, depression is still misunderstood, underfunded and under-researched. The mission of the HDRF is to fund innovative neuroscience research into the origins, medical diagnosis, new treatments, and prevention of depression and its related mood disorders – bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder and suicide.

To date, HDRF has provided more than $30-million through over 125 grants for breakthrough depression research that promises to transform the way depression is viewed, diagnosed, treated and prevented.

About depression:

• In the United States, depression affects over 20-million adults each year – that’s one in ten adults.
• Depression is the leading cause of suicide. In the United States, a person dies by suicide every 12 minutes – over 41,000 people per year.
• Depression is the number one cause of disability worldwide.
• The current annual cost to US society of treating depression alone is $210-billion – 60% of which represents reduced efficiency at work and costs related to suicide.

The Crisis in Research:

• Although depression is one of the most serious and prevalent conditions in the US, it is ranked 77^th. (out of 250) in the amount of federal funding it receives.
• Most of the major pharmaceutical companies have discontinued brain research.
• Talented young brain scientists are being recruited overseas.
• There are very few privately-funded companies in depression research.

What Makes HDRF Different

• The Depression Task Force represents the most innovative approach to neuroscience research today.
• The Task Force has created an unprecedented research plan with each member executing a piece of the plan in their own laboratories.
• They are not going down well-worn paths of research. They have identified major challenges in the field and are laser focused on the areas where the field is stuck.
• They share results in real time at a centralized data bank.  This allows them to leverage data to accelerate research.
• This is unheard of in the entire scientific research field which is normally competitive and not collaborative.

The post Lorraine Bracco Leads 500 Participants at Third Annual Walk of Hope + 5K Run to Defeat Depression appeared first on NY UNDRESSED.

Now,  the phrase “be healthy” can be interpreted in so many ways such as to lose weight or to eat organic and gluten-free, and that is why it is important that at the beginning of your be healthy resolution, you define what healthy is to you. Don’t look to others or to celebrities, but to your own mind and body to reflect on what it is that you want yourself to be.

For me, being healthy is  giving my body everything that it needs nutritionally in order to function properly. In addition, our bodies crave movement, so it’s very important that we exercise. And last but not least, sleep is one of the best things you can do for you mind and body, because we need rest to continue our busy lives everyday.

First Healthy Tip : TAKE VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS

As two-time Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr.Linus Pauling stated, “Nearly all disease can be traced back nutritional deficiency.”  Now while that quote is slightly scary, it brings to the forefront how IMPORTANT nutritional balance is specifically in terms of vitamins and minerals in the body. Unfortunately, today its hard to get all of our needed daily vitamin and mineral intake from the food we take.

This little color wheel shows all the daily needed vitamins and how to get them from food. I for one know I can’t always fit everything in into my meals, so that’s why I take a daily multi-vitamin.   Courtesy of Dr. Oz

Second Healthy Tip: PEDOMETERS ARE YOUR FRIENDS

Download the app Pacer for your iPhone or buy a pedometer. These gadgets track your daily steps, so you can see how much you are really moving per day. The daily recommended number is 10,000 steps! This may seem like a lot, but if you’re active and moving about the number is easier to reach than you think. It’s so important that we don’t live sedimentary lives, so start tracking and get walking!

 -Pacer App 

Third Healthy Tip : GO TO BED

Many of us live crazy hectic lives partly due to work, school, families  and whatever else we’ve got going on. Even in all this craziness, it’s  important that we don’t deprive our bodies from the rest it deserves. Seriously, try to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night, and on the weekends allow yourself to sleep in an extra hour or two (it won’t hurt anybody!)

 – 

I hope you’ll use these three tips when making and implementing your Be Healthy New Years Resolution. And hey, if it doesn’t work out this year, there’s always the next!

– Julia Gundlach

The post The New Years Resolution We Make Every Year : Be Healthy, and How to Actually Follow Through appeared first on NY UNDRESSED.