SARANAC LAKE - Adirondack Medical Center has joined a science-based movement designed for families and communities to help children maintain a healthy weight.

We Can!, which stands for Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition, teaches parents, caregivers, kids and communities ways to eat healthier, increase physical activity and limit television time to help children ages eight through 13 maintain a healthy weight.

"In We Can! we've found an easy-to-use, science-based program that not only provides us with valuable resources-it also lets us tap into the expertise of more than a thousand other communities that are already committed to using the program to help overcome weight gain in their communities," said Jessica Fraser, AMC's Community Health Manager.

AMC will offer a four-week, science-based workshop that helps children and their families to make healthier choices about nutrition, physical activity and screen time. Topics include BMI, portion distortion, energy balance, reading labels, meal planning (healthy substitutes and money saving ideas) and staying motivated for long-term success.

The workshop is open to parents or caregivers, and their children who are over 10 years of age. It will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays from Sept. 15 to Oct. 6 in the First Floor Conference Room at AMC-Saranac Lake. There is no charge for the workshop. The registration deadline is Sept. 9. Contact Jessica Fraser at 523-8353 or e-mail jmfraser@amcCares.org.

We Can! is spearheaded by the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute and three other NIH institutes-the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Cancer Institute. More than 1,000 sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 11 other countries have committed to using We Can!, with new sites continuing to sign up regularly.