Physical activity is the key to a healthy lifestyle, which in turn aids in the battle for a healthy heart and lowering childhood obesity rates.

A number of Surry County residents — part of the Healthy Surry Partnership — are working hard to make sure everyone in our county has an opportunity to stay healthy, if that is their choice.

Being active is a main ingredient in that goal, and as the warm temperatures begin to seep into our area, we hope everyone will take advantage of them and be active.

While joining a gym adds extra opportunities for getting healthy, it is not a requirement for being active. There are a number of walking and hiking trails in the county at public parks in Mount Airy, Pilot Mountain and Dobson, as well as places like Holly Springs Ruritan Building and the crossroads of N.C. 268 and Siloam Road. Playing ball or frisbee or tag with your kids and grandkids or your friends outside is another way to be active.

According to Celena Watson, health promotion supervisor for the health department, 32 percent of deaths in North Carolina are caused by cardiovascular disease, and Surry County’s death rate is higher than the state’s.

It doesn’t take a big block of time out of a person’s day to be active. It could be just walking around the house for 10 minutes, parking farther away from the door at a store or using the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator.

For the colder days, there is a whole group of Surry County and other area residents who walk the corridor of the Mayberry Mall to keep moving and get their exercising in.

We want everyone to be as healthy as they possibly can, if they choose to be. So we encourage those in and around Surry County to take the opportunity to be active and improve their health.

Also, we hope those interested citizens on the Healthy Surry Partnership continue to come up with creative, free ways to help the county’s residents to get healthy and be aware of what they can do to become healthier.