Dr. Akhter is director of the D.C. Department of Health, which is promoting its new physical activity media campaign. DOH is looking for eager residents from each ward to serve as “community coaches.” (For more information, visit communitycoachesdc.com.) What is the physical activity media campaign?

The District has a lot of people who are not eating right and are not really exercising. We want to convince them to get into exercising so they will not be overweight and prone to diseases. What we want to do is create a campaign that reaches all people in the District and encourage them to participate in more walking, more walking up the steps and more exercises. It’s a way to encourage people to participate in healthy activities.