Pat Robinson, CEO of Edgefield County Hospital, was named 2010 Business Woman of the Year at the Ninth Annual Women in Business Luncheon and Health Fair last Friday at the Strom Thurmond High School Cafeteria.

“I’m humbled by this award,” she said when called to the podium. “We’ve all heard the old adage, ‘Behind every successful man, there’s a good woman.’ Well, behind this woman, there are a lot of people who deserve praise.”

Robinson said she especially wanted to give credit to her family who has always been supportive and understanding, and to her staff whom she described as ‘awesome.’

“They did a wonderful job of making me look good,” she said.

In her introduction, Chamber of Commerce Director and 2009 Business Woman of the Year Donna Livingston said, “This woman is right behind me in attending all the functions the county puts on. She is totally dedicated to her job as well as the well-being of the county. She puts her heart and soul into everything she does.”

Some of Robinson’s community involvements include the Lions Club, Edgefield County Alliance, the Edgefield County Chamber of Commerce, activities at McKendree Methodist Church and Relay for Life survivor chair.

She has been employed by the hospital since 1983 and her first position was director of Nursing. Her position then expanded to director of Patient Care Services. She has been CEO of the hospital since May, 2009.

The announcement came after a morning of exchanging health and community information at the expo sponsored by Aiken Regional Medical Centers and Edgefield County Chamber of Commerce and a nutritious luncheon prepared by Chef Joe Davis of Aiken Regional, followed by a three-part fashion show of this year’s spring and summer fashions from Mercy Me in

Edgefield and an informative talk by Dana Peth, RN on Weight Loss.

Booths at the Expo included ones by the Girl Scouts, Piedmont Tech, Regions Bank, Aiken Regional, Aurora Pavilion, Aiken Regional Palmetto Pediatric Center, Savannah River Cancer Foundation, Bariatric Services, Mary Kay, Aiken Regional Diabetes Center and Aiken Regional Women’s LifeCare Diagnostic Services. Blood Pressure, glucose and height and weight screenings were offered.

“If you are overweight you are not alone,” said Peth. “Sixty-six percent of adults in the United States are overweight or obese.”

Peth said there are many health risks associated with being overweight, including back problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, arthritis, stroke, gallbladder disease and some cancers.

“Eating too much or not being physically active enough will make you overweight,” she said. “If you’ve ever been on more than one diet, chances are you’re going about losing weight the wrong way. To maintain your weight, the calories you eat must equal the energy you burn. To lose weight, you must use more calories than you eat.”

A healthy and effective weight-control strategy might include: choosing low-fat, low-calorie foods; eating smaller portions; drinking water instead of sugary drinks; and being physically active.

Ninety-three million, about one in four, Americans are obese, she said. In five years, that number will be 120 million. Obesity is where the body mass index is more than 30-39.9 and morbid obesity is where the BMI is more than 40.

“Obesity affects every part of the body,” she said. “There are social effects as well.”

The causes, she said, are behavioral, environmental and genetics. Treatments include behavioral modification and physical activity. She gave statistics and success rates for the other types of treatments, including surgical.

For severely overweight people, inability to lose weight may be a matter of life or death, she said.