Inola Hosts 2024 Gobble Wobble To Promote Healthy Living And Diabetes Prevention

People in Inola were up and moving early on Thanksgiving for the 2024 Gobble Wobble.

A nonprofit from Texas organized the event to educate people about how to prevent Type 2 Diabetes and to encourage them to be more active. The goal of this event is to get people to move their bodies to help them live a healthier lifestyle.

We are just braving the cold and kicking some soccer balls, just moving around,” said Rachel McDaniel from Inola.

From soccer to tossing the football, to running or a walk around the track, people in Inola got an early and active start to their Thanksgiving Day.

We are going to eat a lot of pie today and you just need to counteract that you know, and move your body a little bit and burn some calories,” said McDaniel.

Bill Slagel started Wheels of Giving two years ago, and they travel around and put on events like this to educate people on how to prevent Type 2 diabetes and to encourage and support people to exercise. Slagel says most people are aware of diabetes, but that's often where their knowledge stops.

There’s a lot you can do on the front end to prevent it. It’s not easy; it takes a ton of work, a ton of effort and that’s why we’re out here trying to just make it a little more fun,” said Slagel.

Slagel says that just 30 minutes a day, five days a week of some sort of exercise can go a long way toward living a healthier lifestyle. He also hands out free equipment, like GPS watches, running clothes and even shoes, to give people what they need to help them make healthy habits.

The hope to is too that you can find what you like diet and exercise-wise; it’s not one size fits all. There’s not one thing that’s the magic bullet. It’s what works for you. It’s what you will enjoy and what you can sustain, not just do for a day a week or whatever,” said Slagel.

Exercise and being healthy are very important to Rachel McDaniel, and she wants to instill that in her young kids.

We usually find ways to move every day. It’s important to stay healthy so they can see that and grow up being healthy as well,” said McDaniel.

Slagel says he has plans to come back to Oklahoma in the future and do more events just like this one.