The Portage County chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill is joining with the Mental Health & Recovery Board to offer a free educational program geared toward family members and friends of people with mental illness.

The free Portage County Family-to-Family Education Program starts Sept. 21 and continues every Thursday until Dec. 7. The sessions take place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Sue Hetrick Building of Coleman Professional Services, 3922 Lovers Lane, Ravenna.

The program is open to everyone -- not just Portage County residents -- who have a loved one with a brain disease, including schizophrenia, manic depression/bipolar disease, clinical depression or an anxiety disorder, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias or panic attacks.

Participants will learn about the biology of the brain, major mental illnesses, treatments, rehabilitation services, problem-solving, communication, advocacy and support groups.

The first event -- the ``Walk to Cure Diabetes'' -- takes place Sept. 30 at Dunlap Memorial Hospital, 832 S. Main St., Orrville. The Wayne County fundraiser is sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Research published in this month's edition of the professional journal Epidemiology found that men with increased body mass index (BMI) were significantly more likely to be infertile than normal-weight men.

The study didn't have information about frequency of sexual intercourse, meaning it's possible that overweight men have less sex -- a factor that could influence fertility. However, other studies have looked at semen characteristics and shown lower semen quality for overweight and obese men, as well as hormonal differences.

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