Pitching into state efforts to reduce and prevent obesity, Michigan's Marquette County Health Department is using coalition building to make active living a community affair.
Using National Public Health Week as the kick-off for its annual physical activity push, the department's activities attracted hundreds of participants, according to George Sedlacek, community health division director at the Marquette County Health Department. Public health week events started off with the Great Marquette Walking Program in Marquette's Superior Dome, the world's largest wooden-domed stadium.
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The program, which first began in 1989, invited residents to take a one-mile walking test. After the test was completed, health and fitness majors from a local university sat down with participants and went through the test results, which are based on how fast the mile was completed and the walker's pulse rate. Based on the test results, the participant was given a 20-week walking program. For walkers that tested low, a program was designed to take them from a poor level of fitness to an excellent level of fitness in 20 weeks, Sedlacek told The Nation's Health. As an extra benefit, walkers were also given a poker hand based on the number of laps completed, and whoever ended up with the best poker hand won a pair of shoes donated by a local sporting goods store.
National Public Health Week was also the kick-off for "Get Moving Upper Peninsula," a nine-week physical activity program that is now in its fourth year. The program helps participants keep track of the minutes per day that they exercise as well as their fruit and vegetable intake via an online log, which is at www.fitup.org . Participants can sign up for the program as individuals or in teams, Sedlacek said. Those that meet their individual and team goals are also eligible to win prizes given out by the Marquette County Active Living Task Force, which includes members such as the local chamber of commerce, local diabetes network, employers and schools, Sedlacek said.
Sedlacek noted that using the Internet to get residents involved and reach them with quality health information is especially beneficial in rural areas such as Marquette.
"The Internet holds a lot of promise as to motivating people to monitor their fitness levels," he said.
To get the word out about National Public Health Week events in Marquette County, the local chamber of commerce notified employers through its monthly newsletters, and public service announcements were broadcast on radio and television. One announcement in particular featured a 90-year-old woman encouraging people to "Get off your duff!"
This year, about 225 fitness assessments were conducted during the Great Marquette Walking Program, and about 700 people are participating in the online Get Moving Upper Peninsula program, Sedlacek noted.
For more information on the online fitness program, visit www.fitup.org .