Be Active Your Way Blog - TRichards

Wellness for Our Military Families

TRichards — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 09:08:00 -0400

The Joining Forces initiative, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to mobilize support for our service members and their families, calls attention to a critical wellness need in our country.

"The stress of war, multiple deployments, and frequent moves can affect the wellness of military families," notes the Joining Forces website. "Children and spouses can experience anxiety, changes in relationships with family and friends, isolation or emotional challenges in dealing with deployments, illness or injury, and high mobility."

To help meet the wellness needs of our military families, the International Health, Racquet, & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) President/CEO Joe Moore joined Mrs. Obama on the South Lawn of the White House on May 9th to announce the launch of the IHRSA Joining Forces Network - an affiliation of health clubs throughout the country that will offer free memberships to immediate family members of actively deployed reservists and National Guard members. The announcement took place at a health and wellness event for military families hosted by Mrs. Obama; the event combined the Joining Forces and Let's Move initiatives.

"The freedoms that each of us enjoys every day are possible because of the sacrifices that our nation's military families bear," said Joe Moore, IHRSA's President and CEO. "Joining Forces offers us an opportunity to provide these families with the support they are due."

The IHRSA Joining Forces Network hopes to offer at least 100,000 free health club memberships throughout the country - the equivalent of more than 18 million days of free access to health clubs and an estimated value of more than $30 million.

Participating clubs also may provide additional benefits, such as childcare, children's programming, group classes, discounts for veterans, and discounts for active duty families.

"Rooted in communities all across America, IHRSA health clubs stand ready to serve our nation's military families," said Moore. "We are here to offer them safe, supportive environments where they can exercise and find encouragement in their efforts to stay well through healthy lifestyle choices. We are deeply honored to be part of the Joining Forces and Let's Move initiatives."

Beginning June 1st, eligible military families can find participating clubs in their area online at www.healthclubs.com. The website also offers a free digital subscription to Get Active! Magazine, a consumer resource dedicated to promoting the benefits of safe and effective exercise, and offers useful advice on making healthy lifestyle choices.

We know, of course, that a free membership can't fully mitigate the stress of family life during a time of deployment, but we are confident that every offer of support matters. What are some other ways that physical activity organizations can support the troops? We'd love to hear what other organizations are doing.

A Vision for a Healthier, More Prosperous America

TRichards — Wed, 11 May 2011 09:41:00 -0400

As a trade association for health clubs, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is rightly considered an organization dedicated to promoting healthy living through physical activity.

We believe deeply that physical activity is a core component of wellness and that its reintegration into American culture is vital to reversing the chronic disease and obesity epidemics threatening our nation's future.

We are cognizant, however, of the limitations of a policy that promotes "physical activity" as a silver bullet for ending our nation's health care problems. Surely, pursuing a healthy lifestyle means more than just regularly exercising. It means adopting a whole system of healthy behaviors, broadly defined as "primary prevention."

So this May, as we celebrate National Physical Activity Month, we are announcing our new commitment to a broader policy spectrum - a spectrum founded on our belief in physical activity as the basis for healthy living - and launching an effort to raise awareness of the need for primary prevention.

The new initiative is based on "A Vision for Healthier, More Prosperous America."

The text of the vision is below.

Primary prevention - the prevention of a disease before it occurs, including regular exercise, healthy eating, avoidance of tobacco and other controlled substances, stress management, and routine medical exams - is critical to public health and our country's future economic competitiveness.

It saves lives, encourages increased individual responsibility, increases worker productivity, and lowers federal health expenditures.

As individuals, professionals, and taxpayers, we must recognize the valuable and dramatic role that primary prevention plays in reducing the devastating toll that chronic diseases have taken on our country. And we must support preventative lifestyle practices for all Americans.

Since the late 1980's, roughly two-thirds of the increase in U.S. health care spending has been due to the increased prevalence of treated chronic disease. Today, about half of all Americans suffer from one or more chronic diseases. A greater emphasis on primary prevention would significantly reduce the annual cost of treating chronic disease (currently $1.5 trillion) in the United States.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, primary prevention may prevent 80% of heart disease and stroke, 80% of type 2 diabetes, and 40% of cancer. A greater emphasis on primary prevention would significantly reduce the incidence rate of preventable chronic disease.

Individually and collectively, we must help our citizens, legislators, and community leaders understand and respond to the documented correlation between chronic disease and primary prevention. We must actively promote public policies and principles - such as financial incentives - that promote primary prevention and personal responsibility, and that remove barriers to healthy lifestyle choices.

We also must support businesses, health professionals, and local public health communities in their efforts to promote primary prevention as well.

What do you think of this vision?

Can We Catch "Healthy Lifestyles" from Our Co-Workers?

TRichards — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:49:00 -0400

We know from research that obesity can spread through social networks like an infectious disease.

In fact, one model suggests that the rate of transmission has been steadily increasing and may result in an obesity rate that stabilizes at 42% of the population. Of course, research predicting a 42% obesity rate is troubling and alarming, but it also begs a very hopeful question for policymakers: can we start an epidemic of infectious healthy living?

The question has profound implications for wellness programming, particularly in the area of workplace wellness, where an individual can have long exposure to a static social network. For example, the Partnership for Prevention, in it's publication Leading by Example: The Value of Worksite Health Promotion to Small- and Medium-Sized Employers, challenges organizations to "[d]efine, create, and sustain a culture of health that supports your health promotion goals and values." By changing the culture of health, it is presumed, an organization can change the behavior of its social networks.

The Worksite Sector of the National Physical Activity Plan takes the idea one step further. The sector promotes the importance of creating not just a culture of health at the workplace, but also a supportive environment for physically active lifestyles. It's a somewhat novel argument, but one rapidly gaining acceptance in light of the health and economic benefits of exercise.

The Worksite Sector - co-chaired by the American Council on Exercise, the American Heart Association, and the International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association - is currently working on three strategies for promoting physical activity in the workplace:

Identify best practices and model interventions;
Develop a multi-communication and outreach plan designed to engage, inform and inspire leaders to promote active lifestyles in organizations, industries and local communities; and
Develop legislation and policy agendas that promote employer-sponsored physical activity, while protecting individual employees' and dependents' rights.

IHRSA is thrilled by the progress of the sector, some of which was chronicled in the first edition of the National Physical Activity Plan e-newsletter. Driven by remarkable group of strategy leaders and advisors, the sector has begun to lay the groundwork for a fundamental and sustainable transformation of the workplace environment. If work is truly a second home for many Americans, we look forward to the day when the second home is as wonderfully active as the first.

In many ways, the sector approach of the National Physical Activity Plan resembles a grand experiment into whether we can create an epidemic of healthy living. It will be a study of whether the inspiration to live a more active life may be introduced and subsequently thrive in a particular community. Inspiration alone, however, will surely not be enough; it will take thousands of champions from every sector to push the experiment ahead, and I'm looking forward to compelling America's worksite leaders to start pushing.

Do you know a worksite or business leader who would support the goals of the National Physical Activity Plan?

Get Active America! – A Community Approach

TRichards — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:08:00 -0400

At a time when policymakers are pulling levers to transform our sick care system to a genuine health care system, we have redesigned our flagship health promotion program, Get Active America, beginning May 2, 2011, to position health clubs as leading voices in their communities for healthy and active lifestyles.

The cornerstone of Get Active America is outreach to encourage the club’s whole community – club members and nonmembers – to pursue an Active Lifestyle award, such as the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, that will ultimately establish long-term, healthy physical activity habits. In this manner, Get Active America! supports the goal of the Let’s Move campaign, championed by First Lady Michelle Obama, to inspire at least one million Americans to be active for 5 days/week for at least 6 out of 8 weeks. We are looking forward to reporting the great contributions of IHRSA members to the First Lady and her Let’s Move team.

We are also encouraging participating clubs to reach out to other local leaders to increase the impact of their efforts.

We’re anticipating that local governments will be interested in a Get Active America partnership in the spirit of Let’s Move Cities & Towns. Perhaps the leaders of local faith communities will be eager for IHRSA clubs to sign up their members for an Active Lifestyle award and share the message of health and wellness. And, certainly, there must be a local service organization near every club that could benefit from a warm-up exercise and healthy living discussion before its next meeting, no?

Of course, participating clubs will also connect directly with youth and seniors. We’re recommending that clubs offer to bring Get Active America to schools and senior centers through classes or seminars. Or, better yet, invite young people and seniors to pursue an Active Lifestyle award by, for example, offering use of the club at discounted rates during off-peak hours.

The outreach possibilities are limited only by imagination. We know that participating clubs may run into a logjam of local bureaucracy or shortsighted skeptics, but they are empowered by the truth that a health club can transform the members of a community in a way that few institutions of our society can hope to match. Undoubtedly, health clubs provide a service – health and wellbeing through exercise – that is vital to any community.

We don’t know yet the ultimate impact of Get Active America, but we’re hoping that it will lead to several innovative community health models through exercise.

What are other organizations doing to encourage innovation in the promotion of physical activity at the community level?

Financial Incentives for Physical Activity = Healthier Americans

TRichards — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:41:00 -0400

The best summary I’ve heard of our nation’s anti-obesity efforts to date goes something like this: “We’ve tried a thousand ideas and they all work a little.”

The point was that it’s very difficult to design a program for behavior change that works across several demographics. We all have different motivations, priorities, and challenges that aren’t easily captured by one program. There is at least one incentive, however, that appears to be a powerful force of change for a broad cross-section of the American public: cash.

What happens when people are financially incentivized to be physically active?

A study by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota documented the results of a program that provided enrollees with a potential health club membership discount of $20/month based on attendance. The study found that a) the discount encouraged use of health clubs (43% of BCBS employees surveyed said they joined a health club because of the discount); and b) those who regularly attended a gym appeared to have better health (17.8% lower claim costs than non-participants).

A similar Medica study explored the results of a program that offered a $20/month discount on a gym membership for enrollees who visited a gym at least eight times each month. The study found that a) the membership discount encouraged people to exercise regularly (43% of enrollees qualified for the discount); and b) after two years, people who began a regular program of exercise and met the threshold of eight times/month had significantly lower costs for prescriptions, doctor appointments, and care at clinics and hospitals (medical costs for enrollees were 33.6% lower than a control group).

These two studies strongly support the use of financial incentives to increase physical activity. Moreover, they offer a compelling argument for the adoption of fitness programs as a method for reducing organizational health care costs. Not surprisingly, a review of the published studies relating to health promotion programs found that fitness programs lead to reduced health care costs.

It’s also important to note that physical inactivity also carries a hidden cost related to reduced productivity. Researchers in Michigan found that physical inactivity resulted in the loss of 20 days per worker, costing $8.6 billion annually.

Fortunately, it seems as though the c-suites are catching on to the importance of physical activity. A benefits survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management in 2008 revealed that 36% of the surveyed organizations offer either a fitness center subsidy or reimbursement, while 21% of the organizations provided onsite fitness facilities. Some of the respondents (6%) even offered a fitness equipment subsidy or reimbursement.

What are some other proposals or current policies that would financially incentivize physical activity?

Everything I Know About Baby Boomers I Learned From a Cholesterol Drug Commercial

TRichards — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:28:00 -0400

I should start with a confession: my own personal understanding of the Baby Boomer generation is largely informed by television commercials. Now, I know television is an astoundingly imperfect reflection of society in most respects, but I have to believe that the characteristics and motivations of Baby Boomers have been extremely well considered by marketers for over 50 years – it’s not a demographic that crept up on Madison Avenue - and that research is painstakingly borne out by ad wizards. In the past decade alone, three industries have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to connect with the Baby Boomer generation as it approaches its golden years. As anyone with a television can attest, those industries are Pharmaceuticals, Financial Planning, and the travel industry (I’m thinking particularly here of cruises). And each industry, according to my channel surfing eyes, seems to have come to the same conclusion: Baby Boomers respond favorably to the prospect of healthier, more active, and more physically attractive lives for themselves and their partners.

If those messages indeed resonate with Baby Boomers, it would suggest that the benefits of physical activity would also be of great interest to members of the generation.

IHRSA’s own research of Baby Boomer health club members bears out that suggestion.

The IHRSA Tracking Study on Health Club Behavior, conducted from 2008-09, found that Baby Boomer health club members are, far and away, more interested in losing weight than their counterparts in the Eisenhower Generation, Generation X, or Generation Y. Moreover, 69% of Baby Boomer health club members cite “to look better” as one of their primary goals (second only to the 77% of respondents in Generation Y), while 63% reported “To feel better about myself” as a personal goal.

The Tracking Study also determined that Baby Boomers are attracted to programs for overall health/wellbeing, as well as a variety of equipment offerings.

Accordingly, IHRSA suggests that clubs implement weight-loss & wellness-oriented programs for the Baby Boomer market, such as goal-based small group training and spa offerings, and spa services and fitness/health screens.

IHRSA’s monthly publication for club-based fitness professionals, Club Business International, has also turned a spotlight on the Baby Boomers in recent years. “Rx for ‘Boomeritis,’” addresses the issue of injury prevention for active Baby Boomers, while “Baby Boomers and Beyond,” written by fellow Be Active Your Way blogger, Colin Milner of ICAA, provides a comprehensive look at the business practices of clubs successfully catering to Baby Boomers, including “cultivating a sense of community,” “creating the right atmosphere,” and emphasizing “human interaction and support.”

Obviously, the IHRSA information is club-focused, but the substance is consistent with broader themes. Programs focused on health, greater mobility, and/or improving appearance will be well received, as will personal connections relating to camaraderie and compassion. Throw in some pictures of grandkids in the physical activity marketing materials and Baby Boomers may prove to be the easiest demographic to target.

I know several organizations have research relating to Baby Boomers. What have you found? What resonates?"

Obesity’s Worst Enemy: A Compassionate, Informed Community

TRichards — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:47:00 -0400

Obesity is an American crisis. It’s official. We know this, not because of any proclamations from the arbiters of such titles, but because of the attention the issue is receiving from the most influential sectors in the country.

We are, as a nation, unequivocally, in crisis. And a crisis requires a change.

But what will drive the systemic change required to reverse thirty years of rising obesity rates?

Our most influential sectors have an enormous capacity to create widespread awareness and share ideas, but their abilities to drive change, especially for a problem rooted at the individual level, is limited.

Those sectors of lesser national influence, however - families, neighbors, friends, co-workers, communities – are fantastic at driving change on an individual level.

In fact, we believe the solution to the obesity crisis will not be revealed as a silver bullet, but as the sum of millions of acts of compassion; people caring enough about the folks around them and/or themselves to seek a change.

But, of course, compassion can only do so much. People need resources to change. They need direction.

IHRSA’s Get Active America! program is designed to provide that direction at the community level.

The annual, week long program is a health initiative that enables IHRSA health clubs to increase their roles in improving the health of their neighborhoods. The goal is to educate community members to take control of their health by integrating regular exercise into their lives. Each year, the program attracts tens of thousands of individuals to hundreds of health clubs nationwide, many for the first time.

The program is simple. Each participating health club agrees to allow members to “bring a friend” of their choosing – a child, spouse, parent, grandparent, friend, co-worker or neighbor – from May 3-6th. In addition, each club must hold an “open house” for the community from May 7-9th.

This year’s theme is “Take Back Your Health,” which is supported by three program tracks: Feel Better, Look Better, and Live Better.

The Feel Better track includes offerings such as nutrition counseling, stress management seminars, and specific disease programming (such as diabetes or arthritis).

The Look Better track highlights activities like core-training classes, weight-loss counseling, and toning exercises.

The Live Better track stresses events including family physical activities, free screenings, and exercise-related seminars from local medical professionals.

We know that it will take more than just Get Active America! to solve the obesity crisis, but we are confident, or, at least, as hopeful as possible, that the program’s emphasis on local community outreach, and its reliance on the compelling power of compassionate camaraderie (i.e. “Bring a Friend”), will prove to be key underpinnings of the nation’s successful effort to combat obesity.

We know there are hundreds of other wonderful community programs around the nation. We’d love to know - what is your organization doing?

The Compelling Power of Camaraderie

TRichards — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:42:00 -0400

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provided the nation with an airtight scientific case for why a person should make exercise a top priority. The case is unchallenged and polls show that the health benefits of exercise are generally acknowledged by an overwhelming majority of Americans. Nevertheless, research suggests that most Americans are not active enough to actually reap the benefits.

We are left, therefore, with one simple, maddening, urgent question:

“How do we compel more Americans to exercise regularly?”

We know there are real barriers to physical activity (injury/illness, unsafe environment, etc.), but other commonly cited barriers, such as “lack of time,” seem too often to simply be the consequence of low prioritization; conscious or subconscious choices to put-off exercise until a theoretical later date.

At IHRSA, one way we’ve attempted to address the question is with our I Lost it at the Club! program, an eight-week motivational weight loss program designed to help individuals keep their New Year’s resolutions and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle year-round. Currently in its 6th year, I Lost it at the Club! is set up as a competition among the participating health clubs. Last year, a total of 4,857 participants lost over 22,100 lbs.

Undoubtedly, much of the program’s success is due to the great passion and spirit of the participating clubs and their communities, but we think a critical component of the program is that it ties people to something bigger than themselves. It fosters camaraderie, holds people accountable to others, and celebrates accomplishments. Moreover, it recognizes that physical activity, like obesity, is contagious, and that social environments play a major role in our levels of physical activity.

The compelling power of camaraderie is certainly not a novel concept, but perhaps it has nevertheless been undervalued or underemphasized in the promotion of physical activity. It seems like the business community is beginning to incorporate the idea into workplace wellness programs, and social gatherings like running clubs have certainly flourished, but we’d like to see it spread deeper into society, embraced by families, friends, religious groups, book clubs, Facebook friends, etc.

We want us all to challenge those around us – the people we care about – to be more physically active.

We know there are several wonderful organizations with programs designed to bring people together for physical activity. We would love to hear from as many of you as possible. What are you doing and how has it worked?