Surtronics employees kick-off the company's Amazing Walk Challenge

More than two-thirds of North Carolina residents are overweight or obese and nearly 60 percent aren’t getting enough physical activity. These unhealthy lifestyles are costing North Carolina roughly $54 billion each year in direct and indirect healthcare costs and employers carry most of the weight. 

So what are the solutions? A comprehensive worksite wellness program is one solution. Research shows that an employer can earn up to $6 for every $1 invested in wellness through reduced healthcare costs, absenteeism and worker’s compensation claims – and don’t forget about improved morale and lower turnover!

What constitutes a comprehensive program? According to National Worksite Health Promotion Survey, the following components are essential for maximum return on investment.                

• Health education 
• Supportive physical and social environment
• Integration of programs into the worksite culture
• Linkage of wellness to related programs
• Worksite screenings or assessments

Don’t worry if your business has limited resources, even a small change can create big results. According to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, a business can see a nearly 5% reduction in an individual’s healthcare costs for each day of the week they are more active.

What are North Carolina companies doing to get their employees more active?

• Creating diverse wellness teams that are representative of their organization
• Assessing the needs and interests of their employees through surveys or questionnaires
• Providing programs, such as the Heart Health Challenge or the Amazing Walk
• Announcing policies that allow for employees to be active during work, such as Sit for 60, Move for 3
• Creating environments that support active lifestyles, such as attractive stair wells, walking trails or on-site physical activity equipment

For more information on how to start or enhance your worksite wellness program, contact Annie Martinie.  

Children need more activity than adults to stay healthy. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommends that school-age children and teens engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for 60 minutes a day at least five days a week. Since children spend a significant portion of their day in school, it’s important that educators create a positive, physically active learning environment for children in classrooms.

We offer these tips to create an active learning environment that will help keep your students motivated throughout the school day. 

Keep Yourself Motivated!

Think back to when you were a child. If your teacher showed little enthusiasm in the classroom, how did you feel about it? It’s the same with young children today. If you, the teacher & often a role model for your students, think an activity is fun, then they will too!

Encourage!

Children thrive on praise and positive attention from the adults in their lives. If you want them to get involved in an activity, stay involved and motivate your class. 

Play games!

Many times children don’t even realize they are learning if they are enjoying themselves. When you play games, you can use points and competition to motivate, but not for very young children who may find competition to be too stressful. For them, just playing the game is enough. You can sometimes award extra credit or extra points, but use this sparingly so that it remains ‘extra’ and a special reward.

Energize!

Allowing children to move around is critical to keeping them motivated.  Incorporating daily Energizers will get students moving, and also keep them interested and paying attention.

1. Commit to yourself and at least one other person. Make physical activity a priority and ask someone else you trust to help keep you accountable.
2. Do a variety of activities that you enjoy. You don’t have to go to the gym to be active – try a new activity,experiment and have fun!
3. Get social support. Get a workout partner or join your local walking or running club.
4. Track your Progress. Consider keeping a physical activity log or doing a fitness assessment, such as push-ups or a 1 mile walk/run every 6 to 8 weeks.
5. Celebrate your success! Find healthy ways to reward yourself – get a massage, go on a weekend hike with a friend, buy a new pair of walking shoes.

The friendly competition offered an opportunity for school staff to learn many healthy new habits and ways they can be more physically active. Motivated by the Challenge, individual winner Staci Creech now serves as a volunteer with Be Active NC to encourage others to make physical activity a part of their lifestyle.

Congratulations to the winners!

Top Individuals
Staci Creech, Estes Hills Elementary School, Chapel Hill
Katherine Shelburne, Hope Valley Elementary, Durham

Top Teams
Team “Shooter,” Estes Hills Elementary School
Jessica Booker
Courtney Clap
Staci Creech
Kelly O’Hare
Christine Shooter

Team “Eat Our Dust,” Hope Valley Elementary School
Judy Full
Crystal Jefferson
Penny O’Brien
Katherine Shelburne
Ellen Vaughn

Top School
Jordan Matthews High School, Siler City

Highest Staff Participation
Woodlawn Middle School, Mebane

An interesting field has recently emerged in the physical activity world, the study of sitting. A major study published last year found an association between the amounts of time spent sitting and mortality, even with an hour a day of structured activity.  It is estimated that on average, people who sit too much shave a few years off of their lives.  

A 14 year study by the American Cancer Society showed that women sitting for long stretches, more than six hours a day, were about 40% more likely to die during the course of the study than those who sat fewer than three hours per day.  Men were about 20% more likely to die.

So don’t drop your daily gym visit, but get up and move as much as possible during the workday and your leisure time activities, such as watching TV and reading.  Here are some tips from exercise scientist Dr. Len Kravitz, to help you burn calories and keep your metabolism up throughout the day:

• Take a short walk around the office every time you take a coffee break
• Do 5 squats every time you take a drink of water
• Pace while you talk on your cell phone
• Make an effort to walk quickly at the grocery store, into the office or during other errands
• Get up briefly every 30 minutes and gets the blood flowing

What are some ways that you keep moving throughout the day?

Proceeds from the event will support the Be Active mission to get more North Carolinians physically active. Check out a few photos from the event below. See more photos on our Facebook Page>>.

Principal Tracey Fowler and assistant principal Brayton Leonhardt created a running program to provide Chatham Middle School students an opportunity to have fun while being physically active. Fowler and Leonhardt both enjoy being physically active and recognized the positive impact a program like this would have on students. The two needed the support of students to start the Running Rams of Chatham Middle School program before they could move forward. To their surprise, more than 50 students came together for the first meeting to express their interest in being a part of the program. With buy-in from students, the school needed to fund the new program. Leonhardt received information from Be Active NC about an ING Run grant that would offset costs associated with starting the program. Just before the start of the 2010-11 year, Leonhardt learned that the school would receive the grant.

With 90% of the school’s students receiving free and reduced lunch, a portion of the grant was written to provide quality running shoes to students in need. However, they did not think that all 50 students would need running shoes, and the funds allocated would not cover the costs to buy shoes for every student. Leonhardt contacted a local Dick’s Sporting Goods store to ask about possible in-kind programs that would provide shoes for students at a discount. The Dick’s store manager worked with Sarah Swiss from Brooks Sports Inc., who offered to fit each student with a pair of proper shoes at no cost.

Each runner now has the things he or she needs for the program. They meet three days a week for an hour, stretching and talking about upcoming events and goals. Though the program isn’t mandatory, students are encouraged to attend each session so that they can improve their goals and take part in the school’s annual 5k race. Students, staff, and parents join the core group from time to time, creating even more excitement. “I’m finding that I am no longer keeping the kids accountable for getting a jog in before we go home,” said Leonhardt. “They are holding me accountable for being out there.”

The University of NC at Greensboro (UNCG) is getting its staff healthy and active through its HealthyUNCG initiative that began 3 years ago. An employee wellness team oversees the initiative along with HealthyUNCG champions, representing a wide range of university employees.

Photo published by Campus Weekly, University of NC at Greensboro

HealthyUNCG is helping employees make positive and lasting health changes through incentive programs, employee fitness programs and wellness coaching. “University employees are taking an interest and getting excited about the program,” said Stefanie Milroy, director of the Be Active – UNCG Partnership.  In addition to providing guidance and support to the program, the Partnership also donated tote bags, water bottles, and pedometers as incentives. 

The initiative recently started Spartan Points that lets faculty and staff earn points for completing a wide variety of healthy activities.  One way employees can earn points is by participating in free fitness classes offered through the ActiveU employee fitness program.  The classes give employees an opportunity to try different types of physical activities like yoga, tai chi and Zumba.  

HealthyUNCG also gives each new employee a healthy living guide that focuses on activities that employees can do on campus and around Greensboro to stay healthy and active.

Be Active is engaging school staff across the state to participate in its first Be Active Schools Staff Challenge from October 19 – December 12. The Challenge is designed to help staff at North Carolina schools to be active every day. Each school can have multiple teams of up to 5 people participating. Throughout the challenge, each participant will receive information and tips to keep their motivation going. Prizes will be awarded to the top schools, teams and individuals.

Are you game? Register through Oct. 19 to compete against over 250 of your colleagues across the state! Contact Evie Houtz for more information or call 919-287-6992.

Check back on our blog in December for a list of winners.

Goal setting is a powerful way to stay motivated and stick to a plan. 

Setting a physical activity goal and tracking it is a fun project that you can do with your family. Changing habits can be challenging for all of us, so start with a goal that is easy to accomplish. Whether your goal is to walk 3 times a week, run a 5k or to stick to your strength training plan, the S.M.A.R.T method will set your family up for success.  

Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. What EXACTLY do you want to accomplish?

Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward your goal. This usually comes in the form of a number, such as 30 minutes a day, 20 repetitions or five times a week. If you’re stuck, ask yourself how long, how many or how often.

Attainable: Be honest with yourself about your abilities and your limitations, as well as the activities you enjoy doing.

Realistic: Choose a goal that challenges you to be your best, but is achievable. Your goal should not come easily, but will be reached with careful planning and dedication.

Timely: Give yourself a time frame for each goal. When do you plan to reach your goal and when will you set new goals?

Here are a few examples of SMART goals.

“We’re going to walk three times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) at 6:00 pm for 40 minutes starting this coming Monday.”

“We’re going to play kickball in our backyard every Sunday before dinner.” 

Once your family has set a goal, you’ll want to track it. Track your family’s progress by logging on the Be Active website and entering your activities. Don’t have an account? Create an account  for free.