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May 19, 2005 Walking Programs Get People Moving Karen Williams spends a lot of her workday sitting in front of a computer. So Williams, who works in the computer support department at Medcenter One Health Systems in Bismarck, was thrilled to join a new walking program. North Dakota State University Extension Service agents in Burleigh and Morton counties partnered with the Custer District Health Unit to create the program, called Walking for the Health of It. Participants form teams, pay a $15-per-person entry fee, clip on pedometers and start walking. They provide their team captain with the number of steps they’ve walked each month. The team captains submit the numbers to their county Extension Service office. The teams’ goal is to increase the number of steps they take every four weeks. The program provides walkers with little incentives, such as sipper bottles, calculators, refrigerator magnets and T-shirts, for meeting their goals. At the end of the program, the top teams are eligible for a grand prize. The first program ran from November 2003 to May 2004. The second started in January 2005 and went through April. A total of about 450 people signed up for the sessions. “We offered the program during the winter because that’s when it’s harder for people to remain active,” said June Kraft, a Burleigh County Extension agent. She and Vanessa Hoines, her counterpart in Morton County, oversee the program. “It was a good motivator,” said Williams, who was captain of a 10-member team in both sessions. Some team members joined to lose weight. Others were aiming for a healthier lifestyle. The program’s competitiveness and having to wear a pedometer give participants good reasons to walk more, she said. Her team came in third place for the number of steps walked during the first program. She hopes when everyone’s steps are tallied this year, her team will come in second. Walking for the Health of It is one of several walking programs that county Extension agents have started for adults throughout the state. Some county agents also have organized similar programs for elementary school students. Linda Hauge, an Extension agent in Williams County, started Walk Northwest North Dakota a year ago after hearing about the Burleigh-Morton program. Walk Northwest North Dakota covers Burke, Divide, Mountrail, McKenzie and Williams counties, North Dakota’s Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and some counties in northeastern Montana. However, it has attracted walkers from throughout both states. A total of more than 800 walkers have participated in the program’s four eight-week sessions. The latest session started May 1. “Some have signed up for several of the eight-week walking challenges,” Hauge said. “We also get quite a few new participants each time.” Walk Northwest North Dakota has gone high-tech. It has its own Web site, www.walknwnd.com, where walkers can learn more about the program, sign up, get a sheet to log their steps and report the number of steps they’ve walked every two weeks. The Web site also tells them about incentive prizes and a grand prize drawing for $100, why walking is good for them, and how to convert the minutes they walk into steps or estimate steps from other activities, such as swimming, biking, housecleaning and gardening. “The walking programs are a good way to get people more physically active,” said Jane Edwards, an NDSU Extension Service nutrition and health specialist. “Walking not only is fun, but helps reduce stress. In addition, it is a great way to stay healthy and reduce risks related to chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and elevated blood lipids. Once you start exercising, you feel better both physically and mentally.” Physical activity also helps reduce people’s risk of developing heart disease and cancer, according to nutritionists. But as a whole, North Dakotans aren’t very active. Studies indicate that 61 percent of North Dakota adults are overweight or obese. In 2002, 24 percent of adults hadn’t participated in physical activity in the month before they were surveyed, and in 2003, 71 percent of high school students hadn’t been involved in a sufficient amount of moderate physical activity. Health experts recommend walking 30 to 60 minutes a day to burn stored fat and build muscle and an hour a day to cut the risk of diseases. People interested in joining a walking program should contact their local Extension Service office. ### Source:
Jane Edwards, (701) 231-7478, jedwards@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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