Walk Georgia Impact Statement Template

Walk Georgia Impact Statement Template

Summary:
Walk Georgia is an on-line fitness program that promotes physical activity in adults, youth and children, to reduce risk for obesity, overweight and other chronic diseases. The program has been implemented as part of worksite and school wellness programs since 2008, serving more than 130,000 participants and has documented more than 5 million miles worth of physical activity.

Situation:

Sixty-six percent of adults in Georgia and 33% of youth ages 10 – 17 in Georgia are overweight or obese. and 33% of Georgia’s 10-17 year olds (reference). Georgia is second in the nation for obesity and overweight in school age and high school students (reference). InaThe fastest growing segment of the obese population are individuals who are at least 80 pounds or more above their ideal body weight (reference). [ACB1]Inactivity and overweight are associated with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, asthma, obstetrical complications, orthopedic problems in children, and certain cancers. The American Heart Association estimates that obesity costs American companies $225.8 billion per year in health-related productivity losses. (reference). Being obese also adds $460-$2,500 per year to the average health care cost of an individual. (reference). Experts agree that healthy weight management should combine nutrition, physical activity, and behavior modification techniques like self-monitoring and goal setting (Jensen et al 2014). Successful weight control is a combination of healthy eating and regular physical activity. Currently, Oonly about 29% of children and youth between the ages 6-17 report doing vigorous physical activity on a regular basis. (reference). More than 80% of American adults and adolescents do not meet the federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle strength training activity (reference). Nearly 27% of Georgia adults report no leisure time physical activity. (reference). Research suggests that self-monitoring is associated with increased physical activity (Bravata et al 2007).

Response:

Walk Georgia was offered in 20175 for 12(AGENT TO ADJUST number of weeks AS NEEDED) weeks. People were encouraged to log their minutes of physical activity on the Walk Georgia Website either as an individual or as part of a group/team. . Minutes logged were then converted into points and for every65 points earned, the individual could select a county to “visit.” During each visit, the individual could read facts promoting tourism and education about the history, geography, local farmers markets, recreational facilities, nearby state parks and economy of that county. Participants also received a weekly newsletter about health, nutrition, physical activity, and recreational opportunities and events in Georgia parks.

Impact:

In ______County, ______people actively logged the equivalent of ______miles. The average individual logged ______miles per week and the average groupmember logged ______miles per week[ACB2].

[ACB1]Not sure you need this statement unless you want to link it to something about the people who are using Walk GA (i.e. most are obese or most have 80 lbs or more to lose..)

[ACB2]Is there any way for the agents to see how many people set goals and met goals? I think that would be cool if they could report on them.