Seven out of 10 adults do not meet the recommended daily amount of physical activity, nor do they realize that overall health requires much more than being physically fit.
Bloomington has decided to combat this problem.
The annual Bloomington Wellness Challenge had its Kick-Off Celebration on Saturday.
Organized by the Active Living Coalition and sponsored by Bloomington Hospital Community Health, City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department and AmeriCorps, this program continues to promote comprehensive health and make positive impacts on participants and the entire community.
What makes the challenge different is its focus on multiple aspects of health, including physical, mental, nutritional and financial wellness.
The Active Living Coalition website offers alternatives to formal workouts, including lifestyle changes such as taking the stairs more often and parents actively playing with their kids.
It also emphasizes self-challenge over competition with other teams. Each member is encouraged to create a personalized, specific, measurable and realistic goal to ensure the best results possible.
In attempts to extend its reach beyond small groups and into the entire community, weekly newsletters announce activities that allow teams to interact.
In addition, a celebratory event is held each summer month, during which team members can participate in on-site healthy activities and learn about future opportunities.
These include physical activity events, informational seminars and access to helpful resources.
Representatives from organizations in Bloomington offer a variety of services, such as health screenings, financial planning ideas, massage therapy and chiropractic healing.
Team captains attend meetings where they are taught to utilize the Active Living Coalition website for announcements and pass information on to their team members in a motivating, supportive way.
At the first meeting, Lightning Raptors team captain Kirsten Prange said she enjoyed gathering inspiration from other teams, some of which formed as a result of an illness or other life-changing event.
Because her team consists of herself, her husband and her two young children, Prange said she hopes the experience will instill healthy habits in their growth as a family.
For example, the team has come up with creative goals for the children. Prange said her son is to find three different vegetables he likes by the end of the summer.
In addition, Mission Slimpossible captain Ashlee Richardson and her team has started a blog that updates the public on its journey and encourages others to take part in similar routines.
Because her team consists of workers in the health field, Richardson said, “We have always been concerned with making everyone well and professionally enabling people to get their life back.”
Bloomington Parks and Recreation’s Health and Wellness Coordinator Lindsay Buuck said her involvement on the Bloomington Wellness Challenge committee is most rewarding when participants feel motivated to share stories of personal triumph and suggestions for healthy recipes or activities. Feeling empowered by one positive feat can often inspire the confidence to continue.
“Seeing people make small steps to get to that larger-picture goal is what the program is all about,” Buuck said.
