Walk more, eat less
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By Deirdre Cox Baker | Friday, September 19, 2008 |
Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES Julie Hawley of Davenport works out on equipment installed by Genesis Health Systems along the bike path near Eastern Avenue. Buy this Photo
How do you eat 100 calories less per day? Substitute water for that can of Mountain Dew.
How do you walk 2,000 more steps daily? Park the car as far from the office door as possible and walk around the building a couple of times during lunch hour.
Americans, including residents of the Quad-City region, may come up with other free and easy ways to achieve both goals as a community-wide effort gets under way today.
America on the Move begins in earnest tonight in Davenport, headlined by a fitness talk from filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who gained fame with his “Super Size Me” documentary on the health hazards of fast food. The effort is also taking place next week in Iowa cities such as Maquoketa, Fort Madison, Ankeny and Council Bluffs, as well as about 1,400 other municipalities around the United States.
The focus is on ground-level efforts to reduce the weight problems that exist in today’s society. In 1985, the rate of obesity in the United States was at about 10 percent. It took less than 20 years for that to more than double. It’s at 26 percent now in the Quad-Cities. And about two-thirds of our residents are considered overweight as well.
“We just have a busier culture,” said Theresa Hauman, the senior recreation manager for the Davenport Parks and Recreation Department. The city and the Scott County Family Y are the main sponsors of a slate of events scheduled Saturday.
“Opportunities like this, on Saturday, will provide folks with ideas of what they can do and what fits into their schedules,” she said. Classes work best for some, while others more easily find time to walk around their neighborhood.
“We’re trying to remind people, what works for them for fitness, works,” she added.
2,000 more, 100 less
The two-sided goal of pursuing more activities and consuming fewer calories is, organizers believe, fair, easy and inexpensive, said Christy Filby, the community wellness executive for the Scott County Family Y and for the Two Rivers Y in Moline. Both objectives will help individuals maintain weight or lose it.
An easy way to reduce calories is to have smaller food portions, she suggested. “We’re not saying that everyone should go out and have to work out until sweat drops off; it might be as simple as walking a child to school or taking a family walk after supper.
“People just need to get moving,” added Filby, who is also the Quad-City representative for Activate America.
Activate America is a long-term initiative by the country’s YMCAs to address the health-care crisis brought on by excessive weight, in both adults and youth.
Wider outreach
The effort to reach out with wide-ranging, more accessible goals is fairly new to the 150-year-old YMCA organization, Filby said. The thinking is that an entire community needs to work together to make this complex cultural change happen. The idea is that cities should provide safe bike paths and walking trails, businesses must encourage employee wellness and that even the faith sector has a stake in a healthier community.
There is encouraging news of late. The most recent Quad-Cities Community Vitality Scan shows that 38.6 percent of residents report having taken part in vigorous physical activity. That’s up from 37.1 percent in 2002 and well ahead of the 33.9 percent reported nationally.
The Two Rivers Y has invited activist Mark Fenton to town late next month to discuss safe walking routes to school. Fenton, the former coach of the U.S. national race-walking team, is a pedestrian advocate and an authority on public health.
He will meet with parents, school and government officials and show them how to make a safe walking audit of their communities and provide ways for developing site-specific plans.
The nationwide goal of America on the Move is for 10 billion more steps to be taken across the country. The journey toward that goal begins Saturday morning at Eastern Avenue Park in Davenport.
Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
Activities galore set for Saturday
The schedule of free America on the Move events will be centered in Eastern Avenue Park, 2900 Eastern Ave., Davenport. Times are 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Jazzercise begins at 9 a.m., “boot camp” at 9:30 a.m., family Zumba at 10 a.m. and then a variety of children’s activities. There will be a one-mile family wellness walk along the adjacent Duck Creek Recreational Trail.
Community health and wellness vendors will be present with information and interactive displays.
The aim is to encourage all residents to increase their activity level by 2,000 steps per day and decrease their daily intake of food and beverages by 100 calories.
Next week, activities will vary between YMCA branches around the area, but they will include open houses, wellness fairs, sample fitness classes and demonstrations of nutritious cooking demonstrations. For more details, check the Web sites scottcountyfamilyy.org and tworiversymca.org.
Other events this month include:
Sept. 26 — wellness walk, Ben Butterworth Parkway, Moline. 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Employers and employees and the public are invited to walk. The main sponsor is the Two Rivers YMCA in Moline.
Sept. 27-28 — kite festival, Centennial Park, Davenport, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The main sponsor is the Davenport Parks and Recreation Department.
High standards
Fitness has many definitions, and one of them is what makes a Davenport police officer a physically fit individual.
The city police department is taking applications right now. The standards for the fitness test can be seen online at www.cityofdavenportiowa.com/egov/docs/1220044410_289947.pdf.
The State of Iowa develops and sets fitness standards through the Iowa State Law Enforcement Academy, said Dawn Sherman, the city’s human resources director. “We don’t have any say about them,” she added.
Suggestions include working out for 12 weeks before taking the test. Standards vary by gender and age.
A male 30-39 years old must do 35 sit-ups in one minute, 25 for women. Men must complete at least 24 push-ups per minute while women are to do at least 11 in that time-frame. Male applicants must run 1.5 miles in less than 14 minutes, females must go the same distance in less than 16 minutes. There are other tests involved.
The police department applications are taken in September, and the Davenport Fire Department process is in October, Sherman said. The firefighter fitness test also requires strength and physical agility.
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