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December 4, 2008

2nd weight race goal: a healthier new year

On the heels of the Pitt Steps It Up activity challenge is another competition to encourage Pitt faculty and staff to develop and maintain healthier lifestyles.

A new MyHealth Weight Race will kick off Jan. 18 and wrap up with final weigh-ins the week of April 12.

The 12-week program is similar to last year’s weight race, which drew more than 1,300 participants across Pitt’s campuses, leaving the racers collectively more than three tons lighter.

But, said Sandy Carpenter, a program manager with the UPMC Health Plan who helped develop the new weight race, based on results from focus groups of last year’s participants, several changes have been made and new features added.

Registration will begin Jan. 5 and will be conducted entirely online. Information on the race will begin appearing on the weight race web page at www.hr.pitt.edu/fitness/weightrace.htm later this month.

Participants still are encouraged to make the challenge a group effort by forming teams of three-five members — “The whole point of the race is to build networking support from colleagues,” Carpenter said — but individuals and two-member teams also may participate.

An additional official weigh-in has been added, based on feedback that suggested it would be helpful to have more “accountable moments,” Carpenter said.

Instead of face-to-face weigh-ins at the beginning, middle and end of the race, the new race will require weigh-ins at the beginning and end as well as at weeks 4 and 8, with self-reported weights logged during each of the other weeks.

Another addition will be an activity tracker tool that allows participants who wear pedometers to log their steps or to convert other activities into their equivalent in steps.

Carpenter said the new tool is designed to broaden participants’ awareness of their activity levels as part of the challenge to develop a healthier lifestyle, rather than to focus solely on what the scale says.

Gift cards will be awarded as prizes in team and individual categories.

Prizes will be awarded to the teams that achieve the greatest percentage of their team’s weight loss goal. In case of a tie, random drawings will determine the winner. All team members must complete the race in order for a team to be eligible for prizes.

Individuals won’t qualify for team prizes, but all participants (including those who are members of a team) will have a chance to win individual prizes.

John Kozar, director of Benefits, said some of last year’s participants may have given up when attaining their goal proved to be tougher than expected. “We want to encourage them to continue participating.”

In the new race, not only will winners be drawn from among those achieving their goals, but participants will receive an entry into a prize drawing every time they self-report their weight by the weekly deadline.

The weight race isn’t just for those who want to shed a few pounds. Even those who don’t need to lose weight can benefit from bonding with a group to make healthful choices, Carpenter said. Participants who are at a healthy weight are encouraged to set a goal to maintain it rather than attempt to drop below a normal body mass index (BMI) range.

However, she said, given that about 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, “Chances are someone on your team may need to lose weight.”

Individuals who need to slim down may wish to set a goal of losing 5 percent of their body weight. “It’s achievable and health significant,” Carpenter said. “If you lose 5-10 pounds you will benefit from a health perspective,” and it’s more doable than setting a daunting 50- or 100-pound goal.

The maximum weight loss goal during the competition is limited to 25 pounds — it’s not recommended that people attempt to lose more than two pounds per week, Carpenter said.

“It is a 12-week challenge, but in reality this is about creating healthy lifestyles,” she said.

“You don’t want people to just go on a diet and lose weight and then forget it.” Instead, the aim is to help people change their behavior to increase their activity levels and make healthful food choices. “It’s really a lifelong commitment,” she said.

—Kimberly K. Barlow

Filed under: Feature,Volume 41 Issue 8

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