Hundreds of west Georgia residents celebrated a personal health victory at this year’s Mayfest. The Get Healthy West Georgia 2014 Weight Loss Challenge marked its grand finale with a Big Reveal awards ceremony at the community festival in Carrollton on Saturday, May 3.
An enthusiastic crowd gathered at 11:00 a.m. under Tanner Health System’s Get Healthy, Live Well tent on Bradley Street for the announcement of the challenge winners. Tanner’s registered dietitian Melissa Brillhart hosted the awards presentation that recognized the top three finalists in team and individual categories.
Twenty-four contestants in the 2014 weight loss challenge qualified for the grand prize drawing of an Apple iPad. These individuals lost at least 10 percent of their total body weight during the 12-week competition.
Participants earned points on the Get Healthy West Georgia Web site by logging exercise and food intake, blogging and participating in weekly challenges. Members also earned points by competing in local walking and running events and by attending Tanner’s Healthy For Life class series. More than 500 people have attended the classes at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton this spring.
The weight loss challenge hosted final weigh-ins during the last week of April, with a total of 414 people recording their official weights. The combined total weight loss during the challenge period was 3,205 pounds. That is an average weight loss of 7.7 pounds per person.
Walker Cadillac provided this Buick Encore to demonstrate the 3,206 pounds lost by participants in the 2014 Weight Loss Challenge and Tanner’s National Diabetes Prevention Program. The average weight loss per person was 7.7 pounds, which is enough to decrease risk for a number of serious health conditions.
In addition to the members of Get Healthy West Georgia, more than 70 participants in Tanner’s National Diabetes Prevention Program have been logging their weight each week. Some individuals participated in both programs and achieved significant weight loss with the combined support of Get Healthy West Georgia’s online resources and weekly small group meetings for the diabetes prevention program. Tanner’s Get Healthy, Live Well initiative plans to study the effects of these multiple touchpoints for health promotion programs as part of its overall evaluation report to the CDC next December.
Evidence shows that losing just 5 to 10 pounds can dramatically reduce a person’s risk for a number of serious health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, sleep apnea, dementia and cancer. The individuals who successfully completed the challenge have made great strides toward improving their health and enhancing their quality of life.
Since the kickoff in January, participants across west Georgia have been tracking their weight, food intake and exercise with the tools provided through the Web site www.GetHealthyWestGeorgia.org. A total of 1,738 residents of Carroll, Haralson and Heard counties weighed in at the start of the 12-week challenge, and 70 teams of 5 to 10 members each joined the challenge, working together to make this region a healthier place.