Center for Health Transformation Georgia Project

Abnormal Lipids in Young People

A report released by the CDC in January of this year reports that twenty percent of young people aged 12-19 years in the U.S. have at least one abnormal lipid level.  Abnormal lipid levels are major risk factors for heart disease, the leading cause of death among adults in the U.S.

The report examined data for 1999–2006 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).  The survey is an ongoing study that explores the health and nutritional status of about 6000 participants each year.   The researchers analyzed measurements of the major types of fat that circulate in the body: LDL or low-density lipoprotein [“bad” cholesterol]; HDL or high density lipoprotein [“good” cholesterol]; and triglycerides, a type of fat that provides your body with energy.

The researchers found that young people who were overweight or obese were more likely to have one or more abnormal lipid levels compared to normal weight youth. One or more abnormal lipid levels were found in fourteen percent of normal weight youth, 22 percent of overweight youth, and 43 percent of obese youth.

This is yet another report supporting the need to improve the health of our children. 

Success of the Vitality Project in Albert Lea, MN

The Vitality Project in Albert Lea, MN came to it's official end on Tuesday evening.  A project spearheaded by Dan Buetter, founder of Blue Zones and supported by AARP and United Health Foundation, the project focused on changing the health of a community through a 6 week intensive application of those principles found to increase longevity.

Some of the successes of the project included the following: 2,300 people officially participated; a walking/biking trail was completed around Fountain Lake; thousands of feet of sidewalk were added; hundreds of kids walked to school in walking school buses and more than 600 citizens joined walking groups; nearly a thousand Albert Leans took part in purpose workshops; and two-thirds of locally owned restaurants added longevity-promoting foods to their menus.

For additional information on the community project in Albert Lea, MN visit:

Good Morning America

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/VitalityProject/vitality-project-make-town-healthier/story?id=8818625

 

Front page story in the Pioneer Press

www.pioneerpress.com

 

AP story –

www.associatedpress.com

The Vitality Project provides an excellent model for other communities as they begin the journey to transform the health of their citizens.

Five Pounds of Fat

When I was at the launch of the Fayette Healthy Community Partnership I stopped by one of the exhibits at the Kroger store and spoke with Denise Bennett, Diabetes Education Coordinator at Piedmont Fayette Hospital.  Denise was educating the community on nutrition.  Her table was scattered with rubber models of food items, showing healthy choices and healthy portions.  Next to the fake food items was something that caught my eye - a rubber model of a glob of human fat - five pounds to be exact. 

Denise Bennett, Diabetes Education Coordinator at Piedmont Fayette Hospital
with the model of five pounds of fat.

I was surprised at how much volume five pounds of fat actually is. Having been hooked on "The Biggest Loser" show this past season and seeing dramatic weight loss I began underestimating the impact of losing 1 to 2 pounds a week.  That slow, steady pace had worked for me but somehow I lost that message.  We tend to set weight loss goals that set us up for failure.  Losing weight when one is overweight, even modest amounts, has a positive impact.  Studies show that if overweight individuals with diabetes loses 5% to 10% of their weight, they will significantly reduce their blood sugar.  Weight loss can also lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Appreciate the impact a few pounds of weight loss a week can have, how this steady pace can add up to a significant change in your health status, and stay the course.

Know Your Numbers!

I attended the launch of a new '21st Century Healthy Community' project recently in Fayette County, Georgia.  The Fayette Healthy Community Partnership is a collaboration of health care provider organizations, employers, retailers, and other businesses and groups brought together by locals Daye Bexley and Terry Womack to promote health and wellness in Fayette and Coweta Counties.  Leaders of the Partnership include the Piedmont Fayette and Newnan Hospitals and the Piedmont Heart Institute, Kroger Stores and Pharmacies, the Center for Health Transformation, and Novo Nordisk.

One of the highlights of the launch was the health screening and education held at the local Kroger Store.  Screening included Body Mass Index, blood pressure, blood sugar, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides and percent body fat.  A 'Heart Health Scorecard' was provided by Piedmont Heart Institute, the Center for Health Transformation, and the Piedmont Fayette and Piedmont Newnan Hospitals.  If every individual knew these numbers, what they meant and simple steps to improving them we would make progress in improving the health of our nation. 

Initiatives such as these are key to better health at lower cost.  Visit the Center for Health Transformation website to learn more about '21st Century Healthy Community Initiatives.'

Blue Zones

My friends at Healthways introduced me to a book and movement on adding healthy years to our lives. The book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for living longer from the people who've lived the longest, is by Dan Buettner.  Dan is the founder of Blue Zones, an organization that helps Americans live longer, healthier lives.  The book is an amazing journey with Dan and his team as they learn from Centenarians from areas of the world with concentrations of the longest living people.  These areas, called Blue Zones, are found in Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.

The book concludes with the nine lessons of the Blue Zones - the world's best practices in health and longevity.  The chapter is filled with practical strategies for applying these lessons.  Applying just a few of them will certainly improve one's health.

The Blue Zones website contains a tool - the Vitality Compass - that calculates your potential life expectancy, your healthy life expectancy, the number of extra years you could gain if you optimize your lifestyle, and suggestions to help you with that plan.

I'd be interested in your thoughts about the book and website.  I found the book an interesting read - one that is hard to put down.  It was full of funny and heartwarming stories and of health and longevity information that I put to immediate use.  Applying lessons from the Blue Zones definitely would improve the health of our communities - and who know, perhaps we could turn the tide and create a few more Blue Zones in America with future generations.

Make the Right Choice

On a cnn quick poll 74% of 6290 respondents identified motivation or lack of willpower as their biggest obstacle to losing weight or getting fit.  The next most frequently identified obstacle at 8% was finding a diet/fitness plan.  Only 5% of the respondents selected access to healthy food as their biggest obstacle.  It seems that for the majority of us the healthy choice is available, we just need to make it.  

One of the best pieces of advice I've heard recently related to this was from Dr. Oz, co-author of You: The Owners Manual and other health, diet and fitness books.  His advice is to make the decision at the grocery store, not your cupboard.  In other words,don't bring the unhealthy foods into your home in the first place.  Make it easy to make the right choice for you and your family.  This advice also applies to the choices in vending machines in schools and places of employment.  Lead an effort to get healthy choices where they belong!

Be Well Columbus, Georgia Awards Ceremony

The Be Well Columbus, Georgia Awards Ceremony was held on May 18th at Arnold Magnet Academy, school of the winning homeroom.  The Be Well Columbus, Georgia Project is a pilot project instituted through the Muscogee County School District 7^th graders and was made possible by a grant the Columbus Research Foundation received from the Microsoft HealthVault Be Well Fund.  During a three month period from January 17 until April 24, 2009, participating students were encouraged to increase their physical activity as they took a virtual walk across the United States and to check their daily meal, snack and drink intake.  This data was logged on the Be Well Columbus, Georgia/Walk to Microsoft website, which was developed specifically for this project. 

 

After words from Mayor Jim Wetherington, Bill Reid of Microsoft Corporation, Laura Linn of the Center for Health Transformation, Mike Gaymon of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Valerie Fuller of the MCSD, and Susan Wood of the Muscogee County Council of PTA's, awards were presented to the students by Royce Ann Adkins and Pam Tinkler of the Columbus Research Foundation.

 

First place went to Mrs. Ronda Allen's homeroom at Arnold Magnet Academy.  The 7th grade students in this homeroom were the first to log enough miles walked to reach Bellevue, Washington, home of the Microsoft Corporation.  The 2nd place winner was the homeroom of Mrs. Sara Davis at Marshall Middle School; 3rd place went to the home room of Mrs. Melissa Niemi at Arnold. 

 

The overall goal of the project was to teach and instill healthy lifestyle choices in the area’s adolescents, thereby preventing diabetes and other metabolic disorders associated with being overweight.  Over 1000 students participated in the project.  It was encouraging to see adolescents engaged in their health.  This project serves as a great model for other communities interested in improving the health of their children.

Increasing your Activity

One of my colleag ues and I are trying out a new technology that is aimed at increasing non-exercise activity.  According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 60% of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese.  Studies conducted over the last 20 years to determine both the causes of obesity and the reasons for the continued increase in the U.S. obesity rates determined that our society has become more sedentary, that non-exercise movement has decreased to a point where many Americans are taking in more calories than they are able to burn. The belief is that the key to reversing this obesity trend is to add physical movement back into a person's day. This is not "organized exercise" such as running or working out but rather it is taking the stairs, walking and generally being more active.

The Gruve device is a small omnidirectional accelerometer that measures activity intensity and duration.  It provides a personalized, quantifiable measure of activities and the calories burned throughout the day.  Synchronizing the device with the Gruve web site gives you the ability to view your own daily calorie burn and track your weight loss progress.  The device also tracks your progress towards your daily goal and lets you know with a colored light system how you are progressing.  You can get more information on this interesting solution for increasing activity at www.muveit.com/ .  We will keep you posted on our evaluation.

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

One obstacle we often hear to a healthy diet is the decreased availability of fresh fruits and vegetables - particularly in the inner cities.  Do you have solutions that you have implemented for this problem?  We would love to hear them.  Recently I have heard about a hospital that is transforming their previous smoking area into an employee vegetable garden.  I also heard about a farmer's market coming to hospital parking lots during the day to make fresh fruits and vegetables available.  Individual change needs to be supported in the community in order to be sustained.  These are great solutions.

Microsoft Be Well Fund Project Update

 

 

 

The Columbus Research Foundation ‘Be Well Columbus Georgia Project’, made possible by a grant from the Microsoft Corporation Be Well Fund, kicked off January 17, 2009 and will come to a close April 24, 2009.  It was offered on a voluntary basis to all twelve middle schools of which ten chose to participate.  The district has 3500 seventh graders enrolled and about 900 signed up along with 100 teachers.

The project is a competition among homerooms and hinges on an interactive website, www.walktomicrosoft.com.  Students log daily physical activity in the form of steps or miles by using a pedometer and log their daily food intake.  They are taking a virtual walk across the country with their logged miles and end at the Microsoft Corporation in Bellevue, Washington. Each participating student and the teacher of the first homeroom to collectively accrue 2977 miles and reach Microsoft will win a Wii, Wii Fit and a game of their choice.  Other incentive prizes, including new tennis shoes, are being awarded as they reach designated mile markers.

Students, parents and teachers say that they have become much more aware of junk food and idle lifestyles since they began the Be Well Project.  Students are motivated by their pedometers to log more steps and have learned to read food labels.  Many are reporting actual weight loss.  Others report they have insisted that their families join them in daily walks or gym memberships.

The competition has heated up as the end date approaches.  One homeroom moved from being ranked number eight to number three in less than two weeks.  Keep checking this blog for updates – we will recognize the winning class and their teacher!