Fort HealthCare Slimdown Challenge Weigh-In Begins January 27

It’s been reported that the most popular New Year’s resolutions made are related to losing weight, staying fit or becoming healthier. If you are among the thirty-eight percent who made a weight-related resolution, or if you’ve come to the conclusion that you need to lose weight after the time for resolutions had passed, then Fort HealthCare encourages you to join this year’s version of the successful Slimdown Challenge.

The Fort HealthCare 2014 Slimdown Challenge, offered free of charge to all participants, begins on February 10 and continues for twelve weeks until May 4. Teams of four to six persons can join through a participating employer or through a community-based organization such as the Cambridge Activities Program (CAP), Fort Healthy (Fort Atkinson), JUMP (Jefferson), CHIC (Johnson Creek), Rock Lake Activity Center (Lake Mills) and Working for Whitewater’s Wellness (W3). Confirmed sponsoring corporations to date are Fort HealthCare, Fort Atkinson School District, Fort Community Credit Union, McCain Foods, Nasco, Premier Bank and the Village of Palmyra Fire Department. Persons not employed by sponsoring corporations are encouraged to weigh-in and weigh-out at one of the community-based organizations. In an effort to encourage physical fitness and reduce obesity in the community, Fort HealthCare is providing monetary incentives to the non-profit organizations based on the number of participants that weigh-in and complete the twelve week Challenge.

Persons interested in participating should visit www.FortHealthCare.com/Slimdown for more information and to register. Teams of four to six persons can join. On-site registrations and weigh-ins will begin at community and employer locations on January 27.

Players can win prizes for team and individual weight loss accomplishments, and any person has multiple chances to win. The team with the highest weight loss percentage, calculated by averaging each team member’s weight loss percentage, based on official weigh-in and weigh-out will win one $250 Visa gift card per team member.

Every team that achieves a 10% weight loss, calculated by averaging each team member’s weight loss percentage, based on official weigh-in and weigh-out, will be entered into a drawing to win one $250 Visa gift card per team member. Four teams will be drawn as winners.

Each participant who achieves a 10 percent weight loss, based on official weigh-in and weigh-out, will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Visa gift card. Ten individuals will be drawn as winners.

Last, every person who is actively participating in the competition each week, by recording a weight and completing a short quiz about various wellness topics, will be entered into a weekly drawing to win one of three $25 Visa gift cards.

Players may participate in an official, proctored weigh-in with one of the following employers or community agencies: Fort HealthCare, Cambridge Activities Program (CAP), Fort Atkinson School District, Fort Community Credit Union, Fort Healthy (Fort Atkinson), JUMP (Jefferson), CHIC (Johnson Creek), McCain Foods, Nasco, Premier Bank, Rock Lake Activity Center (Lake Mills), Village of Palmyra Fire Department or Working for Whitewater’s Wellness (W3). The percent weight-loss will be determined using official start and end weights only. Individuals may participate on only one Slimdown challenge team. Locations for weigh-ins and weigh-out are listed on the Slimdown Challenge website and additional times and locations will be added as they are scheduled. All participants must be weighed in and registered by February 7, 2014. An official weigh-in and weigh-out is required for every team member to be eligible for the grand prizes. Weigh-outs will be scheduled for May 5, 2014 at participating community agencies and employers.

Prize winners will be announced by Wednesday, May 7, 2014. Team and individual results will be shared with local media. Additional rules are specified on the Challenge website.

A similar Fort HealthCare weight loss challenge held last year had a very favorable result: on average, each player lost about six pounds- the equivalent of losing one point on the body mass index (BMI) scale. The combined total weight loss was 6,403 pounds- nearly three and one-quarter tons. The number of participants who completed the challenge was 1,050.

As the leading healthcare provider in the region, Fort HealthCare has determined that wide-reaching health and wellness campaigns such as the Slimdown Challenge can positively affect individual and community-wide health outcomes and behaviors. The call to action and campaign brand is: Let’s Do This! The theme is a literal call to action, intended to be positive, motivating and appealing to all audiences, from individuals, to employers to community coalitions. Accomplishing the campaign’s long-term goals will help Fort HealthCare achieve its Vision: to be the healthiest community in Wisconsin. For more information and to find resources that will help individuals become as healthy as can be, visit FortHealthCare.com/LetsDoThis.