Physical Activity initiatives were identified by the Healthy for Life Action Team as a program that, when combined with other actions in our community, has a reasonable chance of making a difference in physical activity levels as well as weight status in our community. Formerly the Get Fit Challenge, it was an eight-week challenge that promoted better public and personal health through increased physical activity as well as lifestyle change. This strategy, though not evidence-based, was implemented in Jackson County from 2011-2018 with great success and participation.  Moving forward, the Healthy for Life Action Team will implement the Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less Maintain Don't Gain Holiday Challenge in the months of November and December.  It will be a community wide effort to have people sign up and participate during the holiday season to maintain their weight instead of gaining, as most Americans are prone to doing. 

The audience for this strategy is the community at large. This strategy aims to make a different at the individual level-- increasing knowledge and influence on individual attitudes and beliefs towards health. Implementation will take place community-wide in Jackson County.

2017 Get Fit Challenge Kick-Off Walk at the Cullowhee Greenway

The partners for this strategy include:

Evaluation Plan:

We plan to evaluate the impact of the Physical Activity Initiative through the use of Results-Based Accountability^TM to monitor specific performance measures. We will be monitoring How Much, How Well and/or Better Off Performance Measures. Our evaluation activities will be tracked in the Work Plan table, above. 

Sustainability Plan:

The following is our sustainability plan for the Physical Activity Initiative: 

• Sustainability Component:
  • Using program performance measures to ensure ongoing effectiveness
  • Demonstrate success to key stakeholders
  • Communicate and engage diverse community leaders and organizations
  • Identify champions who support the program through worksite wellness initiatives
  • Increase community awareness on the issue
  • Demonstrate the value of the program to the public by sharing survey results 

2020 Updates 

The Healthy for Life Action Team shifted to focusing on a community wide wellness program to encompass more aspects of health, such as nutrition and stress management, and to offer free screenings on a large-scale to the public.  Please see Elevate for additional details. 

2019 Updates

Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less, Holiday Challenge: The Holiday Challenge was promoted through a Sylva Herald newspaper article, Facebook, and email.  The challenge was promoted to worksite wellness groups at Jackson County Government, Harris Regional Hospital, and Jackson County Public Schools.  

According to the Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less, Holiday Challenge Wrap Up Report, 2019 was the largest Holiday Challenge to date. Across the world, 40,676 people participated in the Holiday Challenge.  North Carolina had the largest number of participants out of all 50 states, with 11,702 participating.  For the Holiday Challenge, Jackson County was in the top 25 counties of participation with 230 participants. Through worksite wellness and the Diabetes Prevention Program, the Health Department received word that the Holiday Challenge was beneficial for Jackson County residents. 

2018 Updates

Get Fit Challenge: As a direct result from past participant feedback, the Get Fit Challenge changed significantly for 2018.  The challenge became individual instead of a team effort, and there were two separate challenges available - one for folks who own fitness trackers and wanted to sync their steps to the Challenge Runner app, and another challenge for people without fitness trackers who wanted to manually enter their minutes via the Challenge Runner app.  With the way Challenge Runner is set up, we had to do individual challenges instead of teams, which really hurt the competitive and team building nature of the Challenge.  Therefore, we had less participation this year with 180 people joining.  

Additionally, we had a kick-off walk at the Greenway, a free yoga event at the Rec Center, a free 20-20-20 class at the Rec Center, and then the overall winners were awarded a free family 4-pack of tickets for a Western Carolina University basketball game.  We no longer did an End-of-Challenge celebration because of the poor turnout in years past even with many participants. The challenge has gone well but we believe it is time to turn our attention in a different direction for a physical activity initiative. 

2017 Updates

Get Fit Challenge: With help from partners, the Action Team led the Get Fit Challenge with 443 participants and 65 teams. Participants are encouraged to get at least the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week.  The Challenge is 8 weeks long, from the beginning of September to the end of October.  

This year, we had 3 free physical activity opportunities for participants, as well as the End-of-Challenge Celebration.  Action Team members also wrote articles for the Sylva Herald Newspaper about physical activity resources at the library, and hiking/getting outside in our area during the fall.

The Kick-Off Walk was held Thursday, September 7th at the Cullowhee Greenway.  18 participants walked the 2 mile trail together. 

A free CrossFit demo was hosted by Catamount Crossfit on Thursday, September 28th.  7 participants were involved. 

A free yoga demo was taught at the Bridge Park in Sylva by yoga instructor Marilynn Davis on November 19th.  6 participants attended and were very complimentary of Marilynn's teaching style.  The weather was perfect for an outdoors yoga session. 

The End-of-Challenge Celebration was held on Thursday, November 2nd at the Cullowhee Recreation Center.  There were 13 participants who attended for a walk around the gym together and then the top teams were awarded prizes.  Superlatives were given away this year for Most Creative Name and Most Improved participant.

2016 Updates

New to the Challenge this year, participants were able to log their active minutes electronically through the Challenge Runner website or smart phone app.  The 2016 Get Fit Challenge experienced 490 participants and 74 teams. 

Physical activity opportunities were available throughout the challenge and included a couple of group walks.  The End-of-Challenge Celebration was hosted by WCU Physical Education department at the Cullowhee Rec Center, where students put together an obstacle course for participants.  Press releases promoting the challenge and encouraging physical activity throughout the fall were submitted to the Sylva Herald.