Participants recently completed Trinity Healthy Living's "10,000 Steps a Day" community challenge. One hundred seventy five people wore a pedometer daily for eight weeks to track the number of steps taken each day. The goal of the challenge was to increase participants' physical activity, working up to taking 10,000 steps a day. Along with an increase in physical activity, many participants reported a decrease in blood pressure and weight loss, said Teresa Newman, manager of Trinity Healthy Living.
Four of the winners over 70 years old were from Friendship Haven.
"I just had my blood pressure taken at our monthly health check-in at (Friendship Haven's) fitness center. It went from 135 over 81 in May to 119 over 70 in September. I am giving your 10,000 step program much of the credit. I usually walk even when not in that program, but it did push me to walk a bit more when I am at home," said first-place winner in the 62- to 72-years-of-age category Henrietta VanMaanen.
The program was designed as an effort to get people moving around.
"With the increase in technology over the last decade, people are not as physically active, leading to the increase in the number of adults who are overweight or obese. Being overweight has led to numerous preventable premature deaths. As a society we need to make a conscious effort to choose to move," Newman said.
Together, the 175 participants walked 92 million steps, which equals approximately 37,000 miles over the eight-week challenge.