Like it or not, you're now part of a statewide competition to see which county's citizens can improve their health the most over the next year. Gov. Mark Sanford and First Lady Jenny Sanford announced Wednesday the "Healthy County Challege" and the "Healthy Community Challenge".

Counties will compete based on which improves the most in reducing the number of smokers, raising people's physical activity and lowering weight. South Carolina now ranks 46th nationally in overall health. Some counties have more than 70% of their population overweight.

The winning county's citizens will be invited to an awards celebration next spring at the governor's mansion in Columbia.

"That's not a typo - we're going to invite the entire population
of the county that wins to a big party at the Governor's Mansion," Gov. Sanford said. "We think it's critically important that South Carolinians get more active and this kind of competition is a great way of raising the bar for everybody."

There will be a separate competition between communities, which means colleges, K-12 schools, corporations and non-profit groups.

Marge Condrasky works at Clemson and already exercises. But she'll be stepping it up for the challenge. "I think what we'll do is not only assume the three to four days a week, but it's seven days a week. It's really not that you get a day off. Exercise needs to be part of every bit of what we live," she says.

If you're one of the many, many South Carolinians who don't get any exercise at all right now, don't be discouraged. Dr. Ann Kulze, a physician who specializes in wellness, says you don't have to do anything strenuous or difficult, or buy any equipment.

"Thirty minutes moderate aerobic activity, i.e. walking, 5 or more days a week can give you all of the known scientific benefits, which are just...they're extraordinary," she says. "Your body weight is the single most powerful determinant of your chances of future good or bad health. That is a fact."

She says getting just that amount of exercise will lower or stabilize your weight, lower high blood pressure, prevent type-2 diabetes, improve your mood and sleep and prevent many forms of cancer.

The Healthy SC Challenge has a website that will contain weekly nutrition and exercise tips. It's http://www.healthysc.gov/.

Statewide, 23.8 percent of people are inactive, 61.3 percent are overweight and 24.3 percent smoke.

To start the competition, Charleston is the healthiest county in the state. Greenville is fourth-healthiest. Cherokee comes in at 15th, Greenwood 17th, Spartanburg 23rd, Laurens 32nd, Union is tied for 33rd and Anderson is 39th.

The county with the worst health is Darlington, where 31 percent are inactive, nearly 74 percent are overweight and more than 32 percent smoke.