What does a Super Bowl running back have to do with a health club? Both represent a growing effort by business and government to make South Carolinians healthier.

Consider:

-- Health clubs are popping up all over to provide an outlet for people increasingly concerned about their girth.

-- Government agencies are planning a network of bicycle and pedestrian paths.

-- Businesses large and small, including insurers, are doing more to encourage people to get active.

-- Academics are working with churches to encourage healthy lifestyles among congregants.

All of this comes at a vital time for the state's residents. Even in a country known worldwide for the weight of its population, and its consequent health problems, South Carolina stands out.

More than three-quarters of the state's population is at risk for disease because of physical inactivity, while 58 percent of residents face health problems because they're overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state also has high rates of diabetes and hypertension and an above-average rate of heart disease-related deaths.

In perhaps the most alarming statistic, life expectancy in this state is three years lower than the national average.

"People are finally getting it," said Amy Splittgerber, executive director of the South Carolina Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, an Irmo-based coalition of businesses and organizations that want to promote more active lifestyles. "They're reacting to the alarming rates of obesity and its ensuing health risk factors. It's a national problem, and it's even worse in South Carolina."

Employers have tried to address the issue for some time and now are responding more aggressively than ever. As health care costs have skyrocketed, more have begun encouraging workers to stay healthy, employing workplace wellness initiatives and sometimes even offering financial incentives to workers who get and stay fit.

Health clubs have been around a long time, but new facilities targeting specific segments of the population and designed to keep members coming back are popping up all over.

One of them is V. A more costly health club option, the club is focused on its members' "total health."

Among its key partners is Tracie Long Mathewes, a former aerobic instructor featured in a series of popular fitness videos called "The Firm."

No facility seems to be growing more than Curves for Women, which has 11 locations in the area, according to the company's Web site.

Nationwide, the Texas-based company bills itself as the fastest-growing franchise in history. It began in 1992 and opened its first franchise three years later. In 1996, it had 44 locations. It now has 7,600.

Nicole Heavin, a company spokeswoman, gives credit for that growth to a "Curves community" in which women are encouraged to work out regularly.

"Working out kind of sucks," Heavin said. "Here, they don't have to be intimidated by men. They don't have mirrors. And there are women of all shapes, sizes and ages."

Most of the company's members, Heavin said, wouldn't otherwise join a health club and many wouldn't work out at all.

Of course, not everybody can pay for a health club, so the bigger challenge for government policy-makers and health advocates is targeting everybody else.

"There probably would be many, many more people in the general community who are not seeking avenues for improving their health and well-being," said Marti Chitwood, a Charleston clinical nutritionist. "Those are the ones making up the statistics. Those are the ones we need to reach."

One outreach effort, based out of the Medical University of South Carolina and called Lighten Up, works through churches, tapping into people's faith to encourage them to change their lifestyle. The organization, started in 1998, works with 90 churches throughout the Carolinas.

"Once people understand how God can change their hearts, then people are able to handle the information, the lifestyle change," said Mary Joan Oexmann, a research nutritionist at the university who runs the program. "They then say, 'I'm going to get up at 6 in the morning and go for a walk,' or 'I'm going to stop drinking calories,' or 'I think I can do without that piece of chocolate cake.' "

Sanford is using the pulpit of his office to encourage people to live healthier.

In May, he'll make a 150-mile bike trip, in three segments, from the Upstate to North Charleston as a challenge to the state's residents to lead more active lifestyles.

On Friday, he took another step in that direction, tapping Davis to be his health ambassador.

"Stephen's willingness to do this is a huge boost to our efforts to get South Carolinians to be just a bit more active," Sanford said in a statement. "The way we look and feel as individual South Carolinians has a huge impact on quality of life in our state."

Davis' job will be to "spread the word" and encourage residents to make better diet and exercise decisions.

Said Davis: "Healthier choices do matter, and they make a difference in people's lives." He said Sanford's effort will be a "step forward in creating a healthier South Carolina."

Splittgerber agreed that Sanford's push is putting the state "on the right track."

She doesn't think the governor's ride will be enough to encourage more bike riders, however.

"I don't think he's going to get a realistic view of roadways from a bicycle. I don't think he's going to get (soda) cans thrown at him," she said.

Sidewalks and bicycle paths are not plentiful in South Carolina. The state has the fourth-highest rate of pedestrian fatalities in the country and the nation's third-highest bicycle fatality rate, according to government statistics.

There is one local effort under way to address that.

The Berkeley Charleston Dorchester Council of Governments recently received a $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Active Living by Design to develop a plan for a regional bicycle and pedestrian network.

Active Living by Design is a national program to make it safe and convenient for people to be physically active.

Splittgerber said giving people more opportunities to be active will take a considerable effort.

"There needs to be a policy focused on changing the way we think, the way we build neighborhoods and place schools," she said. "It's a huge problem, and it's not going to go away overnight."

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