COLUMBIA - Supporters of first lady
Jenny Sanford's new initiative to get people interested in power
walking, raking leaves and other healthful activities gathered
Wednesday at the Governor's Mansion to announce a statewide
challenge.
"Mark and I are both passionate about physical activity and
staying well. ... We want people to compete on a statewide basis, to
get schools and institutions to compete with one another. Our state
will win as a whole if everyone works to make themselves healthier,"
Sanford said after the event, attended by local celebrities and
sports mascots from S.C. schools.
The governor's wife said the Healthy South Carolina Challenge has
a Web site to give people information about improving nutrition,
increasing physical activity and quitting smoking. Weekly and
monthly updates will help people get new ideas for improving
themselves and their communities, she said.
"By using the Web site, people can share ideas, let others know
what they are doing," Sanford said.
Sanford said a competition will be held to see which county in
South Carolina is able to most improve its health statistics in
2005-06. Also, groups in the state - such as schools, hospitals,
government agencies, churches or corporations - are encouraged to
join in the competition, she said.
The winning residents of the most improved county will be invited
to visit with the governor and his wife at an Open House, Jenny
Sanford said.
The statistics are kept by the Department of Health and
Environmental Control, rating each county's percentage change in
smoking rates, physical activity and body mass index.
In future years, fruit and vegetable consumption also will be
added, according to the Web site.
The efforts follow the governor's "family fitness challenge,"
during which the first family biked and canoed at sites across the
state to focus on the importance of increasing a family's physical
activity.
Dr. Ann Kulze, who will write weekly wellness tips for the Web
site, said she was pleased to take part in the effort - given the
fact that South Carolina ranks 46th in the country in health
statistics issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
"The maintenance of a healthy body weight is the single most
important step people can take" to improve their physical
well-being, the Charleston physician said. "This is a great
thing."
