Weighing In
Health and Wellnes Educators Synchronize their Efforts to Improve the Health of Kentuckians

Last July, Kentucky became the 40th state to form a Governor's Council on Sports, Physical Activity, and Wellness. Forty also used to be the state's rank in terms of overall population health, but in the past year the health of the Commonwealth has plummeted to 45th in the United States.

"I think that the Governor's Commission is a great initiative," said Mayor Pam Miller in welcoming participants to the inaugural Kentucky Physical Activity Summit in November. "Certainly it's not pleasant for us to see that our standing among the other states has fallen in the area of general fitness of the population. We don't want to see those kinds of figures, we want to get it going the other way."

The summit, a joint project of the Commission and the Kentucky Physical Activity Work Group, served as an opportunity for educators and officials from throughout the state to gather resources and build awareness of the key issues in promoting physical fitness. The first day featured speakers from national organizations like the CDC. Day Two was largely focused on breaking out into four sessions: community/environment, school, worksite, and health.

"Seventy percent of our job is promoting physical education," says Kim Sakis, a health educator with the Lexington-Fayette Health Department who helped organize the conference. "Right now our mission has three components: continued growth of the Bluegrass State Games, initiation of a foundation to distribute scholarships, grants, etc., and establishment of a Physical Activity and Wellness Council."

Research by the Center for Disease Control has found that 40 percent of the U.S. population is irregularly active, and 25 percent is completely sedentary. Our own Commonwealth ranks unfortunately high in this category: third in the nation for those reporting no leisure time physical activity.

"I can tell you as mayor, improving people's behavior is real hard to do," said Mayor Miller to general laughter.

"The outrageous amount of money that was just paid to secure rights to NBA games ($2.6 billion for four years) is the perfect example of how spectator-driven our society is right now," said Eric Ward, executive director of the Governor's Commission and Executive Director of the Bluegrass State Games. "The fact that this kind of money is spent so that people can sit in front of their TV and watch somebody else ... there's something wrong with that."

"But that's the beauty, the appeal, and the selling point of the Bluegrass State Games," he continued. "It is a participation-driven event. You go to a BSG event, and you don't see a lot of people just standing around watching."

This winter marks the first Bluegrass State Winter Games, and plans call for expansion of the Games to encompass more year-round activities and programs. Last summer's Games attracted over 20,000 participants, and Ward is looking to develop relationships with area colleges and with spectator sports teams to cross-promote activities.

"It would be nice to funnel some of that spectator money into some of these grassroots activities," he said. "We have a great relationship with the Kentucky Thoroughblades – I'm working with Ron DeGregorio right now on having Rupp host the state youth ice hockey championships medal rounds later this winter. We're also looking at getting some of the Games into the beautiful facilities at Asbury College, as well as at Georgetown and Transylvania."

Another avenue for reaching people with the fitness message is worksite health promotion. While most Kentuckians know what happens the first Saturday in May, Council members hope the third Wednesday in May comes to mean something too. That's the date for National Employee Health and Fitness Day, when organizations across the nation sponsor walks, health fairs, and other fun events dedicated to employee wellness.

Current studies indicate that U.S. business spends almost half of its after-tax profits on medical care. Numerous case studies at such companies as General Electric, Georgia Pacific, and Bank of America have shown that health and wellness programs for employees aimed at prevention dramatically cut into the frequency of medical services use, and thus trim the cost of health care as well. They also boost productivity and performance, while thinning the absentee ranks. "I think any effort to improve the health and fitness of the state population has to go through worksites, because people spend so much of their time there," said Ward.

While this illustrates one kind of economic impact sports and fitness can have, more immediate and tangible cash is also being pursued in this arena, most notably by the newly formed Lexington Area Sports Authority.

Chaired by Wayne Martin and consisting of over thirty members representing eight counties, LASA's goal is to pursue facilities and events that promote amateur and professional sports, youth sports, and community recreation.

"We want to get tournaments and events to this area, and we want to better coordinate and schedule the facilities so there are no conflicts," said Mayor Miller. "LASA really has its work cut out for it, and they're just getting started."

"LASA has not really defined its goals and objectives yet," added Ward. "More than likely, its major emphasis will be to create an economic impact. Things like Rails to Trails, bike paths, and other participatory activities tend to fall more into quality-of-life parameters. I think those things are important, but I'm not sure they fall within the scope of LASA. They definitely fall within the scope of local government. The Governor's Commission, with statewide membership, will be a focal point for those kinds of issues, addressing them on a local level."

Among the local potential projects being evaluated by Mayor Miller are a Frisbee golf course and a skateboard park, to be partially funded by challenge grants.

Of course, one potential pitfall is that health promotion and new facilities will increase options for the already active while leaving the sedentary still sitting in their chairs. The primary message Kentucky educators and officials want to spread is that just thirty minutes of moderate physical activity a few times a week can have huge implications for the individual, the economy, and the community. Like good business, the key is sustainability.

Adam Bruns is a staff writer for The Lane Report.

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